258 



BIRDS. 



other parts. They simply conceal themselves under screens or huts 



doubt followed at many other places along the regular routes of their 

 passage from the east coast to the west, which, however, only 

 represents a very small proportion of the whole migration ; and 

 I believe that by far the heaviest phalanx turns southwards when 

 they arrive over the land of the east coast. I have seen this mar- 

 vellous arrival more than once; but upon one occasion it was so 

 enormous as to attract almost universal attention upon the Links 

 of St. Andrews. As the main flights arrived over the land, numbers 

 were seen to stop in their flight, circle, and then plunge do's\'nwards, 

 dropping after many spiral eccentricities of direction, and alighting 

 on old remembered feeding grounds, no doubt. I have seen the 

 same thing happen from huge flights of the Great Snipe in Northern 

 Russia, when hundreds of these birds appeared on their spring migra- 

 tion, and popped down amongst the willow scrub. On such occasions 

 we had nothing to do but land from our house-boat and shoot as 

 many as we required — and right good they were " spatch-cocked " ! 



Of late years, however, there seems to have been a considerable 

 falling off in the numbers coming over, as well as those breeding in 

 this country ; and it is a very general opinion that Stock-Doves are 

 increasing on our Carse-farms in the east of Scotland, and the Wood- 

 Pigeons are not so numerous as formerly. 



North of the Grampians, Wood-Pigeons do not seem to penetrate 

 — at least during these migrations — so far west, though smaller 

 parties are well known to do so, and it is becoming a commoner bird 

 in the nesting season even in some of the Inner Hebrides. 



Another, but not a sportsmanlike, way of killing Wood-Pigeons 

 is practised in March, when keepers are netting their hen pheasants 

 for the pheasantries. I have had as many as thirty or more in the 

 house at one time obtained in this way. I never hesitated to accept 

 such, as when game-birds had become out of season, these fine birds 

 did able duty in the larder and on the table. 



In the wilder parts of, for instance. Glen Ogle and the Moor 

 of Rannoch they are not greatly in e-vidence, unless when berries are 

 ripening, but on the fringes of these more barren spots they are 

 fairly common. 



I do not here enter upon the question of damage done to 

 farmers' interests, as that has been often hammered out, and never to 



