﻿78 
  

  

  THE 
  VEETEBEATE 
  FAUNA 
  OF 
  " 
  DEE." 
  

  

  greatest 
  abundance 
  is 
  the 
  moor 
  of 
  Kinnellar. 
  There, 
  on 
  

   the 
  numerous 
  ancient 
  tumuli 
  where 
  whin 
  and 
  broom 
  grow 
  

   luxuriantly, 
  this 
  bird 
  lives 
  and 
  rears 
  its 
  young. 
  

  

  A 
  letter 
  from 
  the 
  late 
  Stewart 
  Burnett, 
  Esq., 
  dated 
  

   Balbithan 
  House, 
  May 
  13th, 
  1887, 
  contains 
  the 
  following 
  

   note 
  : 
  " 
  I 
  find, 
  on 
  consulting 
  my 
  records, 
  that 
  Stone-Chats 
  

   in 
  this 
  neighbourhood 
  have 
  grown 
  very 
  scarce 
  from 
  about 
  

   1875. 
  Before 
  that 
  time 
  I 
  knew 
  of 
  about 
  a 
  dozen 
  localities 
  

   in 
  a 
  radius 
  around 
  this 
  of 
  about 
  twelve 
  miles 
  where 
  one 
  

   could 
  always 
  find 
  pairs 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  throughout 
  spring 
  and 
  

   summer. 
  There 
  were 
  several 
  pairs 
  in 
  different 
  parts 
  of 
  

   Thorn's 
  Forest, 
  near 
  Kintore, 
  as 
  also 
  on 
  the 
  whin 
  covert 
  along 
  

   the 
  coast 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Don. 
  All 
  these 
  localities 
  

   since 
  1882 
  have 
  been 
  visited 
  at 
  different 
  times, 
  and 
  not 
  a 
  

   single 
  individual 
  seen 
  in 
  any 
  of 
  them. 
  The 
  last 
  Stone-Chats 
  

   I 
  saw 
  in 
  these 
  parts 
  were 
  a 
  family, 
  old 
  and 
  young, 
  on 
  August 
  

   12th, 
  1882. 
  Late 
  nests 
  bear 
  the 
  dates 
  of 
  1876, 
  1877." 
  A 
  few 
  

   are 
  still 
  to 
  be 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  locality. 
  

  

  Sub-Family 
  SYLVIIN^J. 
  

   Genus 
  EUTICILLA, 
  Behn. 
  

   Ruticilla 
  phoenicurus, 
  Linn. 
  Redstart. 
  

  

  A 
  summer 
  visitor 
  that 
  is 
  distributed 
  pretty 
  generally 
  all 
  

   over 
  " 
  Dee." 
  It 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  breeding 
  on 
  ivy-clad 
  walls 
  

   along 
  the 
  east 
  coast 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  gardens 
  and 
  grounds 
  of 
  land- 
  

   owners 
  ; 
  and 
  right 
  away 
  through 
  the 
  pine 
  forests 
  of 
  the 
  

   interior. 
  In 
  July, 
  1893, 
  I 
  found 
  them 
  plentiful 
  in 
  the 
  woods 
  

   along 
  the 
  Dee 
  valley 
  above 
  Castleton 
  of 
  Braemar. 
  Their 
  

   single 
  call 
  -note, 
  which 
  is 
  somewhat 
  like 
  the 
  cry 
  of 
  the 
  

   Chaffinch, 
  and 
  is 
  the 
  same 
  in 
  male 
  and 
  female, 
  was 
  to 
  be 
  

   heard 
  every 
  here 
  and 
  there. 
  Their 
  movements, 
  with 
  the 
  

   continual 
  jerking 
  of 
  the 
  tail 
  and 
  occasional 
  flutter 
  of 
  the 
  

   wings, 
  as 
  these 
  little 
  creatures 
  perch 
  upon 
  a 
  branch, 
  uttering 
  

   their 
  cry, 
  and 
  darting 
  to 
  another 
  twig, 
  are 
  peculiar 
  and 
  most 
  

   interesting. 
  

  

  Ruticilla 
  titys, 
  Scopoti. 
  Black 
  Redstart. 
  

  

  The 
  only 
  record 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  for 
  " 
  Dee," 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  

   am 
  aware, 
  is 
  that 
  of 
  a 
  male 
  which 
  flew 
  into, 
  and 
  was 
  caught 
  

  

  