﻿104 
  

  

  THE 
  VEETEBEATE 
  FAUNA 
  OF 
  " 
  DEE." 
  

  

  " 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  1850, 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  Starlings 
  took 
  up 
  their 
  

   abode 
  near 
  the 
  Manse 
  of 
  Crimond, 
  and 
  eventually 
  built 
  

   amongst 
  the 
  thatch 
  of 
  a 
  low 
  house 
  close 
  by 
  ; 
  and, 
  at 
  the 
  

   request 
  of 
  the 
  Rev. 
  Mr. 
  Boyd, 
  they 
  were 
  left 
  unmolested, 
  

   and 
  succeeded 
  in 
  rearing 
  two 
  broods 
  that 
  season 
  ; 
  next 
  

   summer 
  several 
  pairs 
  came, 
  and 
  protection 
  being 
  given 
  

   them, 
  a 
  still 
  larger 
  number 
  appeared 
  the 
  year 
  following." 
  

   (Edward, 
  " 
  The 
  Birds 
  of 
  Strathbeg," 
  Naturalist, 
  vol. 
  iv., 
  

   pp. 
  269, 
  270.) 
  In 
  the 
  same 
  year, 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  Starlings 
  built 
  

   their 
  nest 
  between 
  two 
  chimneys 
  in 
  Peterhead 
  ; 
  so 
  I 
  am 
  

   informed 
  by 
  Mr. 
  David 
  Scott, 
  late 
  editor, 
  Peterhead 
  Sentinel. 
  

  

  " 
  Starling 
  — 
  although 
  common 
  in 
  the 
  Outer 
  Hebrides 
  and 
  

   other 
  parts 
  of 
  Scotland, 
  it 
  is 
  rather 
  scarce 
  with 
  us 
  ; 
  I 
  only 
  

   remember 
  seeing 
  a 
  pair 
  in 
  1845, 
  which 
  I 
  shot." 
  (J. 
  Taylor, 
  

   The 
  Naturalist, 
  vol. 
  iii., 
  p. 
  140, 
  1853.) 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  same 
  vol., 
  p. 
  220, 
  is 
  the 
  following 
  by 
  J. 
  Longmuir, 
  

   jun. 
  : 
  "From 
  the 
  statement 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  

   this 
  bird 
  in 
  our 
  county, 
  one 
  would 
  be 
  led 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  the 
  

   Starling 
  is 
  a 
  rare 
  visitor 
  in 
  Aberdeenshire. 
  This, 
  however, 
  

   is 
  not 
  the 
  case 
  ; 
  at 
  certain 
  seasons 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  

   common 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  this 
  city 
  (Aberdeen). 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  

   It 
  breeds 
  in 
  great 
  numbers 
  in 
  various 
  parts 
  of 
  our 
  county, 
  

   choosing 
  sometimes 
  (as 
  at 
  Keith 
  Hall) 
  high 
  trees, 
  in 
  which 
  

   it 
  excavates 
  a 
  deep 
  hole 
  [the 
  italics 
  are 
  ours], 
  from 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  

   difficult 
  to 
  obtain 
  the 
  eggs 
  in 
  safety." 
  In 
  view 
  of 
  what 
  has 
  

   been 
  recorded 
  by 
  others, 
  and 
  what 
  I 
  have 
  myself 
  seen 
  of 
  

   the 
  Starling, 
  the 
  above 
  statement 
  — 
  "breeding 
  in 
  great 
  numbers" 
  

   at 
  the 
  district 
  indicated 
  — 
  is 
  more 
  than 
  can 
  be 
  accepted 
  ; 
  

   nor 
  is 
  " 
  excavating 
  of 
  holes 
  in 
  trees 
  " 
  a 
  habit 
  known 
  to 
  the 
  

   Starling. 
  

  

  " 
  Small 
  flocks 
  of 
  Starlings 
  have 
  occasionally 
  been 
  seen 
  in 
  

   Braemar, 
  Crathie, 
  and 
  Glen 
  Tanner, 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Cumming 
  and 
  

   Mr. 
  Stewart, 
  but 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  appear 
  that 
  this 
  species 
  is 
  

   permanently 
  resident 
  or 
  breeds 
  in 
  any 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  district." 
  

   (MacGillivray.) 
  

  

  "Occasionally 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  Starlings 
  appears 
  in 
  autumn 
  either 
  

   alone 
  or 
  in 
  company 
  with 
  Jackdaws 
  and 
  Rooks. 
  It 
  was 
  never 
  

   ascertained 
  that 
  they 
  bred 
  here 
  until 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1856, 
  

   when 
  a 
  Starling's 
  nest, 
  filled 
  with 
  young, 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  

   woods 
  of 
  Raemoir. 
  Another 
  nest 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  woods 
  

   of 
  Inchmarlo 
  more 
  recently." 
  (Adams.) 
  

  

  