6670 



Birds. 



the more I squeezed him the louder he roared. " The Lord preserve 

 's a' ! Fat's this, noo ? " cried Bell, starting to her feet. " It's Tom 

 Edward again!" shouted the scholars en masse ; " an' noo wi' a craw 

 stickin' out o' his breeks ! " To crown all, down went the old chair, 

 which broke into fragments. Never shall I forget the uproar and 

 confusion which took place, nor Bell's look as she stood, with both 

 arms raised at full length above her head, addressing me nearly thus, 

 " Well, master Edward, you are at your old work again. Did I not 

 tell you only yesterday that I would not have my school annoyed in 

 this way any more ? Take the beast from him, Willie," she said, 

 pointing to the largest boy, " and throw it out of the window." " No, 

 1 winna gie my bird t' nean ; an' gin onnay one dares t' tak it, I'll 

 brak his skull ! " I cried, trembling all the while for the fate of the 

 bird. Picking up a fragment of the old chair, I was determined, if 

 any one did make the attempt, to put my threat in execution rather 

 than lose my prize. This had the desired effect ; for Bell, seeing 

 how matters stood, and perhaps fearing mischief, said, " Well, you'll 

 leave this immediately ; and never come back, for you and your 

 vermin are complete pests. Where and how you get them all, the 

 Lord only knows. You cannot be here." This was glorious, as 1 had 

 no taste for being confined in school; besides the joy of getting away 

 scot free, bird and all. 



Magpie (C. pica). Very sparingly distributed, and in some places 

 scarcely known. Our keepers both shoot and trap them whenever 

 opportunity offers. The magpie is one of the most bashful birds 

 we have. When, however, they take up their abode beside farms, &c, 

 they are by no means so shy, and, being generally held sacred by 

 those near whose place they may be, frequently occupy the same 

 tree or bush for many years. I knew of a pair myself that nestled in 

 this fashion for thirteen years successively. Their young always 

 disappeared towards winter each season, and never returned, but left 

 the parent pair in quiet possession of the solitary tree. 



Greater Spotted Woodpecker (Pictis major). Several pairs of this 

 showy bird have been procured within our district. Some, in fact, 

 say that it lived in the higher parts of the county. Be this as it 

 may, it is very rare, and its known occurrences few and far between. 

 A most splendid pair, male and female, were killed about twelve years 

 ago on the hills of Boyndie. It has also been obtained at Traup, 

 Whinty, Park, Cullen, Auchintaul, Garden Castle, Kingerwie, and 

 doubtless other places. 



