Notes on the Chough or- Red-legged Crow, §fc. 145 



sea-fowls. From Corsewall Point to the Mull of Galloway, all round 

 the shores of the Bay of Luce and of Loch Ryan, razor-bills and guille- 

 mots were lying in heaps. I did not observe any other species. I 

 do not think it difficult to account for the destruction of these pretty 

 birds. From the middle of June till the gale came on, the waters off our 

 coast were literally swarming with the fry of various fish. The conse- 

 quence was that the sea-fowl congregated in unusual numbers, which 

 seemed to increase day by day. The storm came on suddenly, and was 

 of unwonted violence for the season of the year. The fry were of course 

 either driven off or compelled to retire from the surface. The long- 

 winged gulls and gannets were able to get away by flight ; while the 

 short- winged razor-bills, who trust more to their paddles than their 

 pinions, had nothing for it but either to breast the sea, or drift on to a 

 lee shore. Deprived of food they could not long face the heavy sea that 

 came rolling in from the Atlantic, and having struggled on for several 

 days they were at last swept ashore — most of them dead, some so ex- 

 hausted that they could make no effort to get away. Though thin, they 

 were not so thin as to suggest starvation as the sole cause of their death ; but 

 want of food for several days, combined with the exhaustion induced by 

 struggling so long against a head sea, seems sufficiently to account for the 

 prodigious mortality among them. This is confirmed by the fact that no 

 gulls nor gannets perished. The former easily obtained shelter and food 

 on shore, while the latter, with their tremendous power of flight, escaped 

 to sheltered bays and coasts. 



" Several years ago we had a great mortality among the guillemots, but 

 the features of the case were quite different. During a heavy fog in the 

 month of April a large flock of these birds were seen circling over the 

 point of the pier at Stranraer, Next morning they were found dead 

 and dying, scattered all over the country, some of them miles inland. 1 

 presume they had been trading to the south— had in the mist mistaken the 

 entrance of Loch Ryan for the Channel ; that they were brought up by the 

 shore, where they expected to find open sea ; in fact, that they had lost 

 their way, and perished in attempting to find it again. 



" I cannot say that there is anything remarkable in our fauna. We 

 have few rare birds. The quail is resident ; it is known by the name of 

 ' wet-my-foot,' words which its cry closely resembles ; and the country 

 people fancy that it is like the peacock and raven, vociferous before rain. 

 The young quail early develops his pugnacity ; although there are twelve 

 or fifteen in a brood, they cannot live in harmony till able to fly ; by the 

 first of August they are broken up into parties of two or three. In sum- 

 mer we have the pippet, the blackcap, and the grasshopper warbler. The 

 wild swan visits us in severe winters. Some years ago a wounded female 

 remained on the lake at Lochnaw, and during several successive seasons 

 bred with a male of the mute swan. The progeny were genuine mules, 

 and did not breed. A golden eagle sometimes floats high overhead, trad- 

 ing between the Morne Mountains in Down and the solitudes above New 

 Galloway. He occasionally descends to the ground." 



The Society were much indebted, Dr Smith said, to the Rev. Mr Bell 

 for his communication, including, as it did, various interesting facts from 

 his own observation. He exhibited a specimen of the chough sent him 

 by Mr Bell, and also one from Cornwall, which had been presented to him 

 by a friend. The bird was supposed by some of our ancient writers to be 

 peculiar to Cornwall; and hence arose the name of the Cornish chough. 

 In Cornwall, at least in the western part of the county, it seemed now to 

 be rare, as Dr Smith had seen no specimens there during a visit he had 

 the pleasure of paying last autumn to that most interesting county, 



