Ornithological Notes. 



183 



Mr Shearer also informs me he saw in the neighbourhood 

 of Ulbster a beautiful mature specimen of the Strix nyctea 

 (Snowy Owl), on the 3d of June last, but was unable to 

 capture it. 



8. Mergulus melanoleucos — the Eotche or Little Auk, an 

 occasional winter visitor. One was shot near Kinghorn, 

 Fife, in the beginning of February. 



9. Circus cyaneus — the Hen Ilarrier. A beautiful adult 

 male of this species, now unfortunately become rather rare 

 here, like many of its allied species, from the wholesale 

 destruction of all the interesting birds of this Class by 

 our excessive game preservers. It was shot at Thrumster, 

 Caithness, in the month of March, and is still common, I 

 believe, in the north of Scotland. 



10. Parus cristatus — the Crested Titmouse. No less than 

 nine specimens of these rare birds are now exhibited. 

 Twelve of these birds, males and females, were shot in the 

 beginning of March at Ballindalloch, the property of Sir C. 

 Macpherson Grant, Bart. It seems to be local in its distri- 

 bution, and from its small size, is perhaps not easily seen in 

 our great pine forests of the north of Scotland. These rare 

 birds appear to be more abundant, or at least have been 

 more frequently observed, in the great forests of Speyside 

 than in any other part of Scotland.* In 1859 I exhibited 



* In the recently published and interesting volume on " Natural History 

 .and Sport in Moray," collected from the Journals and Letters of the late Mr 

 Charles St John (Edin. 1863), the following details are given of the history of 

 this rare and little known bird : — " I know no bird so confined to particular 

 spots as the Crested Titmouse. Their only regular place of abode, as far 

 as has been ascertained, is the largo forest near Grantown on the Spey ; 

 there they build tolerably abundantly in the decayed clefts and holes of the 

 old fir trees, making a smaller nest than most other birds of the same genus. 

 They lay about six eggs, white, with dark-red spots. Their habits are like 

 tliuse of other titmice, searching the trees for small insects, and flying from 

 branch to branch, uttering a loud shrill cry This is the dullest 



loured of all the titmice, but easily distinguished by its remarkable crest, 

 which it erects with great facility. It is little known as a British bird. My 

 attention to it as such was first called by Mr Dunbar (formerly of Inverness, 

 now of Brawl) ; since then, I had frequent opportunities of obtaining both the 

 bird and the nest from the forest of Glenmore, near Grantown, and I have 

 every reason to believe that it frequents some of the upper woods of the Find- 

 horn, near Dulsic, though not so commonly as (he first named forest.'*— V 20. 



