On the Migration of Birds of East Lothian. 363 



a specimen, but he gave me at once ample proof what manner 

 of bird he was. I saw him at first, a dark object, floating in 

 the sea, some hundred yards off. He rose at a distance, and 

 flew after a Herring Gull. To my surprise he struck it dead 

 at the first swoop, and, immediately pouncing upon it, shook 

 and tore it more as a dog worries, than as a hawk tears. I 

 now regret that I shot him while so occupied, as I see 

 Yarrell mentions an exactly similar case, where the Skua was 

 so engrossed as to let himself be taken with the hand. He 

 was much broader and more strongly built than the Herring 

 Gull, but had a less expanse of wing. 



Wood Pigeons appeared in November in numbers which, 

 unless seen, would seem fabulous, and, however unpopular 

 among farmers the opinion may be, I firmly believe many 

 of these birds come from abroad. It is only in exceptional 

 years, however, that the influx from beyond seas is large. 

 This year it was prodigious, and the newly-arrived multi- 

 tudes were at first quite ignorant of guns. Wood Pigeons 

 are the locusts of Scottish agriculture. Next in number 

 have been the Thrushes, which are unusually abundant. Of 

 these, the Fieldfare, the most numerous and yet the weakest 

 of its tribe, has hitherto escaped the storms of frost and snow 

 which invariably strew the fields with their dead. I presume 

 it is chiefly the first year's birds which are so easily starved. 



What has struck me as the most remarkable incident 

 with regard to the Thrushes is, that I have, for the first time, 

 heard the song of the Missel Thrush. 



Mr Wood, in his "Natural History" (Birds), describes the 

 Missels song as "rich, loud, clear, and ringing, and that it 

 is heard in the roughest and most inclement weather." 

 Now, though the Missel is one of our most familiar birds, I 

 never heard it utter a sound save its harsh scream of warning 

 and alarm, till this winter. I was riding to the fox-hounds, 

 when I was startled by a bird-song that I was instantly 

 certain I had never before heard. I turned aside and rode 

 in the direction, and was astonished to find the voice was 

 that of a Missel perched on the top of a tree. The notes were 

 as Mr Wood describes — less varied than those of the song- 



