138 BIRDS. 
The following extract from Mr. Ben. N. Peach's letter, 
dated 9th July 1886, relates the actual taking of the young, 
and establishes the fact of its breeding.^ 
Mr. Peach says : " Yesterday {i.e. July 8th) young Gray ^ 
and I started for Corrie ^ and looked up the snow-bunt- 
ing's nest. What our disappointment was when we found 
the nest empty, you may easily guess. I noticed, however, 
some dead crane-flies and beetles in the nest, and just 
outside were the fresh-made droppings of the young birds. 
I searched among the stones and found one of the young 
ones lying dead just underneath the nest, and within six 
inches of it. This I secured, and placed in the bottle 
of spirits I had taken with me, and while doing so, the 
hen bird came flying to within two yards of where we were 
standing. She had her bill stufied full of crane-flies ready 
to feed the young ones with, and after flying to where the 
nest was she gave a peculiar ' chur '-like sound, and she 
was immediately answered by the surviving young ones, 
which had evidently crept out of the nest, and were hiding 
under the large stone which covered it. We saw her feed- 
ing them, and while she was doing so the cock-bird came, 
and flew about us, but he was much more shy, and never 
came nearer than from ten to fifteen yards of us. The hen 
came fearlessly to within two yards of us, and had -we been 
nearer the young I have no doubt she would have come 
still closer. When the hen had once more given over 
catering, we lifted more of the stones that were lying im- 
mediately beneath the nest, and there we found two more 
dead young ones, both of which we secured. 
^ The first published notice of the fact is contained in a few lines to the 
Zoologist for August 1886, but on the 31st July Mr. Hinxman's account was 
read at the meeting of the Inverness Field Club by Mr. Wallace. 
^ A. Gray, eldest son of the late Mr. Robert Gray, of Edinburgh, the author 
of The Birds of the West of Scotland. 
^ We have considered it desirable to rechristen the corrie as Coire nan 
t' sneadhaidh (the Corrie of the Snowbird). Vide Plate. 
