622 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
her young, drive her away, and fly off with a young bird each. 
Both build in the wild cliffs overhanging the sea, but they are often 
met with in the moors. The rook is rarely seen in Lewis. It is 
noticed only as an occasional visitor in winter, and, when disturbed, 
takes flight in the direction of the mainland ; yet there is 
abundance of food for it. Not only does the earthworm abound, 
but many hurtful grubs also. Cultivated patches were pointed out 
to me as having been destroyed by mildew, but on pulling up the 
plants by the roots, numerous wire worms of Tipula and Elator 
were seen. 
The jackdaw is absent, but the starling, which in many of its 
habits resembles this bird, is very abundant. The starling builds 
in the holes of rocks, and seems to be much more particular about 
its nest than it is in the south. In Lewis it uses moss and wool 
as a lining, and is often seen on the sheep’s back, not feeding on 
the ticks, which it sometimes does, but quietly pulling out the wool 
for nest-lining. 
Six species of the family Turdidce occur. Of these the dipper 
is the least common. The ring ousel is met with in summer. An 
interesting illustration of what might be called the adaptive power 
of instinct came under my notice in the little island named Pabba, 
near the Uig shore. On the 15th of June 1865, when examining 
the rocks of the island, I met with a nest of the common thrush, 
containing four eggs. In placing it at the top of a sand-covered 
rock, over the edge of which long stalks of lyme grass drooped, the 
bird had availed itself of these for a kind of cradle for the nest. 
Indeed, some of the leaves were woven into the outer covering of 
the nest, which was thus hung out over the bank. In the Low- 
lands the favourite nesting-place of the thrush is a tree or a bush ; 
but as these are of rare occurrence indeed in Lewis, the bird yields 
to circumstances, and places its nest in the hollows of the rocks, or 
on the top of sand-banks near the shore. In this case it had 
managed to place it where it would swing in the breeze. The 
nesting-time of the thrush in the south is in April and the begin- 
ning of May. These birds occur in great numbers all over Lewis. 
The missel-thrush and redwing appear in winter. In the south the 
former is most common, in the north the latter. 
The family SylvUdce is well represented. Some members occur 
