of Edinburgh^ Session 1865 - 66 . 625 
abundant, and the whimbrel is seen in May for a short time. It 
does not seem to breed in Lewis. 
The Totanidoe are represented by the redshank, which is not 
common, and is seen only in summer. Three species of Scolopacidm 
are met with. The common snipe is abundant throughout the 
year. The jack-snipe is not common in winter. The woodcock 
arrives, but not in great numbers, in October. In no case have 
they been known to remain during summer. 
The common heron is often observed in winter ; very seldom at 
any other season. The water-rail is not common. It is found 
throughout the year. The land-rail arrives between the middle 
and end of May ; but a curious fact was brought under my notice 
in regard to it : its cry is frequently heard in Bernera, Uig, ten 
days or a week earlier than in the Long Island itself. 
No fewer than nineteen species of Anatidce have been met with 
in Lewis. Among these, the grey lag and bean goose are seen 
occasionally in winter ; the pink-footed or short- billed goose breeds 
in the Flannen Islands; the white-fronted goose, the swan, 
shieldrake, velvet and black scoters, appear in winter ; the pintail 
teal is rare. The wigeon has frequently been shot in Lewis, though 
Mr Macgillivray says, “ In the north of Scotland they are un- 
common ; on its north-west coast scarcely ever seen ; in the Outer 
Hebrides, I believe, never.” The broad-billed scaup duck is a rare 
winter visitant. The eider duck breeds in the Flannen Isles. I 
saw a pair which had been brought to Bernera two days before my 
visit. I observed a pair of the golden eye on a small lake in Uig in 
June. I watched them with a field-glass for about an hour. One of 
Sir James Matheson’s keepers was with me, but they never came 
within gun-shot. The gooseander breeds occasionally in the district. 
All the other forms named in the list of birds are abundant, with 
the exception of the little grebe, which is not very common. 
Under Reptilia I have set down the common adder; but its oc- 
currence in Lewis is apocryphal, though assured by several that they 
had seen what must have been an adder. The only reptile is the slow 
worm, of which the people have a great and superstitious dread, 
though it is perfectly harmless. The frog, the toad, and the newt 
are absent. On this account, the people call Lewis a blessed country, 
in being so free from the evil creatures that abound in the south ! 
