8 
A TRIP TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. 
Jan., 1891. 
visitor to the east coast on migration, and of somewhat 
irregular occurrence, spreads far inland in great flocks ; on 
the wing they much resemble Bullfinches, and the resem¬ 
blance is heightened by their white rump. Mr. Aplin 
remarks that nine-tenths of the birds shot are males, and a 
very large percentage of these adult birds. This quite bears 
out our own observation on the east coast of England, where 
we have seen in the autumn flights from 500 to over 1,000, 
presumably almost entirely composed of males. 
The Hawfinch has increased considerably in recent years. 
It is quite possible our local birds may receive considerable 
accessions in the autumn from the south-eastern countries 
on the Continent. It occurs as an irregular migrant at Heli¬ 
goland. Mr. Aplin has many interesting remarks on the 
domestic economy of the Hawfinch; the ease with which it 
will extract the kernels of stone fruit, at the same time 
rejecting the pulp, is remarkable. The Lesser Redpole appears 
to nest rather sparingly and locally in this county. The 
Arctic or Mealy Redpole, the true Linota linaria of Linnaeus, 
has so far not been recognised as occurring. 
We are glad to see that our author has spoken a word in 
favour of the useful Starling, in connection with its great 
services rendered to the farmer and gardener. 
John Cordeaux. 
(To be continued.) 
NOTES ON A TRIP TO THE ORKNEY AND SHETLAND 
ISLES, AND ON SOME SINGULAR WATER-WORN 
ROCKS IN ORKNEY.* 
BY W. P. MARSHALL, M.I.C.E. 
The Orkney and Shetland Isles extend 170 miles beyond 
the northern extremity of Scotland, and have a distance of 50 
miles of open sea intervening between them, each of them 
consisting of a group of islands. They present, in several 
points, a striking difference from the mainland ; they have a 
milder climate, notwithstanding their northern position, on 
account of being completely immersed in the Gulf Stream, 
and the temperature is greatly equalised throughout the year 
by the surrounding water. The climate is considerably 
warmer in winter than in Scotland, and ice and snow are 
but little known. 
These islands are, however, exposed to violent gales from 
the Atlantic, and very destructive action of the sea upon the 
coast, especially on the western side. The result is, very 
*Read before the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical 
Society, 15th October, 1889. 
