102 TRANSACTIONS—PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. 
a veritable vade-mecum and accompanied me in all my wanderings. 
However light was the marching order in which I was frequently 
obliged to travel, it invariably formed part of my kit, and was second 
in importance only to my rifle, my gun, and ammunition. In the 
forests of the Dhoon, in the Valley of Cashmere, over the Himalayas to 
Ladakh and Thibet, on the plains of the Punjaub, and in the Bamboo 
jungles of Central India, it was my constant companion. When the 
day’s work was over I used to sit by the camp-fire and consult its 
pages, making notes of any rare species I had come across; and I can 
assure you nothing ever gave me greater pleasure than recording the 
occurrence of some well-known home bird. 
I have also been indebted to “Yarrell’s British Birds” for much 
valuable information. 
Merulid^e. —Of the Merulid^ or Thrushes our well known Song 
Thrush {Tiirdus musicus)^ the Missel Thrush (71 viscivorus), the Red¬ 
wing {T. iliacus)^ the Fieldfare (71 pilaris), the Blackbird (71 merula), 
and the Ring Ousel (71 torquatus), are more or less migratory, and are 
generally distributed throughout the whole of Europe and Central 
Asia. Large numbers are snared all over the Continent, and I have 
seen all the above species hanging up in the poulterers’ shops in the 
towns throughout France, Italy, Belgium, and Spain. The Common 
Dipper {Cinclus aquaticus) is, as is well known, found on all our 
streams, and on most of the fast running rivers of Europe ; in the 
Northern Countries, migrating when they become frozen. On one 
occasion I found a nest of young Dippers on the banks of the Avon, 
near Hamilton, and wishing to try their swimming powers, I put them 
in a pool of water which had been left by the river after a spate. 
Though these birds’ flying powers in the air were so limited that I 
could easily catch them, they flew under water with the greatest 
rapidity, moving their wings as if they were flying, and, whilst quite 
submerged, cleaving their way through the water like an expert diver. 
Before leaving the Thrushes I would refer to a bird not quoted in 
the Catalogue, viz., the Black Throated Thrush (71 atrigularis), a 
specimen of which we have in the Museum. Colonel Drummond 
Hay informs me that it was shot in February, 1879, and “ was one of 
a pair feeding on the banks of the Tay near Friarton; ” but how they 
got there, or where they wandered from, is a mystery. Jerdon 
mentions it as from the Himalayas, and Colonel Drummond Hay 
suggests “these are doubtless strays from Siberia.” 
Insessores—SAXICOLIN.E. —The Common Wheatear (A. oenafithe), 
the Whin Chat {Pratincola rubetra), and the Stone Chat {F. ruhicola), 
have a wide European range, and, whilst the Stone Chat has been 
reported as far east as Japan, the Wheatear is included in the fauna 
