COL. CAMPBELL ON DISTRIBUTION OF PERTHSHIRE BIRDS. IO9 
Cypselin^e. —The Common Swift (^Cypsclus cipus^ is common 
throughout Europe and Asia. I have seen it in Belgium, France, 
Denmark, Sweden, and Russia, screaming round the towers of the 
Kremlin at Moscow, in much the same fashion as it does round 
the steeple of St. John’s Church here. I have also seen it in Cash- 
mere and Ladakh in the months of May and June, so I have no 
doubt it breeds in those countries. The Swift arrives with us about 
the 5th of May, and leaves about the 12th of August; but I have on 
one occasion seen it in the south of England, between Dover and 
Deal, so late as 5th September. 
Caprimulgid^.— The Common Nightjar {Caprimulgus europcEus) 
is a summer visitor, and is found throughout the county in fir woods 
and beds of bracken. It is well known over Europe and Asia, but 
is replaced in Northern India by an allied species. 
Picid^e.— There are Perthshire specimens of the Great Spotted 
Woodpecker {Picus major), the Green Woodpecker {Gecinus viridis), 
and the Wryneck ( Ytmx torqiiilla) in the Museum. Col. Drummond 
Hay informs me he has frequently heard the note of the latter in the 
Ballathie and Easkally woods. They are all, however, very rare in 
Scotland, though distributed in suitable localities over the whole of 
Europe. 
Alcedin^. —The Common Kingfisher {Alcedo ispida) —I wish it 
were more common in Perthshire—is found throughout Europe, 
migrating from the more northern countries when the streams become 
frozen, and being resident in France and Spain, where I have seen it. 
Upupid/e. —I have already mentioned that a specimen of the 
Hoopoe {Upupa epops) is to be found in the Museum, and Sir Robert 
Moncreiffe has another specimen, but its proper habitat is the south 
of Europe, Egypt, Persia, and India, where it is very common. I 
have seen it breeding in Cashmere. 
CucuLiDiE. —The Cuckoo {Cuciilus canorus), whose note is so 
commonly heard in all the wooded districts of the county, is widely 
distributed over the whole of Europe and Asia, from the extreme 
north—Lapland and Siberia—to the south of India. I once picked 
up a dried and dessicated specimen on the high table-land of Thibet, 
and I have seen specimens in St. Petersburg collected by Russian 
convicts on the island of Saghalien on the north-east coast of Asia. 
StrigidtE. —The Barn Owl {Strix flammea) was once common in 
Perthshire but has been nearly exterminated. I have seen it in 
Orkney and also at Dover, and I had a specimen sent me from 
Lewis. I shot specimens of a bird which Jerdon calls Strix javamca 
in different parts of the Punjab, which exactly agreed with Bewick’s 
description of Strix Jiammea, and I believe the Indian bird to be 
identical with the European one. 
