On the higher hills Snow Buntings are got in severe weather during winter; and Ptarmigan breed on Ben Lomond every year in limited numbers.

The flat shore at the mouth of the Endrick has proved a rich field for all kinds of waders. Here have been killed the Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Little Stint, and the Black-tailed Godwit in breeding plumage. In this district the Common and Jack Snipe are abundant, and the Freshwater Sandpiper and Dunlin

are far from rare.

In winter the loch is a harbour for many kinds of ducks, and Occasionally geese and wild swans. The Shoveller has been obtained, and also the Pin-tail and Long-tailed Duck. The Smew has once or twice been shot, and the Goosander is included in Mr Gray's list of Loch Lomond birds. Bernicle, Brent, Canada, and Egyptian Geese have all been shot on the loch; and both Bewick's Swan and the Whooper have been obtained in severe winters.

But there is perhaps no spot in the district so full of interest to the naturalist as Inch Moan, or the Peat Island, which is the breeding place of many gulls, terns, and ducks. The island is a long flat piece of ground, covered in some places with bog myrtle and rank grass mixed with heather. At the west end of the island is a clump of small Scotch fir trees, in the middle of which stands an old cottage, in the ruined chimneys of which Jackdaws breed every year. The nests of the Wild Duck, Teal, and Redbreasted Merganser, are got amongst the undergrowth and below furze bushes, on the drier parts of the ground.

Of the Gulls, the Black-headed is the first to arrive and take up its abode in the most marshy places; some of the nests being built on tussocks of grass or rushes, in the midst of pools and bogs. The Lesser Black-backed Gull is the next to come, and along with it a few pairs of the Great Black-backed. The Black-backs choose drier grass than the former species, and place their nests among the heather or other cover, and sometimes among the stones on the shore; the larger species especially choosing this position, and often building their clumsy nests close to the water's edge. After the gulls are all settled, the terns arrive, and usually breed on a part of the island where the ground is harder and the under growth not so rank.

I do not know a finer sight than the low island on a summer day. The Great Black-backed Gulls, with their hoarse, loud croak,

flying overhead; while the terns, with their sharper cry, dash backwards and forwards in their swallow-like flight; and from the beach is heard the trilling whistle of the Freshwater Sandpiper, or the single note of the Dunlin; the whole forming a scene which gladdens the heart of the lover of bird life. And the pleasure is increased from the knowledge that on Inch Moan the birds can rear their young in safety, as the owner preserves it strictly during the breeding season.

The following is a list of the species which have occurred in the Loch Lomond district.*

Order i., RAPTORES.

Fam. FALCONIDAE.

GOLDEN EAGLE, Aquila chrysaëtus (Linnaeus).

Rare; but sometimes seen in the vicinity.

WHITE-TAILED EAGLE, Haliaëtus albicilla (Linnaeus).

Has been observed.

OSPREY, Pandion haliaëtus (Linnaeus).

Used to breed on Inch Galbraith,† but none have been seen for some years.

PEREGRINE FALCON, Falco peregrinus. Gmelin.

Not very common, but breeds in the neighbourhood.

HOBBY, Falco subbuteo, Linnaeus.

Once an inhabitant of the district, but never met with now. It is included in the Rev. John Stewart's list of the birds of the parish of Luss.

MERLIN, Falco aesalon. Gmelin.

Not uncommon, but more rare than the Sparrow-hawk or Kestrel.

*

The nomenclature and arrangement followed is that of Harting's "Handbook of British Birds," London, 1872.

"Sporting Days," by John Colquhoun, p. 105.
"Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xvii., p. 247.

KESTREL, Falco tinnunculus. Linnaeus.

Common; breeds on some of the islands.

SPARROW-HAWK, Accipiter nisus (Linnaeus). Very common, and breeds in all the woods.

KITE, Milvus ictinus. Savigny.

Used to breed in Kenmore Wood, near Tarbert.*

COMMON BUZZARD, Buteo vulgaris. Leach. Not uncommon; breeds in the neighbourhood.

ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD, Buteo lagopus (Gmelin.). Has occurred in the district.

MARSH HARRIER, Circus aeruginosus (Linnaeus.) Included in Mr Stewart's list of the birds of Luss.

HEN HARRIER, Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus). Rare, but has bred in the neighbourhood.

Fam. STRIGIDAE.

WHITE OWL, Strix flammea. Linnaeus.

Not uncommon; breeds on some of the islands.

TAWNY OWL, Syrnium aluco (Linnaeus).

Common. Nests early in March.

LONG-EARED OWL, Otus vulgaris. Fleming. Very common in many of the woods on the loch side.

Rare.

SHORT-EARED OWL, Otus brachyotus (Forster).

Order ., INSESSORES.

Fam. LANIIDAE.

GREAT GREY SHRIKE, Lanius excubitor. Linnaeus.
Has been obtained once or twice on the borders of the lake.

*"Birds of the West of Scotland," by Robert Gray, 1871, p. 42.

Fam. MUSCICAPIDAE.

SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER, Muscicapa grisola. Linnaeus.

A very common summer migrant. A favourite place for the nest of this species is on fruit trees on garden walls.

Fam. CINCLIDAE.

DIPPER, Cinclus aquaticus. Bechstein.

Common on all the streams, where it breeds early in spring.

Fam. TURDIDAE.

MISSELTOE THRUSH, Turdus viscivorus. Linnaeus.

Very common.

SONG THRUSH, Turdus musicus. Linnaeus.

Exceedingly plentiful throughout the district.

FIELD-FARE, Turdus pilaris. Linnaeus.

Common in autumn and winter.

REDWING, Turdus iliacus. Linnaeus.

Like the last, a winter visitant.

BLACKBIRD, Turdus merula. Linnaeus.

Very common.

RING OUZEL, Turdus torquatus. Linnaeus. Breeds on most of the hills in the neighbourhood.

Fam. SYLVIIDAE.

HEDGE SPARROW, Accentor modularis (Linnaeus).

Very common.

REDBREAST, Erythaca rubecula (Linnaeus).

Very common.

REDSTART, Ruticilla phoenicura (Linnaeus).

A few are met with every year.

STONECHAT, Saxicola rubicola (Linnaeus).

Rather an uncommon species.

WHINCHAT, Saxicola rubetra (Linnaeus).

Like the preceding, not very common.

WHEATEAR, Saxicola oenanthe (Linnaeus).

Not nearly so common as in many other parts of Scotland.

GRASSHOPPER WARBLER, Salicaria locustella (Latham). Has been obtained.

SEDGE WARBLER, Salicaria phragmitis (Bechstein). Not uncommon.

Very rare.

BLACK CAP, Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus).

WHITE-THROAT, Sylvia cinerea. Latham.

Common.

LESSER WHITE-THROAT, Sylvia sylviclla. Latham.

Very rare.

WOOD WREN, Phyllopneuste sibilatrix (Bechstein). Common.*

Common.

Rare.

Very

WILLOW WREN, Phyllopneuste trochilus.

CHIFF CHAFF, Phyllopneuste rufa (Latham).

GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN, Regulus cristatus. Koch.

common.

RUBY-CROWNED WREN, Regulus calendula (Linnaeus).

One shot in the summer of 1852.t

"Scottish Naturalist." Vol. i., p. 269.
+ "Birds of West of Scotland," p. 100.