I. RECENT SPECIES.

ORDER I.: CHIROPTERA.

Family: VESPERTILIONIDAE.

1. PLECOTUS AURITUS (Linnaeus). Long-eared Bat.

Not uncommon in the southern and central counties, but rarer in the north. It occurs in Arran, Islay, Mull, and probably in the other Inner Hebrides, but has not been recorded from the Outer Islands, nor from Orkney or Shetland.

[RHINOLOPHUS HIPPOSIDEROS (Bechstein).—The Lesser Horseshoe Bat is stated by Dr. A. R. Young to have occurred, along with the last species, at Crookston Castle, Renfrewshire (New Stat. Acc. Renfr., p. 162). All inquiries as to the fate of the specimen have been in vain, and I greatly suspect a mistake in identification.]

2. VESPERUGO PIPISTRELLUS (Schreber).

Common Bat.

Scot., Bak, Bakie, Backie-bird (Swed., Natt-baka, a bat; Old Norse, blaka, to flap); Gael., Ialtag, Dialtag.

Much the commonest species of Bat in Scotland, extending quite to the north of the mainland, but rare in some localities, as in the west of Sutherlandshire, where I have only once seen a specimen. It is common in Arran, Islay, and Mull, but appears to be scarce in the Outer Islands. The late Capt. M'Donald, of Rodil, told Mr. Harvie-Brown that he had only once seen a Bat. in Harris, and Baikie and Heddle mention a few instances of their occurrence in Orkney (Hist. Nat. Orc., p. 14).

[VESPERUGO NOCTULA (Schreber).—Fleming identified the Vespertilio auriculatus of Walker's "Fauna Scotica" (Essays Nat. Hist., p. 472) with this species (Brit. An., p. 6), but the description agrees much better with V. daubentoni. The Great Bat is also stated by the late Sir William Jardine to have been seen near the River Annan, in Dumfriesshire (New Stat. Acc. Dumfr., p. 175), but its occurrence in Scotland has not been confirmed. The most northern English locality which has been recorded is Northallerton, in Yorkshire (Bell's Brit. Quad., 2nd ed., p. 23).]

[ATALAPHA CINEREA (Beauvois).

Under the name of Vespertilio pruinosus, Say, the late Mr. Wolley recorded the capture of a specimen of this American species in South Ronaldsha, Orkney, in 1847 (Zoologist, 1849, p. 2343; op. cit., 1850, pp. 2695, 2813). As he himself suggested, there can be little doubt that it was accidentally brought over in a ship. As far as I am aware this is the only known instance of an exclusively American bat having been taken in Europe.]

3. VESPERTILIO DAUBENTONI, Leisler.

Daubenton's Bat.

Appears to be pretty widely distributed on the mainland, but to be local. It was first correctly identified as a Scottish species by William Macgillivray, who took it in Aberdeen Cathedral, in 1840 (Edin. N. Phil. Journ., XXXI., p. 205), and John Macgillivray captured eighty individuals in two clusters in the same building (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., VIII., p. 230). Fleming had already recorded its occurrence in Fifeshire under the name of V. emarginatus (Brit. An., p. 6); Macgillivray found it in Dumfriesshire (Nat. Libr., XXII., p. 95); Mr. R. Gray tells me he has met with it in Kirkcudbright; a specimen captured in Glasgow Green, is preserved in the University Museum (Alston, P. N. H. S. Glasg., I., p. 203); and another, caught in the West-end Park, has been lately submitted to me by Mr. J. M. Campbell. As above remarked, this probably may be the V. auriculatus of Walker, but his description is quite insufficient for certain identification, otherwise his name would take priority of Leisler's.

ORDER II:

INSECTIVORA.

Family: ERINA CEIDAE.

Hedgehog.

4. ERINACEUS EUROPAEUS, Linnaeus.

Scot., Hurchin, Hyrchoune (Barbour). (From Old French, Eriçon, a hedgehog, or from Low Germ., hurken, to crouch or curl?)

Gael., Crainaig.

Very common in the Lowlands, and rapidly spreading to the northward, but has not yet been met with in Sutherlandshire.

The Rev. G. Gordon informs me that it is increasing in numbers in Morayshire, where it was formerly rare. Mr. Colquhoun says that it is common in Bute (Sporting Days, p. 101), but it is unknown in Arran, Mull, Islay, the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. The history of the increase of range of this and the next species in Scotland would well repay careful investigation.

Mole.

Family: TALPIDAE.

5. TALPA EUROPAEA, Linnaeus.

Scot., Moudie, Moudiewart (Old English, Mouldwarp, a mole ; Angl. Sax., molde, soil, weorpan, to throw); Earth-hound (Aberdeen). Gael., Famh, Uir-reathaldh, Uireabh (lit., earth-plougher).

Like the last species, the Mole has greatly extended its range of late years, and is now well known throughout the mainland to Sutherlandshire and Caithness. Thirty-six years ago it was recorded as spreading rapidly in west Argyllshire (New Stat. Acc. Argyl., pp. 380, 439). In Mull it is said to have been accidentally introduced in a boat-load of earth from Morven early in the last century, but it appears to be unknown in the rest of the Scottish Islands.

Family: SORICIDAE.

6. SOREX TETRAGONURUS, Herman.

Common Shrew.

Scot., Shrew-mouse; Orc., Sheer-mouse.

Gael., Daltag, Daltag-fheior (from Gael., dall, blind, and fheoir, grass).

Common in all the mainland counties, as it is said to be in Arran, Islay, and Mull; "not very numerous" in Orkney (Hist. Nat. Orc., p. 14), but some doubt remains as to whether it is not the next species that is found there. According to W. Macgillivray, the Common Shrew is found in the Outer Hebrides on sandy pastures, where it is termed Luch-fheior (Edinb. Journ. Nat. and Geogr. Sc., II., p. 162), a name properly belonging to the Field Vole (infra, p. 28); but, as will be seen directly, the Hebridean Shrew is Sorex minutus.

Lesser Shrew.

7. SOREX MINUTUS, Linnaeus.

Has been generally confounded with the last species, and appears to be generally less numerous. J. Macgillivray, who first recorded it as a Scottish animal under Jenyns' name of S. rusticus, considered it to be as abundant as the Common Shrew near Aberdeen (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., VIII., p. 23), and the Rev. G. Gordon tells me that specimens which he sent to Mr. Jenyns from Morayshire were identified by that gentleman with the same species. In the south-west it is not rare in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire (Alston, Fauna W. Scotl., p. v.). Mr. Harvie-Brown has recently sent me an example of the Shrew of the Outer Hebrides, caught by him this summer in South Uist, and I was much interested in finding that it belonged to this species, the only one yet positively known to occur in Ireland.

Water Shrew.

8. CROSSOPUS FODIENS (Pallas).

Gael., Famh-uisge (lit., water-mole).

Both the white-throated form and the dark race, formerly separated as C. remifer (Geoffroy), are widely but locally distributed throughout the mainland, and intermediate varieties constantly occur. The species was first added to the Scottish fauna by the late Dr. Scoular, who took specimens near Glasgow (Mag. Nat. Hist., VI., p. 512), and it has since been found as far north as Sutherlandshire, where it is not uncommon. Baikie and Heddle state that one was killed in Waas, Orkney (Hist. Nat. Orc., p. 14), and it is not rare in Arran, but I have been unable to ascertain its existence in any of the other Islands.

Wild Cat.

ORDER III.: CARNIVORA.

Family: FELIDAE.

9. FELIS CATUS, Linnaeus.

Gael., Cat-fhiadhaich (lit., wild cat), Braiene.

Once generally distributed over the mainland, the Wild Cat has been totally extirpated in the Lowlands and in many parts of the Highlands. It is still to be found, however, in the wilder districts of most of the northern counties, especially in the deer-forests,

where it is left comparatively undisturbed. Till of late years its southern outpost was the mountainous country around Loch Lomond, whence there are specimens in the Glasgow University Museum; but it is now extinct in that neighbourhood (Lumsden, P. N. H. S. Glasgow, III., p. 189), and I believe that none now exist south of the northern districts of Argyll and Perthshire. There appears to be no evidence that the Wild Cat was ever found in any of the Islands, Pennant's statement that it was a native of Arran being probably erroneous.

Fox.

Family: CANIDAE.

10. CANIS VULPES, Linnaeus.

Scot., Tod (Old Islandic, toa, a fox).

Gael., Sionnach, Balgair, Madadh-ruadh (lit., red hound). Universally distributed on the mainland, both in the Lowlands and Highlands, but absent from the Islands, except Skye (Duns). In Mull there is a tradition that Foxes were formerly found, but were exterminated about the middle of the last century.

Family: MUSTELIDAE.

11. MARTES SYLVESTRIS, Nilsson.

Yellow-breasted Marten.

Scot., Mertrick (Ang. Sax., mearth, a marten).

Gael., Taghan (from Gael., taghanach, surly, sulky?).

Like the Wild Cat, the Marten has been exterminated in most parts of the Lowlands, but a few still linger in some parts of the south-west. Macgillivray mentions a Lanarkshire specimen (Nat. Libr., XXII., p. 168), and one was killed in Ayrshire, near Maybole, in 1876 (Alston, Fauna W. Scotl., p. vi.). In the Highlands also it is much reduced in numbers, and in many places is already quite extinct, but still finds a refuge in the wilds of most of the counties north of Perth and Argyll, especially in the deer-forests. It does. not appear to be a native of any of the Inner Islands, but, curiously enough, is well known in the Outer Hebrides, where it was noted as far back as 1715 by Martin (West. Isles, p. 36). When Macgillivray wrote (1838) it was "abundant" in Harris, but Mr. Harvie-Brown informs me that it is now almost exterminated

there.