CRAVING FOR NATURE.
Yet he never could get rid of his love of Nature. He continued to admire the works of the Creator as much as ever. On recovering from one of his illnesses, he went to Huntly for a change of air. His wife accompanied him. When she proposed doing so, he asked the reason. “O!” she replied, “just to keep ye company, and to help ye.” Accordingly she went with him. While at Huntly, he felt his old craving for Nature returning upon him. He wished to go out and search the woods, the mosses, and the burns, as before; but his wife never left him.
Whenever he indicated an intention of penetrating a hedge or leaping a wall, she immediately interfered. The hedge would tear his clothes, and she could not accompany him in jumping dykes. He demurred, and said, that if he went across, he would “come back again.” But that did not suit her purpose, and she would not let him go. As evening approached, she said, “We’ll awa back noo.” He protested that he would rather stay out. “No, no,” said she, “I’m no gaun intill a hole like a wild beast; and, besides, the nicht air would kill me.” In fact, as he afterwards observed, “he had fallen into the hands of the Philistines.”
TRAPS AT TARLAIR.
Edward still took pleasure in wandering along the coast, and surveying the scenes of his former exploits. One day he took a friend round to Tarlair, to look atthe rock from which he had fallen. Standing on the high ground above the shore, and looking down upon the rock-pools beneath the promontory, he observed: “I set many of my traps down there. I filled them with seaweed, and sometimes with a piece of dead fish. The sea came in and filled my traps, and sometimes brought in many rare Crustacea. I set my traps along the coast for about ten miles, from Portsoy to Melrose Head. Many a time have I scrambled amongst these rocks. But when I took ill, and the inflammation went to my brain, I had to leave all my traps, and there they are still.”
“What a fine chance that will be for some future Ichthyologist,” said his friend; “he will find the traps ready-made, and perhaps full of new species of crustaceans!” “Weel,” said Edward, “it may be sae; but I dinna think there’ll be sic a feel as me for mony a lang year to come!”
Although he had long given up searching along shore for new specimens of Fish, Crustaceans, or Molluscs, yet he had still another discovery to announce. There was a new fish remaining in his possession which had been entirely lost sight of. He had taken it in 1868, whilst searching amongst the rock-pools at the Links. He kept it alive for two days, and when it died he put it into a bottle, intending to send it to Mr. Couch; but somehow or other the bottle got lost, and, though he turned the house almost upside down, he could never find it.
THE NILSSON’S GOBY.
Only about a year ago, while turning over his papers to find the letters referred to in the preceding pages, he found the bottle containing the new fish at the bottom of the box. How great was his delight! But what was he to do with it? Mr. Couch was dead, all his fish friends were dead, and he did not know to whom to apply, to name the new fish. But as he was about to proceed to Aberdeen to see Mr. Reid, who was so kind as to offer to paint his portrait, he took the fish with him. Mr. Reid procured an introduction for him, through Dean of Guild Walker, to Professor Nicol of Marischal College. The Professor did not at first recognise the fish, but on referring to his works on Ichthyology, he found that it was a specimen of Nilsson’s Goby, a species not before known to have been taken in British seas.
Notwithstanding the thousands of specimens and the hundreds of cases that Edward had been obliged to part with during his successive illnesses,[58]he has still sixty cases filled with about two thousand specimens of natural objects. During his lifetime he has made about five hundred cases with no other toolsthan his shoemaker’s knife and hammer, and a saw; and he papered, painted, and glazed them all himself.
EDWARD’S DISCOVERIES.
As to the number of different species that he has accumulated during thirty years of incessant toil, it is of course impossible to form an estimate, as he never kept a log-book; but some idea of his persevering labours may be formed from the list of Banffshire Fauna annexed to this volume.
Many of his discoveries have already become facts in history, but a large proportion of them can never be known. His specimens were sent to others to be named, but many of them were never afterwards heard of. This was particularly the case with his shrimps, insects, zoophytes, corals, sponges, sea-slugs, worms, tunicata or leathern-bag molluscs, fossils, and plants. “Had any one,” he says, “taken pity on me in time (as has sometimes been done with others), and raised me from the dirt, I might have been able to name my own specimens, and thereby made my own discoveries known myself.”
Many of Edward’s friends told him that he should have extended his inquiries into Aberdeenshire and the northern counties; and that he should have explored the coasts of the Moray Firth in all directions. Others told him that he should have written and published much more than he did, or was ever able to do; and that he should have given many more facts to the public. The only reply that he gave to such advisers was, that he had neither the opportunitynor the means of doing so, having to work for his daily bread all the time that he was carrying on his researches.
AT LAST ACCREDITED.
He had another difficulty to contend with, besides his want of time and means. When he did publish what he had observed with his own eyes, and not in books through the eyes of others, his facts were often disputed by the higher class of Naturalists. He was under the impression that this arose from the circumstance that they had never been heard of before, and that they had now been brought to light by a poor shoemaker—a person of no standing whatever. This deterred him, in a great measure, from publishing his observations, as he did not like his veracity to be called in question. And it was not until years after, when others higher up the ladder of respectability had published the same facts, that his observations were accredited,—simply because they could no longer be denied.
Towards the close of his labours, Edward, on looking back, was himself surprised that in the midst of his difficulties—his want of learning, his want of time, his want of books—he should have been able to accomplish the little that he did. He had had so many obstructions to encounter. His bringing up as a child, and his want of school education, had been very much against him. Then he had begun to work for daily bread at six years old, and he had continued to labour incessantly for the rest of his life. Of coursethere was something much more than the mere manual labourer in him. His mind had risen above his daily occupation. For he had the soul of a true man. Above all, he loved Nature and Nature’s works.
SELF-RELIANCE.
We need not speak of his stern self-reliance and his indomitable perseverance. These were among the prominent features of his character. Of his courage, it is scarcely necessary to speak. When we think of his nightly wanderings, his trackings of birds for days together, his encounters with badgers and polecats, his climbing of rocks, and his rolling down cliffs in search of sea-birds, we cannot but think that he taxed his courage a great deal too much.
A great point with him, was his sobriety. For thirty-six years he never entered a public-house nor a dram shop. He was not a teetotaller. Sobriety was merely his habit. Some of his friends advised him to take “a wee drap whisky” with him on cold nights; but he never did. He himself believes that had he drunk whisky, he never could have stood the wet, the cold, and the privations to which he was exposed during so many years of his life. When he went out at night, his food consisted for the most part of plain oatmeal cakes; and his drink was the water from the nearest brook.
He never lost a moment of time. When his work for the day was over, he went out to the links or the fields with his supper of oatmeal cakes in his hand; and after the night had passed, he returnedhome in time for his next day’s work. He stuffed his birds, or prepared the cases for his collection, by the light of the fire. He was never a moment idle.
EDWARD’S FAMILY.
Another thing must be mentioned to his credit,—and here his wife must share the honour. He brought up his large family of eleven children respectably and virtuously. He educated them much better than he himself had been educated. They were all well clad and well shod, notwithstanding the Scottish proverb to the contrary.[59]Both parents must have felt hope and joy in the future lives of their children. This is one of the greatest comforts of the poor,—to see their family growing up in knowledge, virtue, industry, well-being, and well-doing. We might say much of Edward’s eldest daughter, who has not only helped to keep her parents, but to maintain her brother at school and college. It is families such as these, that maintain the character and constitute the glory of their country.
But to return to Edward and his culture. In one of the earliest letters which the author addressed to him, he made inquiry as to the manner in which he had become acquainted with the scientific works which are so necessary for the study of Natural History. “You seem to wonder,” he said in his reply, “why I did not mentionbooksin my memoir. You may just as well wonder how I can string a few sentences together,or, indeed, how I can write at all. My books, I can tell you, were about as few, as my education was brief and homespun.
“I thought you knew—yes, I am sure you knew—that any one having the Mind and the Will, need not stick fast even in this world. True, he may not shine so greatly as if he were better polished and better educated; but he need not sink in the mire altogether.
HIS POWER OF WILL.
“You may very likely wonder at what I have been able to do—being only a poor souter,[60]—with no one to help me, and but few to encourage me in my labours. Many others have wondered, like yourself. The only answer I can give to such wonderers is, that I had thewillto do the little that I have accomplished.
“If what I have done by myself, unaided and alone and without the help of books, surpasses the credulity of some, what might I not have accomplished had I obtained the help from others which was so often promised me! But that time is past, and there is no use in saying anything more about it. If I suffered privations, I had only myself and my love of Nature to blame.”
He was sometimes told that it was his “pride” which prevented him from being assisted as he should have been. His answer was, that he did not know anything about pride. But if it consisted in not solicitingaid when in want, and in endeavouring to conceal his poverty even when in need of help,—in order that the world might not know of the misery which himself, his wife, and his family suffered,—then he did not hesitate to say that he and his wife were proud. They never refused a kindly gift, but they always refused public charity.
NEVER DESPAIR!
“Although,” he says in a recent letter, “I have not known the pangs of want for some time, thanks to my children, I could scarcely have failed to do so in the years that are past. It would have been beyond the common run of things, if I had not. What working-man, especially what journeyman shoemaker, could have brought up and educated a large family, without at times feeling privation and the pressure of poverty? There are other trades which have their dull seasons; but, unlike most other tradesmen, shoemakers are not, from their low pay, able to lay anything by, even when they have plenty of work. And, as a matter of course, this made the struggle, when it did come, all the worse to bear.
“From these facts and others which I have told you before, I say, and am ready to maintain against every opposition, that no one who steps this earth, or even crawls upon it, need ever despair, after what I have done, of achieving whatever of good they have once set their minds on. Firmness of purpose and the Will to do and dare, will accomplish, I may say, almost anything. The Will is the key that opens thedoor to every path, whether it be of Science or of Nature, and every one has it in his power to choose the road for himself.”
MONEY CONSIDERATIONS.
Notwithstanding Edward’s power of will and indomitable perseverance, and the amount of useful scientific work which he has accomplished, it was easy to see that he was rather disappointed at the results of his labours. It is true that his zoological labours did not enable him to earn money: indeed, he had not worked for money considerations. Natural science is always unremunerative, especially to those who have to work for their daily bread.[61]Nor had his self-imposed labours lifted him above his position in any way. He began life as a shoemaker, and he continued a shoemaker to the end. Many called him a fool because he gave himself up to “beasts.” He himself says, “I have been a fool to Nature all my life.”
“If it had not been for the industry of my children,” he says, “my wife and myself would have been in starvation these many years back, as all that I have been making could scarcely have kept myself in bread. So that is something. But if ever I complained about my life, I never meant it to be in that way. Had the object of my life been money insteadof Nature,—had I pursued the one with half the ardour and perseverance that I did the other,—I have no hesitation in saying that by this time I would have been a rich man.
THINGS HE HAS NOT DONE.
“But it is not the things I have done that vexes me so much, as the things that I havenotdone. I feel that Icouldhave accomplished so much more. I did not want the will, but I wanted the means. It is that consideration that hurts me when I think about it, as I sometimes do. I know what I have done, and from that I can conceive how much more I might have done had I got but a little help. Think yourself—only think for a few moments—of a poor illiterate working man struggling against every sort of privation for so many years, with no other object in view but simply to gain a little knowledge of the works of creation,—think of that, and say if I can be blamed because I occasionally grieve that I had no help, when it would have enabled me to do so much more than I have already done. For these reasons I sometimes consider my life to have been a blasted one—like a diamond taken from the mine, and, instead of being polished, crushed to the earth in a thousand fragments.”
EDWARD AT HOME.
Still, Edward must, to a great extent, have enjoyed a happy life. He was hopeful and cheerful. He had always some object to pursue, with a purpose. That constitutes one of the secrets of happiness. He had an interesting hobby: that is another secret.Natural History is one of the most delightful of hobbies. He had the adventure, the chase, the capture, and often the triumph of discovery. He must have found great delight in finding a new bird, a new star-fish, a new crustacean, a new ascidian. It must also have been a pleasure to him to be in correspondence with some of the most enlightened men of the time; to have received their congratulations upon his discoveries; and to have been rewarded with the titular honours which they had to bestow.
But what did they think of him at home? A man may be a well-disposed man out of doors, yet altogether different in his domestic circle. Follow him home, and see what he is there. We have seen that Edward was a happy father and a happy husband. His children, as we have said, were brought up well and virtuously. There was no better conducted family in Banff. When young they assisted him in his labours amongst his fishes and crustaceans; and, when old, they were proud to help him in all ways. Is not this a great feature in a man’s character?
What did his wife say of him? When reminded of his wanderings about at night, and asked what she thought of them, she replied, “Weel, he took such an interest in beasts, that I didna compleen. Shoemakers were then a very drucken set, but his beasts keepit him frae them. My man’s been a sober man all his life; and he never negleckit his wark. Sae I let him be.” Wise woman!
Scotch people are very reticent. They rarely speak of love or affection. It is all “understood.” It is said that a Scotchman will never tell his wife that he loves her, until he is dying. But you can always tell, from the inside of a house, what the woman is, and how her husband regards her. In these respects, it may be said, that Edward, though poor and scrimp of means, has always enjoyed a happy home; and that is saying a great deal.
HIS OUTSIDE HELPERS.
It is not, however, the amount of love and respect with which a man is regarded at home, that satisfies him,—so much as the esteem with which he is regarded by his fellow-men. When a man works gratuitously for science, and labours for the advancement of knowledge, he seems entitled to admiration and respect. But Edward did not think that his labours had been properly recognised. This seems to have vexed him very much. He had often been promised aid in the shape of books. But no such aid ever came. “All my honours,” said he, “have come from a distance. I have kept the museum of the Banff Institution for about twenty-one years, for I may say almost nothing; and though the Linnean Society thought me worthy of being elected an Associate, the people here did not think me worthy of being an honorary member of their Society. Still, I am not complaining. The people of Banff had no right to make me a gentleman.”
The truth is, that it was a misfortune for Edwardto have lived so far from the centre of scientific pursuits. Banff was a place comparatively unknown. In the pursuit of science, a man requires fellowship. He especially requires the fellowship of books. Banff could do little for him in this respect. Had he lived in a larger town, with a library at his command, he could have acquired the friendship of scientific men, who are rarely disposed to be narrow in their “encouragement of native genius and talent,” however poor the student may be.
HIS FAILURES.
But it was difficult for Edward to remove to any other place. He had his family to provide for, and he had not the means of removing them elsewhere. He was tied like a limpet to its rock. Still, he did all that he could to improve his position where he was. He tried to secure an appointment in connection with the police; but having no influence, he failed. He applied to the London College of Surgeons for a curatorship, but Mr. Quekett having informed him that it was only a fourth portership that was wanted, he failed there too. Then he studied electricity, for the purpose of assisting a doctor in electrifying his patients; but thinking that he might kill more than he could cure, he gave up the idea of proceeding further. He next tried photography, but not being provided with sufficient capital, he gave up that too. The last application he made was for an appointment as sub-curator of the City Industrial Museum of Glasgow, but he received no encouragement.
RESIGNATION.
After abandoning photography as a means of subsistence, he returned to his old trade. “As a last and only remaining source,” he said in June 1875, “I betook myself to my old and time-honoured friend, a friend of fifty years’ standing, who has never yet forsaken me, nor refused help to my body when weary, nor rest to my limbs when tired—my well-worn cobbler’s stool.And here I am stillon the old boards, doing what little I can, with the aid of my well-worn kit, to maintain myself and my family; with the certainty that instead of my getting the better of the lapstone and leather, they will very soon get the better of me. And although I am now like a beast tethered to his pasturage, with a portion of my faculties somewhat impaired, I can still appreciate and admire as much as ever the beauties and wonders of Nature, as exhibited in the incomparable works of our adorable Creator.”
man sitting in workshop“AND HERE I AM STILL.”
“AND HERE I AM STILL.”
[Only a selection of the Fauna is given in the following pages. Had the Insects, Reptiles, Starfishes, Zoophytes, Molluscs, Plants, etc., which Edward found in Banffshire, been given, it would have more than filled the present volume.]
[Only a selection of the Fauna is given in the following pages. Had the Insects, Reptiles, Starfishes, Zoophytes, Molluscs, Plants, etc., which Edward found in Banffshire, been given, it would have more than filled the present volume.]
ByTHOMAS EDWARD, A.L.S.
Meles taxus[Badger or Brock]. Seep. 102.
Sparingly met with in our wooded districts.
Mustela martes[Pine Marten].
Found chiefly in the higher parts of the county. One was observed, in 1848, to descend from a tree in the hills of Boyndie, and go into a rabbit’s hole. The hole was stopped up, and a spade was brought to dig the animal out. It had, however, escaped by another outlet from the burrow.
Mustela putorius[Polecat or Fumart].
Seepage 116.
Mustela vulgaris[Weasel or Whitret].
More frequent than the polecat. Whilst the latter would seem to delight more in plantations and whins, the other would appear to think more of old dykes, grassy hillocks, and small cairns of stones. Both are very destructive, killing much more than they devour. Seep. 111.
Mustela erminea[Ermine or Stoat].
This species is often mistaken for the weasel. They are very similar during summer, their colours being then the same. In winter, however, the ermine changes to a pure white, excepting in a portion of the tail, which is always black. In this state they are all but universally called “White,” or rather “Fite Futrates.” The true weasel never changes.
Lutra vulgaris[Otter].
Often met with in suitable localities along the sea-shore, as well as by many of our streams and streamlets. Seep. 115.
Canis vulpes[Fox, Tod Lowric, or Reynard].
A well-known animal, especially in the country districts. Seepp. 109,219.
Felis catis[Common Wild Cat].
The wild cat is now, perhaps, extinct with us, though at one time it was frequently found in the woods and rocky glens of the more alpine portions of the interior. One which I had the pleasure of seeing, and which was killed in Glen Avon, measured over four feet in length, and was well proportioned in every other respect. It was altogether a very formidable looking animal.
Talpa Europæa[Mole or Mowdiewort].
This harmless creature is often met with. It is very useful to agriculturists by turning up the fertile soil, yet they constantly wage war against it. Pure white varieties are sometimes met with.
Erinaceus Europæus[Hedgehog].
Even since I remember, “hedgey” was altogether unknown, or at least very seldom seen, in Banffshire. Now he is plentiful, and seems to be still on the increase. Seep. 102.
Vespertilio pipistrellus} [Bat or Backie].Vespertilio Daubentonii}
These are both to be found here. The first is the most common. It appears that we have another species of bat here. It is larger than either of the other two. I have met with it in our woods.
Sciurus vulgaris[Squirrel].
It is only of late that this agile and tricky little quadruped has become domiciled in this county.
Myoxus avellanarius[Dormouse].
I am not quite sure whether we have this animal or not; I think I have taken it, but am not able to ascertain the fact with certainty.
Mus musculus[Common Mouse].
There is no doubt about this sly little domestic. Specimens of various colours—such as white, gray stripped with white, reddish, and yellow—sometimes occur. Musical individuals of the genus are not infrequent. Seep. 110.
Mus sylvaticus[Long-tailed or Wood Mouse].
Is to be found in almost every conceivable situation, except in towns.
Mus messorius[Harvest Mouse].
This sleek little thing, the smallest of British quadrupeds, is now well ascertained to be a native of Banffshire. I have myself taken it several times.
Mus rattus[Black Rat].
This, the native British rat, though at one time very abundant, is so no longer. It has been expelled or driven back, as the Celts have been by the Scandinavians, by the Norway rat. Theblack rat is seldom seen now. Pure white varieties have been found.
Mus decumanus[Norwegian Rat or Rottin].
Very plentiful, and bids fair, erelong, to extirpate his weaker relative, the Black Rat. Seep. 113.
Arvicola amphibia[Water Rat].
To be found on the banks of all our streams. It is sometimes turned up with the plough, at a considerable distance from the water. It is a curious circumstance that the water rats of England are mostly of a light brown colour, whilst those of Scotland are usually jet black.
Arvicola agrestis[Short-tailed Field Mouse].
Plentiful, and very destructive to young trees.
Arvicola pratensis[Meadow Mouse].
Like the last in appearance and habits. It is recognisable by its much longer tail.
Sorex araneus[Common Shrew].
Plentiful.
Sorex fodiens[Water Shrew].
Found along burnsides, and occasionally in ditches.
Sorex remifer[Black Water Shrew].
Not so frequently found as the last. The water shrew is very difficult to be taken. I never could manage to trap any of them. They baffled all my ingenuity. My only resource was the gun, and even with it I have often had enough to do. I have sat for from six to seven hours without moving, watching for an opportunity of shooting the water shrew, and been doomed to disappointment at last.
Lepus timidus[Common Hare or Maukins].
Very plentiful in the low grounds. Seepp. 106,274.
Lepus variabilis[Blue or Alpine Hare].
This species is only to be met with in the hills and mountains, except when driven down by stress of weather. In very severe winters they occasionally descend in great numbers to the lower part of the county, at which time they are of a pure white.
Lepus cuniculus[Rabbit].
Very plentiful, in every conceivable spot, from the rocky shore, the sandbank, the quarry hole, the stony cairn, the old dyke, the garden, the orchard, and the open field, to the thickest woods. White, black, cream coloured, stripped, and pied varieties, occur. Seepp. 106,275.
Cervus elaphus[Stag, Red or Highland Deer].
This, perhaps the fleetest, as he is the noblest of our wild animals, still holds his place in the county, though not now so numerous as he used to be.
Cervus capreolus[Roe Deer].
The roe seems to be more widely distributed than the red deer; and whilst the latter usually inhabits the more sequestered heath, grassy dells, and wooded glens of the higher lands, the other is mostly found in the plantations and copses of the lower levels. Seep. 106.
Phoca vitulina[Seal or Selch].
Stray individuals of this aquatic tribe pay us a visit now and then. They are common in Cromarty Firth.
Delphinus phocæna[Porpoise or Sea Hog].
This is another watery visitant, much more frequently seen than the seal.
Delphinus delphis[Striped Porpoise or Dolphin].
A specimen of this beautiful porpoise was taken here in 1853.
Delphinus tursio[Bottle-nosed Porpoise].
This species is said to have been taken here, though there are some doubts as to the fact.
Delphinus deductor[Pilot Whale].
Several of these have from time to time been met with. There are other species of whales which have been captured here. One, reported to have been a monster for size, is said to have been found amongst the rocks, so far back as about the beginning of last century, betwixt the Boyne and the point known as the King’s Head, but of what species is not accurately known. It is stated in the “Statistical Account of the Parish of Rathven,” which extends about ten miles along the coast west of Cullen, that the porpoise, the grampus, and the spermaceti whale, are frequently seen along the shore.
Aquila chrysaetos[The Golden Eagle].
The eagle breeds in the highest parts of the county, in the rocky heights near Ben Avon (seep. 121). They have also been seen hovering about the sea-braes between Banff and Portsoy.
Aquila albicilla[The Erne or Sea-Eagle] has also been found.
Aquila haliaetus[The Osprey, Fish Hawk, or Fishing Eagle] has also been found. A very fine male specimen was shot amongst the high cliffs of Gamrie Head. Another was seen at Melrose, a few miles from where the other was obtained.
Falco peregrinus[The Peregrine Falcon, Blue or Hunting Hawk].
The Peregrine is one of our native hawks, and breeds annually, though very sparingly, and usually in inaccessible places in some of our highest headlands. Peregrine falcons have been taken from their nests in Troup Head. As to the manner in which they devour their prey, seep. 223.
Falco æsalon[The Merlin].
A daring little fellow that breeds on several of our hills, more particularly on the Knock, the Bin (Huntly), Auchindoon, and Benvennis. When strolling along our sea-braes early one morning, I heard a tremendous noise of rooks and jackdaws ahead of me, and on coming to the spot I found them attacking a little merlin. One would have thought that such a host would have smothered the little creature in a twinkling. But such was not the case. The crows did not assail him all at once, nor yet singly; but three, four, and as many as seven, would be on him at a time, the main body keeping at a short distance, encouraging their companions, as it were, with their cawings. After a while, one of these storming parties would retire, and then another would sally forth to the charge. The merlin, however, being of lighter mettle and swifter of wing, managed, with wonderful dexterity, generally to avoid their attacks; now rising, now descending, and now turning in a zigzag direction, first to one side, then to the other; and succeeding, whilst doing so, in giving one or other of his adversaries a pretty severe peck, which had the effect of sending him screaming away. At last, however, a crow, which seemed more courageous than the rest, rushed at the merlin with such fury that I actually thought he would have swallowed him up at once, or sent him headlong into the sea. But no! the merlin withstood the shock, and contrived to deal his assailant a thrust as he approached and passed him. The merlin now rose considerably higher, and was followed only by this single opponent, who returned with redoubled fury to the combat. Up, up they soar, fighting as they go. They close, they scream, they grapple, and their feathers fly like dust. Down they come, locked in deadly embrace. I run to catch them both. But no! See! they part, mount again and again, scream, close, and, as before, fall, but not this time to the earth; they part and mount again. But ’tis now their last time; for the hawk, rising several yards above his bold and venturous antagonist, rushes down upon him with a yell, such as hawks alone, when irritated, know how to utter, and with such force that both fell right down into the sea, above which they were then fighting. I looked to see them rise again; but they did not. After a little splashing, all was over with the crow, but not with the hawk: he was still alive, although in a very precarious situation, from which he made several unsuccessful attempts to rise, but could not. It would seem that in dealing the death-blow to his tormentor he somehow or other got himself entangled, perhaps by his talons entering some of the bones of the crow, from whence he could not extract them. Both met with a watery grave, for on my leaving the place, they were both fast drifting seaward, a breeze blowing off the land at the time, with the crows hovering over them and still cawing.
Falco nisus[The Sparrow-Hawk].
This is another daring individual. When standing on our Links not long since, and speaking to one of our keepers, something struck me on the breast and fell to the ground. Instantly, and like a flash of lightning, down rushed a sparrow-hawk, and picked up a thrush from betwixt us; it rose with its booty, and was out of sight before we could raise our guns to fire at it. The keeper grumbled a great deal at our seeming stupidity.
Falco tinnunculus[The Kestrel].
This mouse-, insect-, and caterpillar-eating bird, or hawk if you will, is very common with us. When a boy I kept, amongst a host of others, several of this species. I remember that when a mouse, a young rabbit, a leveret, and a middle-sized rat, were presented at the same time, either of the former was sure to be pounced upon, whilst the latter usually lay unheeded. Since then, during my thirty years of taxidermal practice, I have often dissected this bird, and found in its stomach the remains principally of the smaller quadrupeds, insects (chiefly beetles), and caterpillars. Yet this poor bird is persecuted with as much severity as birds of the most destructive kind.
Falco palumbarius[The Goshawk].
One was shot at Tomintoul a short time ago, and two others—one at Hillton, the other at Macduff. It is rather a rare bird.
Falco milvus[The Kite].
This bird was once plentiful here, but it is now rarely seen. A splendid specimen was recently shot at Eden, about four miles from Banff.
Falco buteo[The Buzzard]. Occasionally met with.
Falco lagopus[The Rough-Legged Buzzard].
More frequent than the last. One in my collection was killed on the hill of Dunn, and another in the museum was shot at Forglen. The nests of this species have also been found in the neighbourhood, though rarely.
Falco apivorus[The Honey Buzzard].
A still rarer species. A splendid specimen was shot at Gamrie a few years ago. They are usually termed “Gleds” with us.
Falco æruginosus[The Marsh Harrier].
Specimens of these birds are occasionally shot in this neighbourhood.
Falco cyaneus[The Hen Harrier].
Occasionally met with. The male is known here by the names of gray, blue, and lead hawk; the female by the name of ring-tail.
Falco cinerascens[Ash-coloured Harrier].
I have only met with one of this species here. It was a first-rate specimen,—a male, and a very pretty bird.
Strix otus[The Long-eared Horned Owl].
Plentiful. I once found a nest of this bird with eggs about the middle of March. Seep. 121.
Strix brachyotus[The Short-eared Owl, Woodcock, or Grass Owl].
A migrating species with us. Specimens are frequently met with by sportsmen when out shooting snipes, woodcocks, etc.