road up to the nest is kept damp by the wet breast and feet of the bird as it comes from feeding; this earthy paste is carried to the egg, which soon gets a warm brown colour. These birds were very tame, and I got within a few feet of them. Two of our party caught one as it came out of its burrow; they were very sorry afterwards when they found they had caught more than the Puffin. In a small marsh one of the party found the nests of two Eider Ducks (Somateria mollissima). One of the birds flew off on approach.
We left Oban on the 11th to again sail north. As we were going through the Sound of Mull we lowered the dingy, and pulled over to an island, where we found nests of a large number of Terns (Sterna fluviatilis), and I think the Arctic Tern (S. macrura) was also present. The eggs were very plainly marked, and there was no attempt at building a nest.
On the 13th we dropped anchor in Knoydart Bay, Loch Nevis, where we found another Sandpiper's nest with four eggs; a little farther on we came to an old Sandpiper with four young ones, which were very hard to distinguish from the ground, being a warm grey on the back, with black stripes; they had long legs, and could run fairly fast, although they must only have been a few days old. A winged Sandpiper will dive and swim like a Duck; so will a wounded Oystercatcher (Hæmatopus ostralegus). We saw a Goosander (Mergus merganser) swimming about in the bay; it was easily recognized with the glasses, as it came close to the shore.
Balmacarra was our next stopping-place. When passing the keeper's cottage I noticed four large Wild Cats' skins nailed on the kennels, and I immediately went in search of their owner, as I thought there might be a tale connected with them. The keeper told me he trapped seven in 1900, two in 1901, and four this season, but it seems a pity to exterminate such a rare and fast decreasing mammal. As we were talking a large bird flew over some trees; he told me it was a Buzzard (Buteo vulgaris), and that these birds breed every year on this estate, along with Merlins (Falco æsalon) and other Hawks; but I am sorry to say their nests are destroyed every year. At Gairloch, on the 18th, I had a talk with the keeper of the Flowerdale Estate. He told me that they had Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaëtus), Peregrines (Falco peregrinus),
