Rotche, or Little Auk (Mergulus alle).—The little auk is rarely seen, but is occasionally driven to the shores of Gairloch by storms. One was brought to me which had been found dead near the shore of Loch Ewe.
Puffin, or Sea-Parrot (Fratercula arctica).—This curious bird is common on the Gairloch coast at some seasons of the year. Like the guillemot it breeds abundantly on the Shiant Islands. The puffin lays its single egg at the extremity of a burrow formed on grassy banks sloping towards the sea. The egg which, when laid, resembles an ordinary hen's egg, soon becomes more or less of a dirty brown colour.
Great Northern Diver (Colymbus glacialis).—This largest of our divers is common on these coasts. There are always some on the Gairloch and on Loch Ewe, except perhaps in July and August. I once saw one near the Fox Point on Loch Maree, but not in the breeding season. It remains in our waters until the beginning of June, and then goes north to breed. It has now no authenticated nesting-place in the British Isles. Mr O. H. Mackenzie has an egg which he had taken for him in one of the Shetland Isles many years ago,—probably the last British specimen. Dr Saxby, author of "Birds of Shetland," obtained the egg for Mr Mackenzie. It is very much larger than the egg of the black-throated diver. Mr Mackenzie had often heard of the nesting-place in Shetland from Dr Saxby's brother.
Black-throated Diver (Colymbus arcticus).—It breeds on a number of fresh-water lochs in Gairloch. The nests are usually on islands, but I have seen one on the mainland. This diver is seldom, if ever, observed in Gairloch, except during the breeding season.
Red-throated Diver (Colymbus septentrionalis).—This diver is not so common here as the black-throated diver. I know two nesting-places in Gairloch. Mr John Munro has known four pairs nesting in the same locality. The red-throated diver is more frequently seen on the wing than the other species, and when flying frequently utters a loud wailing cry, which is said to prognosticate rain. A specimen was brought to me which had been caught in a herring-net.
Sclavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus).—This grebe is often seen in winter. A pair of grebes has for many years nested annually on a fresh-water loch in Gairloch parish; in some years there have been two pairs on the same loch; and sometimes another pair has nested on a loch about two miles away. Mr E. T. Booth saw the grebes on the former loch in 1868; he was unable to decide the species at the time, but in a letter he wrote to me on 2nd March 1885, he said that "from the last description of the bird that he received he came to the conclusion that it was a Sclavonian." Mr H. E. Dresser saw one old and one young grebe on the same loch on 30th June 1886. He could not get a distinct view of the bird, but he was satisfied it was either the Sclavonian or the eared grebe. Mr John Munro, who has annually seen and scrutinised the birds during the past twenty-one years, and has compared his impressions of them with the pictures of the several species of grebe from Mr Dresser's "Birds of Europe" and other works, believes that these birds nesting in Gairloch are Sclavonian grebes; indeed there can be no reasonable doubt that they are so. Mr Booth has called the birds in question Sclavonians in his "Rough Notes." I believe this is the only recorded instance of the Sclavonian grebe nesting in the British Isles.
Dabchick, or Little Grebe (Podiceps fluviatilis).—It is common here as everywhere.
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo).—The great cormorant is not very common in Gairloch, but I have known one or two pairs nest in the parish, on rocks overhanging or surrounded by the sea. Mr Harvie Brown found it abundant on Priest Island on 4th July 1884. He saw there a colony of about a hundred pairs. It is commonly seen on fresh-water rivers and lochs, where it engages in fishing. I have often observed it fishing within a few yards of the garden at Inveran.
Green Cormorant, or Skart, or Shag (Phalacrocorax graculus).—The common shag is abundant on Gairloch and Loch Ewe. It nests on high rocks on islands in the sea. It is never seen on fresh-water.