From Laurence Edmondston   [before 3 May 1856]¹

still they may not be decisive for as you may know, the vaunted conjugal fidelity of the ark bird has like most general rules had its exceptions²

I have no idea that the wild pigeons feed far from their breeding places, but believe that they remain— each tribe in the vicinity of their coves, & as to crossing to the Mainland of Scotland that is a feat of migration I should never give them credit for— ³

They have always been very numerous on these islands, & always present the usual uniform colour of the Rock Dove—

I am delighted to hear you are occupied in the effort to throw light on the interesting & difficult subject of Varieties of Species, & I beg you will freely command me when you suppose I may be of use in your researches—

Your query as to drifted Trees I can answer in the affirmative—but instances of them are less frequent now than formerly—& for this obvious enough reasons present themselves—

M^r M^cGillivray⁴ was one of my earliest & most respected scientific friends, &