You might have noticed in the Ayrshire Rarities List a mention of a dead Great Bustard from 1895 washed up on Irvine beach: our only, and probably last, sighting of this species. I had a dim recollection of this bird making its way to the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock, so with nothing better to do, I decided to see if they still had it.

Sadly, no. It turns out that their taxidermy collection had either been moved to Norwich (?) or was the target of the Luftwaffe in World War 2. However, the curator there was sufficiently intrigued by such an unusual query that he tracked down some details on the excellent Historical Rare Birds website:

John Pringle of Irvine (1895) in the Annals of Scottish Natural History, Vol. IV. p. 253, says: ‘On the 20th of June this year, while walking on the beach at Irvine, I observed a large bird floating in the water, which I managed to secure, but was quite puzzled with it, having never seen one like it before, nor was I able to ascertain its name from any one in the district to whom I showed it.
Finally, I submitted it to Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown, who pronounced it to be a specimen of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) – a bird that has been extinct as an indigenous species in S.E. Scotland for over three centuries, and now only an extremely rare casual visitor from the Continent of Europe, and one which it is believed has never before been recorded for Ayrshire.
The bird was considerably decomposed when found, and has evidently been in the water for some days. From its comparatively small size it was evidently a female.’

My thanks to the staff of the Dick Institute for indulging me in this quest.