82 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



PINK-FOOTED GOOSE, Anser brachyrhynchus, Baillon. Bahr put up 

 a single bird near Eoligary, Barra, in the end of May. Mr. 

 W. L. MacGillivray told us he had seen two there for some 

 time. 



BERNACLE GOOSE, Bernida kucopsis, Bech stein. We saw one on 

 Fiaray, a small island off the north end of Barra, in the end of 

 May. Probably it was a pricked bird. 



WHOOPER SWAN, Cygnus musiais, Bechstein. On ist June we saw 

 nine wild Swans on a small loch in South Uist. We took 

 them to be Whoopers, but as they were a good distance off, 

 and we were going in the opposite direction, we put off trying 

 to identify them till our return in the afternoon, by which time 

 they had departed. An angler fishing on a loch a little further 

 north told us that the Swans passed over his head in the 

 afternoon, flying in a northerly direction. 



SHOVELLER, Anas dypeata (Linnaeus). This species has already 

 been recorded as breeding in the Outer Hebrides south of the 

 Sound of Harris. We found one nest and saw several pairs 

 of birds. 



PINTAIL, Dafila acuta (Linnaeus). A single drake Pintail was seen 

 on a loch in one of the islands in the beginning of June, but 

 we did not see any signs of a female or a nest. 



TEAL, Nettion crecca (Linnaeus). The Teal now breeds plentifully 

 in The Uists and Benbecula. We did not come across this 

 species in Barra. 



WIGEON, Mareca penelope (Linnaeus). Several times we saw a pair 

 of Wigeon during June, but we failed to make certain whether 

 they were nesting. 



SCAUP, Fnligula marila (Linnaeus). We are glad to be able to con- 

 firm the record in the " Annals " of this species breeding in the 

 " Outer Hebrides." We found a nest on a small island in 

 Loch . The first time we landed on the island a 



female Scaup flew off from a tussock of grass a few feet away 

 and alighted on the water close by. On going to the tussock 

 we found a nest alongside, containing nine eggs and a quantity 

 of down mixed with bits of dried grass. Without disturbing 

 the nest, we left the island and returned in about an hour. 

 This time the duck flew off before we stepped on to the island, 

 and on examining the nest again we found the eggs carefully 

 covered with down, so probably the duck had been watching 

 our approach and getting prepared. Alongside the present 

 nest were the remains of a last year's nest, but whether it had 

 also been a Scaup's or not it is impossible to say. There were 

 no other nests on the island. 



