CONTRIBUTIONS TO A FAUNA OF SHETLAND 19 



N.E. at 2 p.m., and appeared to light on the larger of the 

 Quendale Holms. This was the gth October, exactly the date 

 of the flock of seven of which the grieve's son killed one last 

 year, and the wind was in the same direction. Afterwards 

 flocks of seven, sixteen, and other numbers, were seen at Sum- 

 burgh and on Mousa. 



WHOOPER (Cygnus umsicus). One which had been wounded now 

 does ; : duty on Loch Brow as sentinel for wild-fowl, and decoy 

 for other swans. It often gets on wing and flies a few hundred 

 yards, but seems little alarmed by the reports of fire-arms. 

 Another came in November 1891. 



WILD DUCK (Anas boscas). Common, but not to be called abundant. 

 Seen early in the month, and shot in the marshes. Certainly 

 less common than many other species of Anatidae ; much rarer 

 than Wigeon or Teal, Scaup, etc., and never seen in large flocks. 

 A drake shot by W. Moir on 22nd October had not lost the 

 entire female plumage. It possessed the alar patch. The 

 head was only beginning to take back the glossy green. The 

 wing -coverts were partly male and partly female. General 

 plumage, female predominating. No sign of curled feathers 

 of the tail of the male. Axillaries mostly female ; very few 

 vermiculated male feathers. Back mostly female, very few male. 

 This appears to us a very late date at which to find this phase 

 of plumage. But on the 28th October 1892, another in pre- 

 cisely similar plumage was also obtained at Loch Spiggie. Now 

 the first of these birds was decidedly an old bird ; but the 

 second, to our eye and examination, was a young male of the 

 year. We cannot get any satisfaction on this point from 

 Dresser's "Birds of Europe"; MacGillivray only quotes Water ton ; 

 and Howard Saunders ("Manual") says nothing of the differences 

 of the plumage of old males reassuming the drake plumage 

 "by the middle of October," and of the young drake of the 

 year assuming first adult male plumage. MacGillivray only 

 touches the question at vol. v. p. 41, under " Progress towards 

 maturity," q.v. We regret that both these birds were not 

 preserved, but our remembrance of them is very distinct. 



TEAL (Querquedula crecca). About twelve seen upon Spiggie and 

 Brow on i2th October 1891, which appears to be about 

 their usual time of appearance, and daily almost afterwards. 

 In 1892, seen at an earlier date, and numbers along with 

 Wigeon on the 8th at Spiggie and Brow. 



WIGEON (Mareca penelope). Very common. Many seen. Flocks of 

 twenty or more on Lochs Spiggie and Brow or in Backasetter 

 Marshes or Meadows; all during October 1891. In 1892, 

 during rough weather and south winds, over a hundred were in 



