ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 117 



had not been for a patch of sky cloud, they would have been quite 

 invisible, even with the aid of a telescope. PETER ANDERSON, 

 Tiree. 



Shelduek carrying 1 its Young 1 . Mr. Lees, bird-stuffer, Alex- 

 andria, tells me he got a young Sheldrake (Tadorna cornuta] in the 

 down in rather a curious way on iith June last. The young one 

 was dropped by an old bird which was flying over Alexandria, about 

 two miles from Loch Lomond. A man saw the young bird drop, 

 and watched the old bird for some time fly round and round quack- 

 ing. He picked up the little bird, and the parent bird went off in 

 the direction of Loch Lomond. JAMES LUMSDEN, Arden, Loch 

 Lomond. 



Gadwall in Moray. Since the " Fauna of Moray " was pub- 

 lished, I have learnt from Captain Dunbar-Brander that a Gadwall 

 (Anas streperd) was shot on Loch Spynie somewhere about 26th 

 August 1892. This year another was killed at the same place by 

 his son on the 4th of February. T. E. BUCKLEY, Inverness. 



Hybrids between Capereaillie and Pheasant. Mr. Eagle 



Clarke, in his paper on ' Hybrids between Capereaillie and Pheasant 

 in the January number of " The Annals of Scottish Natural History," 

 quotes a small misstatement. Notwithstanding the statement made 

 by M. Suchetet in his recently published work, I beg to say that the 

 hybrid now in the collection of the Hon. Mr. Rothschild, at Tring, was 

 not got here. I think, however, I can explain how the mistake has 

 occurred. Mr. Rothschild purchased his bird from a London dealer, 

 under the belief that it was my bird, which at that time was the only 

 recorded specimen of hybridism between Capereaillie and Pheasant. 

 My bird was figured by Mr. Millais in his book on "Game Birds." 

 Some time after, I heard that Mr. Rothschild thought he had my 

 bird. So I wrote and told him that, as it was still in my possession, it 

 could not be so. Since then he has made many efforts to find out 

 where his bird was killed, but all the information he can get is that 

 it was purchased as a mounted specimen from some one in the 

 north of Scotland. I am perfectly certain that it was not killed in 

 this district, having made very full inquiries into the matter here. 

 M. Suchetet must have got his information about the Tring specimen 

 at the time Mr. Rothschild was under the belief that he had my bird. 

 JAMES LUMSDEN, Arden, Loch Lomond. 



[Mr. James Brown, taxidermist, Forres, informs me that he 

 received for preservation, on the loth of November 1890, a pair of 

 hybrids between the Capereaillie and the Pheasant. One of these 

 birds, Mr. Brown tells me, was sold to a gentleman in London, and 

 that the other is in the possession of Mr. Grant of Aviemore. 

 Mr. Grant kindly writes me that he got the hybrid between 

 the Capereaillie and the Pheasant, no\v in his possession, from a 



