NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 163 



The Wild Duck {Anas hoschas) is plentiful during the autumn and 

 winter months; and, I understand, bred abundantly here thirty 

 years ago. The Teal (A. crecca) is also to be found in 

 small flocks. The Widgeon (A. penelope) is an occasional visitor. 

 A specimen of the Shoveller (A. clypeata) was shot here a few 

 winters since, and was stuff'ed by Mr F. M'Culloch, taxidermist, 

 Glasgow. Mr Gray informs me that a Tufted Duck (FuUgula cristata) 

 was obtained at Possil within a few years. The Little Grebe or 

 Dabchick (Pocliceps minor) is a regular breeding species; its shrill 

 whistle-like cry being quite associated with my visits to the marsh. 

 The nest is composed of the Anacharis canadensis, which, intro- 

 duced about twenty years ago from America, is now a great pest 

 in canals and ponds. The Swan is said to feed freely upon it; so 

 that where these birds are, it may be kept within bounds. A large 

 portion of the bottom of Possil marsh, where solid or firm, is over- 

 grown with this plant. The Little Grebe piles it up among the 

 Equisetae, until a sufficient basis is obtained, on which the four 

 white eggs are laid. Some few years ago I found about a dozen 

 nests in one day. That so many escaped the numerous searchers 

 is probably owing to the fact that the bird, however hurriedly it 

 leaves the nest, covers its eggs with the plant referred to. This 

 covering and the nest being very little above the water, and there- 

 fore always quite wet, account for the stained appearance of the eggs, 

 when the least incubated. The Little Grebe has also a practice of 

 deeply scratching its eggs with its horny feet. These birds on the 

 approach of danger sink themselves into the water, leaving nothing 

 but their bills exposed; and, should the water not be of sufficient 

 depth for diving, they will not rise till actually kicked by the 

 wader. The Red-Throated Diver (Colymbus sejAentrionaUs) has 

 been shot here within a few years. 



In conclusion, I have to warn any person who is desirous of 

 investigating this interesting locality to be exceedingly cautious, 

 as in many places the surface is very soft and treacherous, being 

 nothing more than a tangled mass of roots, under which there is 

 a stratum of soft mud of considerable depth, so that should the 

 roots give way it would be exceedingly difficult to extricate 

 oneself. 



