WILD LIFE IN A WEST HIGHLAND DEER FOREST 5 



1500 to 1600 feet. Single birds have been observed and shot in 

 the wood as late as the 6th of October. 



Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo. 



Occasionally pays visits to Lochs Ossian and Treig. Such 

 visits are usually of short duration. 



Mallard, Anns boscas. 



Is a common resident. In summer it nests on moorland 

 ground bordering the lochs of the subalpine zone at altitudes from 

 1 100 to 1950 feet, and in the alpine area at 2100 feet. It breeds 

 also in the valley zone in the vicinity of Loch Treig at 750 feet. It 

 is surprisingly numerous as a winter bird, and remarkably tame 

 because unmolested. During the severe weather of early December 

 191 5, when there was much ice, no less than thirteen in one party 

 were observed on the grassland near the margin of Loch Ossian, 

 at 1300 feet, most of which, it was interesting to observe, were 

 seemingly already paired. A nest was found on Loch Ossian side, 

 with fifteen eggs, on the 26th of April 191 6. 



Teal, Querquedula crccca. 



The Teal is the commonest duck found in the Forest. It is 

 not, however, the most generally distributed, for its haunts are 

 confined to the higher zones, to which it is chiefly a summer 

 visitor. In summer its chief resorts are hill lochs, near the margins 

 of which it nests at altitudes ranging from 1350 to 2100 feet. 

 It also nests on the moorlands adjoining the Blackwater Loch 

 at 1 100 feet. I have never seen it on Loch Treig or in its vicinity. 



Goosander, Mergus merganser. 



A fine adult male appeared on the open water of Loch Ossian 

 on the 3rd of December 19 15, but was not seen afterwards. 



Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator. 



A pair nest annually about the head of Loch Treig. I have seen 

 the female with her brood there for several successive years, and 

 occasionally had the pleasure of observing her on the loch sometimes 

 carrying the whole of her numerous family on her back, and have 

 witnessed her submerge to allow the chicks to take their places 

 there. This species also nests on the River Treig, but has not 

 been observed in other zones in the Forest. 





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