34 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



recorded from the Marshall Islands." {B.O.U. List of British 

 Birds, p. 172.) Students of the above distribution would 

 naturally expect that any overflow into this country would be 

 from the densely populated northern districts, and would 

 proceed in a north to south direction, and this appears to 

 be exactly what has taken place. 



The first record of the Wigeon breeding in Scotland was 

 in 1834, when Sir William Jardine and Selby took a nest 

 and eggs at Loch Laighal, Sutherland, and after this east 

 and central Sutherland were quickly colonised. To quote 

 Dr Harvie-Brown : " later," the Wigeon, " came southwards 

 through north and north-east Ross-shire, rarely, if ever, being 

 found breeding west of the great dividing chain of mountains, 

 and thence through north Inverness-shire, and reaching 

 north-west Perthshire some time previous to 1874, where 

 they bred commonly if not abundantly on the Moor of 

 Rannoch and along the Gower River and Loch Eigheach" 

 {A.S.N.H., 1899, P- 200.) By 1883 the southward drive 

 had carried the Wigeon into the Forth area, and that year 

 it was found nesting at Loch Ma-Haick, Braes of Doune, 

 while by 1893 it had reached as far south as Selkirkshire, 

 though it does not seem to have arrived in Roxburghshire 

 till about 1910. The southward impetus has not, as yet, 

 carried this species far beyond the Border, though it has been 

 recorded as breeding in Cumberland, Yorkshire, Merioneth, 

 and Norfolk. 



It is interesting to notice the little side streams of 

 dispersal in Scotland, after the centre had become fully 

 colonised ; the speed and magnitude of these advances are 

 very trifling when compared with the great north to south 

 movement. We shall indicate briefly one or two of these : 

 For instance, Caithness was reached before 1865, and by 

 1868 a nest was found in west Ross, but the first record 

 of breeding in west Sutherland was not till as late as 

 1901, about which year also we have the first note of Wigeon 

 breeding in Argyllshire in the Loch Awe district. The 

 Caithness and west Sutherland extensions were no doubt 

 overflows from the well-colonised districts of central Suther- 

 land, while west Ross is more likel)' to be an offshoot from 



