56 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



It is, of course, a pity that all the Netherby ducks cannot be ringed, 

 but breeding, as they do, in a state of nature, once they have become 

 estabhshed, it is impossible. I have an unbounded admiration for 

 the skill of Sir Richard's head keeper, Mr Wm. Bell a more 

 successful breeder of ducks never lived ; but, much as I admire and 

 glory in the sight of the ducks as I have seen them on the ponds, I 

 cannot help feeling that, when any rare duck is recorded on our 

 shores, whether there is not some very material doubt as to its being 

 a genuine visitor from some distant clime, or whether it did not first 

 see light on one of the Netherby ponds. If the theory suggested 

 above is accepted, it may throw considerable light on the breeding 

 of the Gadvvall in Scotland. This duck breeds freely at Netherby. 



F. W. Sm ALLEY. 



Ringed. Plover nesting inland in Clyde. While the 

 Ringed Plover nests commonly by the shores of the Firth of 

 Clyde, where these are suitable, and the neighbourhood not too 

 populous, few birds of this species breed inland. Except for Loch 

 Lomond, on the shores of which it has long been known to nest 

 sparingly, there was no record of its nesting inland till recent years, 

 when it was detected breeding at Loch Thom, West Renfrewshire. 

 In 1919 a pair nested by an upland reservoir, a little over the 800 

 feet contour line, in Eaglesham parish, East Renfrewshire. There 

 is reason to believe that it nested at the same place in the two 

 previous summers also. John Robertson, Glasgow. 



Green Sandpiper in Ayrshire. I am pleased to record the 

 occurrence of the Green Sandpiper for our locality, the first, I 

 believe, for Ayrshire. I first saw it on 6th August 1919, when 

 walking out with a friend, on the south side of the river Irvine, 

 about three miles west of Darvel. I had just drawn my friend's 

 attention to a couple of Kingfishers which passed like a pair of 

 meteors flying upstream, when it rose up with a shrill cry and 

 soon disappeared over the top of the high trees, which form a 

 narrow belt on the north side of the river. Its note, strange to 

 me, was what first drew my attention, and the short time I had 

 it in view convinced me that it was rather a stranger. Its flight 

 was different from that of the Common Sandpiper and was 

 somewhat zigzag. Another interesting point about it was the 

 very conspicuous white of its upper tail coverts. A little further 

 down stream we put up another bird which went off in the same 

 manner. Possibly this was the same bird, as on re-visiting the 

 locality on the yth, 9th, and loth, I saw only one bird. During 



