22 The Irish Naturalist. February, 



rabbit burrows. It has increased much in recent 3^ears, not 

 onh" here but on Lough Foyle as Avell. The taking of the 

 young to the water must be an anxious time for the parents. 

 I came across a case where a little nestling wandered and 

 walked through the open doorway into the kitchen ( f a farm- 

 house. I witnessed a wonderful instance of the pluck and 

 perseverance of the ducklings. I came upon a pair of Sheld- 

 ducks leading their brood to the sea. As I came up they 

 w^ere almost at the water's edge, and one of the old birds tossed 

 and tumbled over on the sand to draw me away, while the 

 other hurried the little ones on. But there w^as a vSea on, and the 

 surf rolled the wee birds over and over like balls up the sand. 

 Again they tried and again they were rolled over, till first one 

 and then another managed to get through the surf. After four 

 or five tossings all got safely out. The Ruddy Sheld-duck (Z! 

 casarca^ Linn.) visited Inch in some numbers in August, 1892, 

 when this southern .species came to Ireland. The Mallard 

 (A7ias boscas, Linn.) is common. I have noticed some strange 

 nesting sites. It nests on low fir trees on the shores of Mulroy 

 Ba}'', and I got eggs taken from a nest on the Magilligan 

 sand-hills. A lew specimens of the Gadwall {A. strepera 

 Linn.) have been shot. The Shoveler {SpattUa clypeata, Linn.) 

 is a resident species, and breeds in increasing numbers. In 

 the spring of 1905 fifteen nests were found on one slobland. 

 Twelve to fifteen 3^ears ago it seemed to be decreasing. I 

 have found nests on such bare ground that there was prac- 

 tically^ no cover, and yet b}^ scraping out the ground and draw- 

 ing over the short grass the bird managed to conceal the eggs 

 fairly well. The local name is the " Spoonbill Wigeon " or 

 *' Whiteside." The Pintail {Dafila acuta, Linn.) is called the 

 " Cran Wigeon." It is common, and visits Inch more in the 

 late winter or early spring. The Teal (yQncrquedtcIa crecca, 

 Linn.) is a common resident species. Mr. A. Hutchman reported 

 to me that on 20th October, 1896 he had shot a Garganey {Q. 

 circia, Linn.) at Inch. Unfortunately he has not preserved it, 

 but from his description and his confirmation from the coloured 

 plate I think his identification was correct. The Wigeon 

 {Marcca penelope, Linn.) is one of the commonest winter visitors, 

 and very large numbers frequent the fresh water where there 

 is a thick growth of weeds. The Pochard {Fuligula perina, 

 Linn.) locally called the " Redhead " or " Brownhead " is fairly 

 common in winter. The Tufted Duck {F. crisiata, Leach) is 



