NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 151 



on a bog, and picked up a young one which had barely absorbed all 

 the yolk of the egg by the umbilical cord, a small bit, about a quarter 

 of an inch long, still sticking to it ; the old Geese were in great ex- 

 citement, walking about some forty yards from me, and cackling. 

 I put the small bird down again, and it soon set off after the rest. 

 On the 21st of May, 1869, 1 took a Goose egg, fresh, out of a Lesser 

 Black-backed Gull's nest, containing three eggs, and the old Gull 

 appeared to be sitting on all four eggs. 



131. Brent Goose. Bernicla brenta (Pall.). — A few of these 

 birds come to the Little Ferry every winter. 



132. Whooper. Cygnus musicus, Bechst. — I have seen the 

 Whooper on two occasions at Brora ; once on April 20th, 1871, I 

 saw four fly over Loch Brora, and again in the end of March or 

 beginning of April, 1878, a lot of about twenty fly over Balnacoil.* 



133. Bewick's Swan. Cygnus bewicki, Yarrell. — I saw one in 

 Mr. Macleay's shop in Inverness. It had been shot at Altnaharra, 

 in the winter of 1879-80. 



134. Sheldrake. Tadorna cornuta, S. G. Gmel. — A common 

 summer visitant, breeding in the sand-hills along the coast ; the 

 species appears to be increasing. 



135. Widgeon. Mareca pendope, Lin. — Common, and resident; 

 numbers remaining to breed. About May, I have often seen a large 

 flock of old males, in splendid plumage, in a pool near Loch Brora ; 

 near here I once disturbed an old duck and her brood, and on the 

 duck giving a note of alarm, the drake came and' joined her; so, 

 perhaps, the males of some species of Ducks do not moult until 

 the young are pretty well able to take care of themselves. 



136. Teal. Nettium crecca, Lin. — Common most of the year, 

 but rare, if not altogether absent in winter. 



137. Pintail. Dafila acuta (Lin.). — I have a specimen of a 

 female, or young male, which was shot at the Little Ferry, on Nov. 

 the 14th, 1877. 



138. Wild Duck. Anas boschas, Lin. — Common, and resident. 

 I have seen, on one occasion, thirteen eggs in a nest of this bird. 



139. Pochard. Fuligula feritia (Lin.) — I believe I saw this bird, 

 on one occasion, on the river Brora, in the early spring of 1870, 

 but it is certainly a very rare bird on the East coast. 



* They are also known to visit certain lochs near Tongue in the North of the 

 county in spring. —J. A. H.-B. 



