198 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



As Scottish naturalists we demur to the statement 

 that the Continental Goldcrest is possibly not of annual 

 occurrence on our shores. We should like to know 

 on what grounds the Long-tailed Titmouse and Blue 

 Titmouse which have occurred in Shetland should be 

 considered to belong to the British race ; so far as we 

 know, their racial identity is " not proven." The only 

 Shetland Long-tailed Tits occurred in Unst, the north- 

 most of the British Isles, and were more likely to have 

 been visitors from the Continent than vagrant British native 

 birds. The Gannet has only a single breeding-place in 

 Orkney ; we are not aware that the Common and Great 

 Black-backed Gulls nest as far south in east Scotland as the 

 Forth ; and in our experience the Shag far outnumbers the 

 Cormorant as a Scottish bird. As regards the winter quarters 

 of the Yellow Wagtail, we may remark that they extend as 

 far south in Africa as the Transvaal and Natal. There are 

 other mistakes of a minor nature, but these are few 

 considering the amount of information afforded. 



We notice that in a great number of instances the 

 journal " British Birds " is quoted as if it were the original 

 source of publication of interesting records, which is not the 

 case. 



ON A CASE OF HYBRIDISM BETWEEN AN 

 EIDER AND A WILD DUCK 



By William Eagle Clarke 

 Plate V. 



One of the most remarkable cases of hybridism ever 

 known to have occurred between birds in a wild state is 

 furnished by the example now under consideration, whose 

 parents were an Eider and a Wild Duck. This unique speci- 

 men — no other example so far as I am aware is known 1 — is a 

 drake, and was shot early this year on the island of Auskerry, 

 one of the Orkney group, where it had for two years paired 

 with a female Eider, but whether broods resulted is, unfor- 

 tunately, not known. 



1 Suchetet in Des Hybrides a VEtat Sanvage has no such cross. 



