170 CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 



obtained in 1891, on the same island where I got 

 the Sheld-Ducks and the Mergansers. My ghilHe 

 and myself were out one day in our sea-boat 

 exploring all round, and had landed on some high 

 o-round above hiorh water-mark. On either side 

 of us — so far as I can remember — were creeks from 

 which the tide had partially ebbed, leaving behind 

 a lot of seaweedy boulders. 



From the head of one of these creeks two large 

 birds got up on the wing, and passed where I was 

 standing at about forty yards off. I recognised at 

 once they were Wild-Geese, and, putting up my 

 gun, let drive, taking the leading bird of the two. 

 Nothing, however, fell ! I had well drilled it into 

 the head of my Ghillie Mac that because a bird 

 does not come down at once it does not at all 

 follow that it is not badly wounded, and that, 

 therefore, whenever I fired a shot he was to keep 

 sight of the birds flying away as long as he could 

 — until they had entirely disappeared. This advice 

 proved useful in the present instance, for after 

 watching some time he said " I can see only one 

 bird going away in the distance." " Now," I 

 replied, "if that is so, then one must be down; 

 that's sure enough." So I instructed him to run 

 on ahead, taking the direction of the bird's flight; 

 this was attended with satisfactory results, for, after 

 having advanced some little distance, he saw 

 through his glasses a curious looking object on a 

 promontory or island, I forget which. On getting 

 nearer it turned out to be the bird you see in the 



