VOL. VI].] SENSE OF SMELL. 87 



It seems to us that the only explanation of this bird's 

 behaviour is, that she " winded " the photographer. On 

 the 12th, when the wind blew from nest to tent, the 

 Goose returned readil3- ; on the 13th, when the wind blew 

 direct from tent to nest, she would not come near her 

 eggs ; on the 14th, when the wind was blowing from the 

 same quarter she was evidently most suspicious — that 

 she returned at all, we attribute to the violence of the 

 wind which may well have blown the scent beyond or 

 over her. On the 17th, there was a side wind, and the 

 Goose returned straight to her eggs. On the 23rd, again 

 the Avind blew from the tent to the nest, and by this 

 time the bird was sitting hard and was well accustomed 

 to the tent ; but even so, as w^e have pointed out, she 

 appeared suspicious of something apart from the noise of 

 the camera, even though the photographer was able to 

 enter the tent and set up the apparatus without scaring 

 her from the nest. The keepers and gilUes of the dis- 

 trict declare that the geese, and also the crows, can all 

 smell, and that it is useless to stalk them downwind. 



The Grey Lag appears to be largely on the increase in 

 the district in question, where it is carefully preserved 

 for the shooting, and on some lochs it is possible to find 

 half a dozen nests ; but the Geese suffer a good deal 

 from the depredations of Hooded Crows, as the nests are 

 very conspicuous owing to the amount of down which is 

 littered round the place. The Geese were all very late 

 in breeding this year, many birds being found still sitting 

 at the end of May, although they generally hatch out by 

 the middle of that month. 



