428 The Rarer Birds of the Solway Area. 



shot a specimen at the mouth of one of the creeks at Carsethorn 

 in October, 1900, its occurrence was not authenticated. 



The Ruff is a bird of considerable interest for the part it 

 ■used to form in the feasts in the olden time. In historical annals 

 there are accounts of the feasts the bishops held when many 

 thousands of fatted ruffs were served up. 



The Little Stint is one of those Siberian birds which in their 

 migration south pass through our area for a few days only early 

 in September. Here in the Solway area we are a little too far 

 west to get anything like a proper share of these birds from 

 the Siberian and Russian regions. A closely allied species is 

 Temminck's stint, which has occurred only once. 



The Little Bittern is from the marshes of the Danubian 

 region. Only one instance as far as I know has occurred. 

 Another is alleged to have been got near Lochmaben, but I have 

 not been able to authenticate it. I have a letter from the famous 

 historian of the Cumberland birds, late Rev. H. A. Macpherson, 

 whose untimely death a few years ago ornithologists have not yet 

 ceased to deplore. In it he wrote of a little bittern which " was 

 shot at a place called the Woodhouse, on the Kirtle river between 

 Kirkpatrick and Kirtlebridge, by its present owner, Mr Sharp of 

 Hodgson's Court, Cumberland Street, Carlisle, in the early 

 .summer of 1874." 



Baillon's Crake — One specimen of this bird was got near 

 Lochmaben by Sir Wm. Jardine in 1835, and another was got 

 near Stranraer in 1875. 



The Snowgoose is one of these American forms which we 

 manage to get sometimes. There was a flock seen in 1881 in 

 Cumberland, and one of these birds turned up in the nets at 

 Newbie. 



Of the Gadwall, one of the rare "teal " tribe of ducks, one 

 was got at the mouth of the Nith. 



Of the Garganey we have had at least two. One of them 

 was got near Glenluce in 1879, and another later on at Kirk- 

 michael. These are now looked after by sportsmen, so that, no 

 doubt, we will get a fair proportion of the tame reared ones in 

 time. 



An exceedingly interesting bird is the Blue-winged Teal. In 

 January, J 863, one was shot by the late Mr Shaw, a celebrated 

 keeper on Drumlanrig estates, who was the first to investigate the 



