Rare Birds of Recent Occurrence. 135 



first known occurrence after a long period of twenty- six years 

 was on New-Year's Day two seasons ago, and now there was the 

 specimen which he produced, and which had been shot three 

 weeks previously on the banks of the JE in Kirkmichael parish. 

 This bird now occurred far less frequently than it formerly did. 

 In Sir William Jardine's time he found it on the banks of the 

 Annan and the Kirtle, and some other Annandale waters. It 

 was an exception to the whole of the other sandpipers in that it 

 had its nest and laid its eggs in a tree. It did not build one 

 itself, but always took the advantage of an old or abandoned 

 nest, generally that of the thrush, or it might be of the wood 

 pigeon, or even in a carrion crow's nest. Mr Service proceeded 

 to show and explain several specimens of wild geese. The first 

 was the Brent goose, which was one of the cmallest found in 

 Britain. It was one of extreme infrequency on the west coast. 

 Curiously enough, the barnacle goose, which was of the same 

 genus, was infrequent on the east, and the two occupied very 

 well-defined limits during their winter sojourn in this country. 

 The barnacle goose was the characteristic goose of the Solway, 

 and right up the coast to Cape Wrath it was found in great 

 numbers. The very first goose that ever he shot was a Brent 

 goose, and that was twenty-five years ago, below Southerness. 

 It was a solitary bird, and none of the gunners with him had 

 ever seen it before. Probably no more than twelve or twenty 

 specimens of this goose had occurred during that lengthy 

 interval on any part of the Solway or Galloway coast. The 

 two varieties of the Brent goose were easily distinguishable, one 

 being black-breasted, the other white-breasted. As the two 

 forms never mixed, he felt a little lucky in getting both from 

 their own particular district. During this season and last very 

 curious changes had taken place in the distribution of geese 

 locally; and this season they had been more than usually con- 

 spicuous among birds of this region. At one time the two 

 lesser-sized forms of the grey goose had prevailed in this part 

 of the country, but some ten years ago a very noticeable change 

 had taken place. The grey lag goose and the white-fronted 

 goose had got into the ascendant, and they now occupied all the 

 green track along our shores, almost to the exclusion of the 

 others. The grey geese in this country were four in number — 



