The Avifauna. 8i 



numbers frequent the brooks, the irrifyated meadows, 

 and Duddingston Loch. Notwithstanding their shy- 

 ness, mallard soon become accustomed to any noise 

 that does not threaten danger to them. We have 

 frequently flushed them in the Braid burn at night 

 close to a railway bridge where trains were thundering 

 past every few minutes. Mallard are easily tamed 

 when reared from the egg; and we have known them, 

 when eight months old, walk fearlessly into a hen-house 

 and drop their eggs. 



The Widgeon is a rare visitor to this district. 

 Three years ago at Duddingston Loch we discovered 

 a brace of widgeon feeding within shot of the shore, 

 but at a place where there was little cover. The 

 stalking of them was no easy matter. Anxious to 

 acquire them for our collection, we wriggled like a 

 serpent among the mud till within range, when we 

 fired and brought them both down at a shot. The 

 female was only winged, and, in spite of our best 

 efforts to capture her, could not be secured, but the 

 male was a splendid specimen. 



The Teal, though one of the commonest of ducks, 



