244 FIELD-NOTES FOR THE YEAR. CH. XVII. 



animals seemed shut out by perpendicular preci- 

 pices from all the rest of the world. 



As for the goats, no ledge or projection of the 

 rocks near which grew any tempting bit of herbage 

 seemed too small or too difficult of approach. 



About three weeks ago our tame pochard had 

 been carried away in a hurricane of wind. To 

 my surprise, one day this month I saw this same 

 pochard swimming about the loch alone, and ap- 

 parently very tame. One of the children who was 

 with me, and whose own especial property the bird 

 had been, whistled to it in the same way in which 

 he had been accustomed to call it, upon which, to 

 his unbounded joy, it immediately came towards 

 us, and for some time continued swimming within 

 a few yards of where we stood, evidently recognis- 

 ing us, and seeming glad to see us again. 



A few days afterwards we again saw him ; but 

 he was now accompanied by a flock of fourteen 

 or fifteen others. This was remarkable, both on 

 account of the time of year, and because this kind 

 of duck is very rare in this region, and has never 

 been known to breed in the neighbourhood ; but 

 all birds seem to have some means of calling and 

 attracting those of the same species, in a way that 

 we cannot understand. 



My peregrine falcon, who still lives in the 



