356 APPENDIX. 



Pintail — Dafila acuta (Linn. ) 



Occurs in winter and spring ; more frequent during the latter season ; 

 mostly confined to the south-east districts. Has occurred at Tongue, 

 but rarely, and has not been seen much of late years. 



Wigeon — Mareca penelope (Linn.) 



Common, and resident in the east ; most numerous at the Little Ferry 

 and Dornoch Firth in the winter. Breeds abundantly in some parts 

 of the eastern district of the county, notably about Loch Brora and 

 Loch Naver, more sparingly in other places. Observed at the head of 

 Loch Shin in summer of 1SS3, but it is open to doubt if it is found 

 anywhere in the west, or between the mountains and the sea. It is 

 found between Tongue and Loch Emboli in the north, and thence 

 eastwards. 



Pochard — Fuligula ferina (Linn. ) 

 Mr. Crawford tells us he is convinced this duck breeds at several 

 localities in the Tongue district, and he instanced one loch where they 

 are seen all summer. In the east it is a winter visitant only, not 

 uncommon in the Dornoch Firth. 



Scaup — Fuligula marila (Linn.) 



Mr. Selby records a single female shot by Sir W. Jardine in 1S34, which 

 was attended by a young bird which escaped. Sir W. Jardine, in a 

 subsequent communication to us, seemed to have some doubts if this 

 was, however, a young Scaup, but we cannot think there is reasonable 

 cause to suppose it was anything else. We have other strong presump- 

 tive evidence of its having bred. In June 1S6S Harvie-Brown shot an 

 adult male Scaup on a loch in the west, which, from the bird's unwilling- 

 ness to leave, even when repeatedly fired at, led him to think the female 

 was not far off ; and there is other evidence elsewhere detailed (Proc. 

 Nat. H. Soc. Glasg. 1875). In the south-east it is not an uncommon 

 winter visitant about the Little Ferry and Dornoch Firth. Rare in 

 the Tongue district. 



Tufted Duck — Fuligula cristata (Leach). 

 Winter visitant ; has been shot in the Dornoch Firth. 



Golden-eye — Clangula glaucion. 



Sir W. Jardine includes this species as observed on two occasions ; one, 

 a male, between Thurso and Tongue, May 17 ; and on another occasion, 

 from a small loch near Loch Maddy (or Maedie ?), the party flushed a 

 female on the 21st of the same month. Mr. St. John also observed it 

 on Loch Laoghal in summer. It has been recorded by Mr. Dunbar as 

 breeding near Loch Assynt in the hollow of an old larch-tree. There 

 are now no larch -trees, to our knowledge, on the shores of Loch 

 Assynt, and we have never met with the species during eighteen years' 

 experience of the west. The Golden-eye is a common visitant to the 

 eastern districts, frequenting many of the inland lochs and still pools 

 in the rivers ; these are, as a rule, young birds and females, the older 

 males keeping more to the sea ; they remain until quite late in the 

 spring. 



Long-tailed Duck — Harelda glacialis (Linn.) 



A winter visitant, and very abundant along the coast wherever suitable 

 for them. 



Eider Duck — Somateria mollissima (Linn. ) 



Said by St. John to breed on the islands off the Kyle of Tongue ; there 

 are specimens of this bird in the Dunrobin Museum. Breeds in small 



