BIRD-LIFE ON THE MOORS IN OCTOBER. 97 



Northumberland, which completely puzzled me a big, black 

 diving duck, along with a dozen Mallards. As the stranger 

 continued diving, remaining under water for half a minute at 

 a time, I easily managed to " run down " on him, and pin- 

 ioned him by a long shot as he rose ; but after that, it cost 

 me an hour's hard work, and nearly a dozen cartridges, ere 

 the red paddles turned upwards, so hard was the bird, and 

 so quick and determined a diver. This duck proved to be a 

 Velvet Scoter, an adult female, having a grey-speckled breast, 

 and two curious patches of white on either side of the head, 

 one at the base of the upper mandible, and a larger and more 

 defined patch on the ear. It weighed 31b. 2oz., and the crop 

 contained only gravel. This was a strange bird to find at a 

 hill-lough, far inland ; for the Velvet Scoter is essentially a 

 sea-duck, and its occurrence here is mentioned in the 4th 

 edition of Yarrell's "British Birds." 



Hardly less remarkable is the occurrence, at this same 

 lough, of the Sheld-Duck, another marine species. On Nov. 20, 

 1877, while we were grouse-shooting, my brother and Mr. 

 Browell reconnoitred the lough, when seven Sheld-Ducks rose 

 at the far end, and, deliberately flying right over the guns, 

 paid the penalty of their innocence by losing half their com- 

 pany, three being killed and a fourth wounded. They were 

 all immature, and it was difficult to persuade the worthy vil- 

 lagers of Elsdon that these gaudy ducks were not escaped 

 stragglers from some private pond or ornamental water. 

 Another sea-duck of which I have a single instance to 

 record on the inland waters is the Scaup a young drake 

 shot in November, 1875. Of course the occurrence on the 

 inland moors of all these purely sea-ducks can only be re- 

 garded as exceptional, and the record extends back over a 

 considerable number of years. 



The Goosander is another not infrequent autumn visitant, 

 but it rarely appears on the still waters of the moorland loughs- 

 (which contain no fish), its preference being for running waters 

 and the larger streams, such as Redewater, Coquet, and, more 

 specially, Tweed. This handsome duck differs from the 

 closely allied Merganser in being essentially a fresh-water 

 bird, feeding on trout, and only exceptionally appearing on 



