BIRDS. 175 



was almost impossible to hold the glass steady enough to dis- 

 tinguish the different kinds of fowl, of which there were many, 

 on the water. 



Mr. E. S. Cameron informs us that Pochards begin to arrive 

 in the end of August, and that larger flocks of them are seen 

 than any other duck. Their favourite localities are the loch of 

 Boardhouse on the Mainland, and Bay Loch, Sanday. 



Fuligula marila (L.). Scaup. 



A winter visitor; not plentiful in Sanday, according to Mr. 

 Harvey. 



On the Mainland it appears to be very common from 

 all accounts, appearing in hundreds on the loch of Stenness. On 

 the loch of Harray, however (which is really the northern divi- 

 sion of the same sheet of water), Mr. Irvine-Fortescue informs 

 us he has scarcely seen any, and never more than half-a-dozen 

 or so in a flock ; they seem to be shifty birds, as the same gentle- 

 man tells us at times scarcely one is to be seen, even in Sten- 

 ness. Mr. Irvine-Fortescue also adds that he saw what he took 

 to be a bird of this species on the loch of Rango in summer 

 about the year 1883, probably a pricked bird. In other parts 

 of the Mainland the Scaup appears in small flocks. 



On August 28th, 1888, Mr. Cameron informs us that he saw 

 a small lot of Scaup on the loch of Scockness, a small, secluded 

 loch, fringed and half-covered with water-plants, in the island 

 of Rousay. The birds were very tame, but he could not ascer- 

 tain whether the party consisted of birds bred on the spot, or 

 were merely early arrivals. There seemed to be two pairs with 

 their young, and the old drakes were already in full plumage. 



Fuligula cristata (Leach). Tufted Duck, 



A common, though not an abundant, winter visitor to Orkney. 

 In Sanday Mr. Harvey remarks that they are very shy. 



On the Mainland, the lochs of Harray and Skaill are a 

 resort of this species, and they also occur in the "Peerie Sea," 

 near Kirkwall. 



