9O BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



plentiful; but even these birds prefer to lay well 

 off the coast, especially during the daytime. 

 Rough weather brings them coastwards, and at 

 such times we often remark flocks of from a 

 score to a hundred birds swimming in the 

 unusually stormy water of the estuaries, or stand- 

 ing upon the mud and sandbanks. At such 

 times the birds frequently come close inshore, 

 as if perfectly well aware that no boat could 

 venture out in chase of them. Swans are even 

 less common objects on the Devonshire estuaries; 

 and this is all the more strange when we bear 

 in mind that large swanneries (Mute Swans) are 

 in the vicinity. A year or so ago Mute Swans 

 were observed on the Teign; whilst an occasional 

 Wild Swan is seen. Returning to the Geese for 

 a moment, it is interesting to remark that no 

 less than two examples of that rare bird, the 

 Red-breasted Goose, have been obtained, one 

 in the estuary of the Exe, and the other a few 

 miles lower down the coast in the marshes of 

 the Teign. Neither can these estuaries be re- 

 garded nowadays as a great resort for Ducks. 

 We must confess to feelings of disappointment 

 in this direction, and the coasts of Devon seem 



