74 INVERERNE. 



garganey (anas querquedula). Besides these birds, there were 

 immense Hocks of coots arid numbers of moorhens, &c. One 

 swan only is at present on the loch, which, from its half-frozen 

 state, is not in good condition for wildfowl. In the dusk we 

 took up position near some potato fields, where the potatoes had 

 not been raised in consequence of the disease in the plant. Here 

 we killed several mallards and ducks. These birds feed greedily 

 on the half-rotten potatoes. 



February 16th. Shot wildfowl again at the lake. There 

 seems to be an immense proportion of drakes amongst the wigeon. 

 These birds have begun to pair, and flew about towards evening 

 in pairs. We placed ourselves this evening at dusk in the line 

 of flight taken by the wigeon from the lake to their feeding- 

 places on the grass fields bordering the water's edge. At dusk 

 the wigeon flew as fast as the flocks could succeed each other, 

 sometimes in small companies, sometimes in pairs. They utter a 

 peculiar whistle when on wing, different to their whistle when 

 feeding or swimming. 1 shot five myself as they passed all 

 drakes. Out of ten wigeon which we killed this evening only 

 one was a duck. 



The rooks begin to collect in the ash trees at Gordonstown, 

 where they breed, making a great noise in the morning. I also 

 heard the spring cry of the kestrel hawk. 



[February 20th. Wild cats are brindled grey, and I have 

 observed that domestic cats of that colour are more inclined 

 to take to the woods and hunt for themselves than others. 

 When they do so, they grow very large and are most destructive 

 to game of all kinds. 



A large cat of this colour found out some tame rabbits 

 belonging to my boys and killed several of them. At last we 

 saw him come out of a hole where some white rabbits were 

 breeding, and he was shot. The brute had evidently been living 

 on them for some time. I first discovered that he was in the 

 hole by the old rabbits showing alarm and watching the mouth 

 of the hole with erect ears.] * 



* [See "Sport in Moray, 1882," p. 39. ED.] 



