244 FIELD-NOTES FOR THE YEAR, CII. XVII. 



As for the goats, no ledge or projection of the 

 rocks near which grew any tempting bit of herbage, 

 seemed too small or too difficult of approach. 



About three weeks ago our tame pochard had been 

 carried away in a hurricane of wind. To my sur- 

 prise, one day this month I saw this same pochard 

 swimming about the loch alone, and apparently 

 very tame. One of the children who was with me, 

 and whose own especial property the bird had been, 

 whistled to it in the same way in which he had been 

 accustomed to call it, upon which, to his unbounded 

 joy, it immediately came towards us, and for some 

 time continued swimming within a few yards of where 

 we stood, evidently recognising us, and seeming 

 glad to see us again. 



A few days afterwards we again saw him ; but 

 he was now accompanied by a flock of fourteen or 

 fifteen others. This was remarkable, both on 

 account of the time of year, and because this kind 

 of duck is very rare in this region, and has never 

 been known to breed in the neighbourhood ; but all 

 birds seem to have some means of calling and 

 attracting those of the same species, in a way that 

 we cannot understand. 



My peregTine falcon, who still lives in the garden, 

 now utters a call which is different from her usual 

 shrill complaining cry, and which occasionally 



