VOL. XIII.] NOTES. 245 



half a dozen of his dives being as follows : 37, 42, 36, 35, 33, 

 32 seconds, and those of the duck, 33, 37, 35, 33, 33, 32 seconds. 

 On emerging, the duck seemed to shoot up more buoyantly 

 than the drake. In the afternoon I timed the drake for 

 four dives, as follows : 42, 40, 42, 45 seconds. The periods 

 during which the birds were above water between the dives 

 I timed as follows : 10, 8, 6, 8, 7, 11 seconds. On December 

 2ist I timed a pair diving and emerging almost simultaneously, 

 as follows : 34, 32, 37, 38, 40, 43, 36 seconds. Before the 

 two longest of these dives, the birds swam for some time on 

 the surface of the water. Seton Gordon. 



LONG-TAILED DUCKS INLAND IN CHESHIRE. 

 On December 7th, 1919, I saw two Long-tailed Ducks 

 {Clangula hyemalis) on " Marston Hole," one of the salt 

 subsidences at Northwich in mid-Cheshire. One, which I 

 saw more clearly than the other, was evidently a mature 

 female with head and neck very much whiter than those 

 of the other bird ; the second, which was diving repeatedly 

 under a bank, was of much more dusky plumage, and as it 

 had a tail distinctly pointed and rather longer than that of 

 the female, was presumably a young male. 



Mr. T. A. Coward, who saw the birds on December loth 

 had an excellent view of both, and 's of the opinion that 

 they were of the sexes suggested. 



The Long-tailed Duck is very rarely seen on inland Cheshire 

 waters ; in fact, the only previous record of which I am aware 

 was of one on Marbury Mere — a neighbouring piece of 

 water (c/. T. A. Coward, British Birds, Vol. IV., p. 219). 



A. W. Boyd. 



RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS OFF ANGLESEY IN 

 APRIL AND PUFFIN BREEDING ON SKERRIES. 

 On April 27th, 1913, I identified four male and five female 

 Red-breasted Mergansers {Mergus serrator) on the sea off 

 Penrhos beach near Holyhead. 



With regard to the statement in the Fauna of North 

 Wales (p. 403), that the Puffin [Fratercula a. grabcs) does 

 not now breed on the Skerries, it is worth recording that, 

 on June 18th, 1911, my friend Mr. W. Glynne Edwards, of 

 Holyhead, showed me two Puffin's eggs, which he had taken 

 on the Skerries two days previously. 



Mr. H. E. Forrest informs me he overlooked the above 

 notes when compiling his Handbook to the Fauna of North 

 Wales. Geo. R. Humphreys. 



