21ie Summer Birds of Shetland. 553 



44. Mallard {Anas hoschas), (Wild Duke). — Sparingly 

 scattered in most localities, sufficiently remote from houses 

 to give the ducks a chance of getting off a brood. On 28th 

 May 1887, I overtook a duck with a brood of nine travelling 

 along the road near Skierda Loch. They were, though 

 apparently newly hatched, wonderfully active, and concealed 

 themselves among the heather with great dexterity. 



45. Teal {Querquedula crecca). — A few pairs only remain 

 to breed, and they seem most numerous in the Walls district 

 of Mainland. 



46. Widgeon (Anas penelope). — Much the same may be said 

 of the widgeon as of the teal. I saw several ducks which I 

 took to be of this species in Walls. 



47. Eider {Somateria mollissima), (Dunter). — The eider is 

 sparingly scattered round the coast of Mainland ; the only 

 place where I saw them in numbers was round the Eugla and 

 Lyra Skerries, off Papa-Stour. In the sea between Stour and 

 these islets I saw between sixty and seventy, nearly all 

 males, and found a nest with two eggs on a point opposite 

 them. The people informed me that great numbers of 

 dunters bred on these skerries, one of which, Lyra, is exceed- 

 ingly inaccessible, only two men on Stour being able to scale 

 it. On a tall stack here the whitetailed eagle bred some 

 years ago. 



48. Eedbreasted Merganser {Mergits serrator), (Hareld 

 Duck). — In districts where there is a number of lochs this 

 beautiful bird may be constantly seen. It particularly 

 favours those lochs which possess small rocky islets, some- 

 times covered with low bushes and dwarf trees (ash, birch, 

 and rowan). 



49.. Eedthroated Diver {Colymhus sepientrio7ialis), (Eain 

 Goose). — There are stiU a few pairs of this interesting species 

 nesting among the pools in the most secluded parts of Main- 

 land. These birds are usually very wary, but on two occasions 

 I surprised the female on the nest. On the first occasion the 

 nest was placed on the edge of a small pool, about fifteen 

 yards in diameter, and the bird rose on the wing directly off 

 the eggs, splashing heavily right across the surface of the water 

 before getting fairly launched on the wing. On the other, the 



