70 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 
Moss and reported to the late Mr Robert Service. The 
former was recorded as a specimen of the Lesser Snow 
Goose (Chen hyperboreus). 
The bird presented to the Royal Scottish Museum is a 
specimen of the Greater species—the Chen nivalis of 
Forster. This form is a native of eastern arctic America, 
breeding as far west as northern Greenland, whereas 
C. hyperboreus is at home in western arctic America and 
north-eastern Siberia. C. xzzvalzs has not hitherto been 
known to have occurred in Great Britain, but there is a 
record relating to its appearance in a skein of seven (one 
of which was obtained) in Ireland, namely at Belmullet, 
Co. Mayo, in October 1886. There appear to be no certain 
records of the occurrence of this form elsewhere in Europe. 
The Solway bird proved to be a female in its last year 
of immaturity, and hence, according to the views expressed 
by Alphéraky in his monograph on “ The Geese of Europe 
and Asia,” about three years old. The head and neck are 
greyish-white, darker on the crown and nape, and inter- 
spersed with white feathers on the former; body plumage 
white, with the exception of a band of grey feathers with 
brown tips across the mantle; primaries dark grey with the 
distal third black and the shafts white; wing-coverts grey 
with whitish mottling on the outer web; bastard wing- 
feathers pearly grey with black shafts; secondaries with 
grey centres, white edges, and white shafts. Wing, 17.32 ins. 
(40 mim.); culmen, 2.5 ins. (64 mm-)s “tarsus 340s: 
(86.3 mm.). The colour of the bill and feet the day after 
the bird was shot are described by Capt. Phillips as being 
olive-brown. 
Thanks are due to Capt. Montgomery for presenting this 
valuable specimen to the Royal Scottish Museum, in whose 
cabinet collection it has found an appropriate resting-place ; 
to Major Russell for much interesting information relating 
to these rare arctic visitors, and to Mr J. G. Gordon for his 
kind assistance. 
Waxwing in Kirkcudbrightshire—A Waxwing was picked 
up dead near Lochfoot, Lochrutton (Kirkcudbright), about 20th 
February 1920.—H. S, GLADSTONE. 
