VOL. VTTT.] NOTES. 248 



to swim, and we have heard of an adult Great Northern 

 Diver progressing in much the same way a§ that described 

 above. One of us has seen adult Guillemots progressing 

 in much the same way when left by a falHng tide in narrow 

 creeks in a saltmarsh. — Eds.] 



FEEDING HABIT OF RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. 



Some photographs of mine of the Red-necked Phalarope 

 {Phalaropus lohatus) appeared in the June issue of British 

 Birds (Vol. VIII., pp. 9-12). As an appendix to the notes 

 that accompanied them, I venture to record the following : — 



Last summer I spent some time in watching some of this 

 species, which were feeding in small parties in the shallow 

 pools in a large marsh by the River Yenesei, Siberia. My 

 attention was called to a curious custom of two of the birds, 

 which, remaining stationary would suddenly begin to pivot 

 rapidly round and round on their own axis. After half-a- 

 dozen turns they stopped, and snapped up floating particles 

 from the surface of the water. Twice subsequently I saw 

 single birds behave in the same way. It occurred to me 

 that a possible explanation might be that the bottom was 

 just beyond the reach of the birds, and that by creating 

 a circular eddy with their bodies, the mud might be swirled 

 to the top of the water, in the same way that tea-leaves can 

 be drawn to the surface of a cup by stirring it with a spoon. 

 Of course, Ducks can often be seen turning round and round 

 when feeding with the head submerged, but this is incidental 

 only to their position, and is not analogous to the action 

 of the Phalaropes, which was performed when the birds 

 were resting on the water. Maud D. Haviland. 



[The above is an interesting confirmation of a habit noted 

 by Dr. P. H. Bahr in Scotland some years ago, and recorded 

 in our first volume, pages 204-5. — Eds.] 



GLAUCOUS GULLS INLAND IN AYRSHIRE. 



Although the appearances of Glaucous Gulls {Larus glaucus) 

 are fairly regular on our coasts, it may be of interest to 

 note that on January 4th, 1915, I saw a white Gull together 

 with four Herring-Gulls at the Kilmarnock waterworks. 

 This bird, which proved to be a Glaucous Gull reaching the 

 mature stage, was not obtained until February 4th, having 

 remained about for a month. On February 5th another 

 was noticed near on the ploughed land, and still remains 

 as I write. The lochs are situated about fourteen miles 

 from the sea. The weather during January was not 

 unusually stormy. E. Richmond Paton. 



