7492 Birds. 



water, whilst others have their foundations at the bottom, and are 

 raised till they become from six to twelve inches above its surface some- 

 times in a depth of one and a half to two feet of water." — Mr. Hewitson. 

 The nests are frequently washed from their foundations by floods, and 

 then float on the surface of the water, and are driven by the wind to 

 the shore; the hen bird, if incubating at the time, exhibits no disap- 

 probation of this change of position, but continues assiduously to per- 

 form her parental duties. 



Eggs, 7 — 10. Gray, tinged with green, speckled and spotted with 

 brown, the spots very few, less numerous and darker than the speckles. 

 " The 3'oung, when excluded, are clothed with a patch of black down, 

 tipped with gray ; having the base of the beak and forehead covered 

 with small scarlet appendages, and the occiput surrounded with a 

 circle of yellow hairy down." — Mr. Selby. "I think the young of the 

 coot has more red and yellow on the neck and back than in Mr. 

 Selby's description : the body is sooty black." — Mr. Bond. 



Rednecked Phalarope, Phalaropus hyperhoreus. 



Situation. Breeds in the Orkney Islands, and always near the sea. 

 " The nests were placed in small tufts of grass growing close to the 

 edge of the loch : they were formed of dried grass, and were about 

 the size of that of a titlark, but much deeper. The eggs are consider- 

 ably smaller than those of the dunlin, and are beautifully spotted all 

 over with brown." — Mr. Salmon. 



Materials. Grasses and sedges. 



Eggs, 4. Olive-green, with appropriate black spots. 



Graylag Goose, Anser ferus. 



Situation. " It breeds amongst rushes and other coarse herbage, 

 making a large nest of vegetable matter, and laying from six to twelve 

 eggs of sullied white."— Mr. Selby. " On Loch Maddie we saw a few 

 pairs of the graylag goose, and found one egg which is rather smaller 

 than that of the bean goose, and more pointed at the smaller end." — 

 Sir William Milner (Zool. 2015). 



Bean Goose, Anser Segetum. 



Situation. " This bird, which I take to be the common wild goose, 

 certainly breeds in the western islands of Scotland, and also in the 

 Highland lochs of Scotland, always in the vicinity of water." Sir 

 W. M. E. Milner has favoured me with the following note : — " Upon 

 Loch Laighall, in Sutherlandshire, we found several pairs of the bean 

 goose breeding, and procured their eggs, which are smaller than those 

 of the common goose, but of a similar shape and colour. They gene- 

 rally lay from six to eight eggs, but are so constantly robbed that they 



