The Zoologist— April, 1867. 673 



Blackheaded Gull. — This little gull I found more numerous than 

 any other species, and more pinched by the hard weather ; some I shot 

 were mere lumps of feathers. The lover of sea-fowl cannot but admire 

 the way in which these little fellows crowd in flocks, and hover over 

 any piece of water containing any floating matter that they seek, or 

 how they flock with beating wings round the fishing-boats as they 

 come in from the sea, and gracefully stoop with hanging feet to pick 

 up what Fortune finds for them on the water. 



Kitliwake. — Scarce, so far as I could see. Do not these birds 

 come farther south in the winter ? We have very few on this coast, of 

 course on account of the flats, which are only frequented by wading 

 gulls. 



Bean Goose. — I saw a small flock of five geese one day, which I 

 fancy were of this species, but they did not fly near enough for me to 

 observe any distinguishing characteristic, with the exception of their 

 large size and gray colour. 



Brent Goose. — These birds are in the proportion of a hundred to 

 one of any other wild fowl in the Firth. Their numbers are extra- 

 ordinary : no matter in what part of the Firth your boat might be, you 

 were sure to come upon brent geese (they are called " barnacle geese" 

 there) — the real bernicle 1 neither saw nor heard of); while hun- 

 dreds were on the " muds," feeding, flocks rushed about here and 

 there over the feeding-grounds with their wild note " like a pack of 

 hounds in full cry," and at the same time other flocks were scattered 

 here and there over the Firth resting on the deep water. They were 

 always " on the move," like restless spirits, and tended greatly to 

 enliven the gloomy frosty days, of which we had not a few, with their 

 lively habits and noisy tongues. Their chief feeding-ground is Nigg 

 Bay, on the Ross-shire side of the Firth ; very few ever frequent Udel 

 Bay, the resort of the mallard. This goose dives for some distance 

 when winged and pursued in a boat. I could not help admiring the 

 handsome graceful head and neck and wild eye of a wounded bird, 

 which I was one day chasing. He reminded me something of the 

 wild-looking black swan of Australia : two or three of his companions 

 were loath to forsake him, and flew round him once within shot ; had 

 I had a breech-loader I should have added them to my bag. There 

 was always a great movement at sunset: immense numbers used to fly 

 out to sea regularly every evening, and this used to puzzle me, as they 

 were always in the Firth again a few hours after; this seemed quite 



SECOND SERIES — VOL. II. U 



