276 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
from the sea, and in close proximity to the town of Barrow) on 
October 14th; and on the same day I obtained two Knots in 
winter plumage on the sea-shore. For about three weeks from 
this date ducks were tolerably plentiful on the reseryoir and neigh- 
bouring ponds, and twelve or thirteen specimens, including Wigeon, 
Scoters,Goldeneye and Scaup Ducks were, to my knowledge, bagged 
during this period, independently of those killed on the coast. 
These birds were doubtless stragglers from flocks migrating south- 
wards, and | could hear of no more being obtained till December 
30th, when | killed a pair of Goldeneyes and a male Scaup on the 
same reservoir. At the same time a friend wounded another Scaup, 
which, being unable to fly, remains still (April) with us, fraternizing 
with some tame ducks, but always roosting on an island by itself. 
It remains to be seen whether it will interbreed with its domestic 
companions. 
Very few birds came under my immediate notice during the 
northward migration in the spring of this year. On March Ist 
1 observed a large flock of Golden Plover, some of which were in 
summer plumage, on a fallow field in the neighbourhood; and on 
the 4th a number of wild geese, twenty-seven in all, were seen 
wending their way towards the Kast, evidently ignorant of the fact 
that by the operation of a recent Act of Parliament, which protects 
these migrants during the breeding season, they might have 
descended from their elevated position without much fear of 
molestation. 
The rough cold weather that prevailed at the end of 1876 and 
the commencement of the present year brought in a number of 
sea birds which are not, as a rule, to be found in our channel. On 
December 28th a fiue specimen of the Great Northern Diver, 
together with two immature Redthroats, were seen, and | regret to 
add killed close to the town, and on the 31st twelve wild geese 
appeared on Walney Island, though, as it chanced to be Sunday, 
they were allowed to pass on their way unharmed, On the Ist 
January the harbour was full of Ducks of various species, Gulls, 
Divers, Razorbills, and Gannets, though, owing to the prevalence 
of a strong easterly gale but few specimens were obtained. A fine 
Gannet, an old male, measuring six feet across the wings, was, 
however, procured by a friend, together with a male Scoter, large 
flocks of which have frequented Morecambe Bay throughout the 
winter. In the gizzard of the last-mentioned bird I found several 
