5102 THE ZooLocist—OcToBER, 1876. 
We now got into the boat, and on pushing off from the shore 
many common ducks, teal and wigeon rose out of the reeds; they 
would be the male birds, as we saw several old ducks with young 
swimming after them, and two lots of wigeon, one of five and one 
of seven. After rowing across the lake I got out and fished up the 
bank. After going about one hundred yards I heard a sharp note, 
and on peeping amongst the rushes, about ten yards away, I saw a 
beautiful rednecked phalarope, the first one of the kind I had ever 
seen alive: he swam about on a small clear space amongst the 
rushes, nodding his head like a waterhen, piping all the time. 
I got into the boat to try and find the nest, or see if there were any 
young about; but when we got about twenty yards from him he 
rose up and flew out over the river; his flight was very much like 
that of the dunlin. Although we looked about very carefully we 
could not find either nest or young. We saw him again later in 
the day: he was in splendid plumage, the red on the neck being 
very bright. 
The wind, which had been boisterous during the morning, now 
blew a gale, and the lake being very rough, we started for home. 
On our way we put up a bird which flew on to a stone near: it was 
a dunlin in its handsome summer plumage. A few steps further 
on we found two young ones, which were running about amongst 
the grass: very pretty little fellows they were, too, just getting 
into feather. After catching and examining them we put them 
down, and they were soon lost to sight in the long grass. During 
the day we also saw several herons and a flock of eight oyster- 
catchers. 
On the 28th, while fishing Loch Lydoch, we stopped at the 
island where the herons breed, to see the nests, and when we got 
about one hundred yards away, from fifteen to twenty birds flew 
out of the birch trees which cover it. On landing we found about 
thirty nests, but all the birds except four had left. The nests 
were built low: the young birds were standing up in the nests, but 
when we got hold of the trees and shook them they squatted down. 
After a good deal of shaking, however, the birds took to flight and 
flapped over the lake, apparently having some trouble to land on 
the shore, where they stalked about amongst the stones in a most 
awkward manner. We got hold of two younger ones; they were 
very fat, and cried out most piteously, and on throwing one back 
up to the nest, he just caught hold of the edge with his feet and 
