NOTES ON THE Birps OF DUMFRIESSHIRE. 39 
and it is highly probable that the American Wigeon, shot in 
1918, came from there also. Sir Richard Graham wrote to 
me in 1921 as follows :—‘‘ In 1914 I had about 20 full-winged 
hand-reared American Wigeon, got by crossing common 
Wigeon with an American drake Wigeon. The same way as 
I bred most of the Pintail and Gadwall, by crossing a Mallard 
duck with a Pintail drake, and a Gadwall drake; which takes 
about three crossings. When the war came the want of food, 
together with the search-lights from the Gretna Munition 
Works, drove most of the ducks away. Prior to 1914 the 
following were about the numbers of pairs breeding near 
Solway Moss:—Wigeon, 10; Pintail, 12; Shoveler, 4; 
Tufted, 4; Gadwall, 5. There were no Summer-duck, 
Pochard or Garganey. The ducks that still breed on, or near, 
Solway Moss that used not to breed, are Common Wigeon, 
Pintail, Shoveler, and Tufted. I hope and think these will 
increase. . . . Ihave seen no American Wigeon or Man- 
darin on the ponds the last two years; but a pair of flying 
Mandarin were seen this Spring at Netherby; but their nests, 
however, are so easy to find, I doubt them rearing any young 
ones.’’ Pintail are reported to me as far more numerous 
than formerly, in the Solway Firth, in winter and I think 
that, perhaps, the Shoveler nests in Dumfriesshire less rarely 
than it used to do: otherwise the wildfowl experiments at 
Netherby would not appear to have had any effect on our 
local fauna. It is certainly very curious, since Wigeon, Pin- 
tail, and Gadwall now breed freely on, or near, Solway Moss, 
that nests of none of these species should as yet have been 
found in Dumfriesshire. 
THE INDEX. 
The following additions and corrections must be made :— 
Americana, Mareca. 
Bittern for the Common Snipe ae p- 389 
Black and White Woodpecker, and Black and 
White Spotted Woodpecker, for the Wood- 
pecker, British Great Spotted ... ae Peep LS 7 
71 Sir Richard Graham; in litt., 22nd July and 11th August, 
1921, 
