502 Zoological Notes, by Andrew Brotherston, Kelso. 



Little Auk (JJria minor), Bris. — After some very stormy 

 weather, a very fine male of this inhabitant of the Arctic ocean, 

 in a somewhat exhausted state, was caught near Sunnilaws, 

 Northumberland, November 21st, 1875. Although not much 

 spent, the stomach was completely empty ; not even a bit of 

 gravel or slime being found in it. 



Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus), Penn. — One, a male, was 

 shot on Girrick pond, near Mellerstain, Berwickshire, on the 19 th 

 of November, 1875. This was a solitary bird, no other being 

 with it, although it was observed on the pond for several days. 

 This is a neat little bird, with lobed feet, resembling in form those 

 of the coot. 



Food of the Heron. — The food of these voracious birds con- 

 sists principally of small fish, of which they destroy large num- 

 bers. Besides these they feed on rats, mice, frogs, &c. ; one that 

 I examined, which was shot near Morebattle, had upwards of 

 twenty newts in its stomach. 



Goosander {Mergus merganser), L. — This is another destructive 

 bird on fish ; much more so than the Heron, as its food is more 

 confined to them. The Goosander is a regular winter visitant to 

 the Tweed and its tributaries every season, also to Yetholm and 

 Hoselaw Lochs. Usually most are seen in this neighbourhood, 

 when they are on their northward journey in the spring. During 

 the last winter, 1875-6, they have been much more numerous 

 than usual, probably owing to the mildness of the season. In 

 hard winters they go farther south, and also frequent the sea- 

 coast more than in a mild season. They are widely spread in the 

 district ; besides being found on all the lower parts of the river, 

 they have also been got in the upper — Selkirk, Hawick, Lauder, 

 &c. 



Tufted Duck (Anas fuliguh), Penn. — This graceful bird is one 

 of the commonest of our winter visitors — of the duck kind — to 

 the Tweed, and also to the lochs and ponds. On Tetholm and 

 Hoselaw Lochs, large flocks are to be seen every winter. Unlike 

 most of its congeners, there is a large proportion of adult males, 

 indeed so far as my experience goes, the females and young are 

 comparatively rare, whereas in the Golden Eye, (Anas clangula) 

 — another common species in the same localities — there are very 

 few old males, but large numbers of young males and females. 

 The Wigeon, Anas penelope, and the Pochard, Anas ferina, are 

 both plentiful. The Scaup, Anas marila, although rare generally 

 in this district, is frequent on Yetholm Loch. I have a Long- 

 tailed Duck, Anas glacialis, which was shot on the same loch. It 

 is a young male in immature plumage, with (which is very un- 

 common in that state) one of the long tail feathers fully grown. 



Nuthatch, (Sitta JEwopm), Penn.— About 1850 I caught one 



