244 THE BIRDS OF lONA AND MULL. 



be, therefore, any chance of a dash of wild blood being infused into the 

 barnyard stock of geese (as there is in our ducks), yet it is remarkable 

 that our domestic geese are more than usually volatile in all our 

 islands, and it is not an uncommon thing for a gudewife to lose her 

 whole stock in one night through neglecting to cut their wings in time. 

 They usually give warning, as the critical time of migration approaches, 

 by taking wing for short distances and general flighty behaviour. 

 They have been known to leave lona and cross the Sound, not return- 

 ing for a day or two. So they extend their flights until they fly away 

 for good. Sometimes a flock has come in from Tiree, twenty miles 

 and more due west of us, and their owners have come by boat after 

 them to recover them. My friend Mr M'Vean lost a fine flock one 

 winter. There was one solitary duck living with them, and she, deter- 

 mining not to be left behind, started in company with her bigger 

 associates. They were observed at several points in their flight across 

 Mull, and attracted special attention from the remarkable appearance 

 presented by the party — the geese, after the fashion of their kind, 

 flying in a long string, and the odd duck gallantly keeping her position 

 underneath the line. They were last seen steering south. These lost 

 birds never return ; probably they are captured or killed wherever they 

 alight. 



The Bean Goose. 



Is one of the winter frequenters of the islands, visiting the larger 

 ones to feed at night. 



The Pink-footed Goose. 



Is another of the winter geese, and by no means a rare one, but 

 the general colour of the grey geese is so similar that you cannot tell 

 one kind from another at a distance. A large flock always breaks up 

 into battalions when put to flight, which I suppose to be the different 

 species keeping together, though the barnicles are the only ones whose 

 species you could be certain about. The first pink-footed I got was 

 early on a stormy morning. He astonished our tame geese by alighting 

 among them, which they clamorously protested against. The uproar 

 attracted the attention of the herd, who easily detected the stranger by 

 his graceful form and elegant action, much more conspicuous than any 

 difference of colour in the grey morning's sullen light. Being notified, 

 I ran out and shot it in the light and airy drapery of the bed-chamber. 



