290 VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF LAKELAND 



favourite ponds, and naturally took to the salt and brackish 

 waters of the estuaries. Mr. Thorpe and I came across a couple 

 of full-dressed drakes and a young male swimming in the Eden 

 near Eockliffe, on January 3, 1891, and had for some minutes 

 enjoyed their study, swimming gaily in the side of the stream, 

 when the charm of the scene was rudely dispelled by a twelve- 

 bore belching forth its contents from a hedge on the opposite 

 bank. The young bird dropped dead, another drake fluttered 

 along the top of the water pinioned by a shot, the third dived 

 at the flash, came up on the other side and flew up the water. 

 The poor cripple swam low in the water and tried to make in 

 for the bank to land, but, in spite of our protestations, was ruth- 

 lessly butchered from a boat. The youngest bird was assuming 

 the black head on this date, but showed very few white feathers 

 on the flanks. 



SCAUP. 



Fuligula marila (L.). 



Richardson includes the Scaup among the Wild-fowl of Ulles- 

 water, and Dr. Hey sham was acquainted with the species, but 

 had only seen 'one specimen, which was shot in a very severe 

 winter.' The younger Heysham was more familiar with the 

 species; in January 1840 he offered to secure a specimen for 

 Henry Doubleday, adding that ' good ones only occur now and 

 then/ At the present time the Scaup is widely recognised as a 

 very common winter visitant, both to the estuaries of the 

 Duddon and Morecambe Bay, and to the waters of the English 

 Solway. It is recorded also from the Ravenglass estuary. 

 Inland, it cannot be called a common bird. Stragglers un- 

 doubtedly occur on our tarns and lakes, at a considerable dis- 

 tance from the sea, almost every winter; but it is generally 

 after boisterous weather. Even Monkhill Lough, which lies 

 within a very short flight of the Solway, is only visited inter- 

 mittently. We saw four Scaups there on November 28, 

 1888; but single birds are more often found on fresh-water 

 lakes. Nor is it usual to meet with Scaups during the summer 

 and early autumn. Undoubtedly stragglers occur at that 



