BIRDS 299 



forty yards from my position. It was on the 24th of January 

 1884 that I first formed an acquaintance, which extended over 

 a good many weeks, during which the Long-tailed Duck afforded 

 not a little pleasure by its attractive action and picturesque 

 appearance. Though most often alone, it was not entirely 

 unwilling to fraternise with the Goldeneyes. At such times it 

 forewent its usual low flights across the water, to indulge in lofty 

 aerial evolutions with its strong-winged companions. In the 

 autumn of that year, 1884, I recognised a small party of Long- 

 failed Ducks flying up the Esk. Again, on the 13th of Dec. 

 1890, when sitting with Mr. Thorpe on the edge of Burgh 

 marsh, we saw a Long-tailed Duck turn the point of the marsh 

 and come up the Eden, flying directly towards us. The facial 

 spots were fast developing — it passed within a few yards of us — 

 but my companion did not recognise it, and, as we had agreed 

 not to fire, in order to give fair play to Bryson, the punt- 

 gunner, whose sport we had once or twice spoilt with a chance 

 shot, and who was just drawing up to some Goldeneyes, neither 

 of us emptied a cartridge. On it flew, following the flowing 

 tide, but, spying the Goldeneyes, wheeled round and alighted in 

 their ranks. Bryson fired, but no Long-tail floated dead upon 

 the water. We rejoiced that the rare stranger had for once 

 escaped destruction, but the satisfaction was short-lived. Three 

 days after, the same gunner was again slaughtering the poor 

 Goldeneyes, and among the slain this time was the Long-tail, 

 shot in the identical reach of river in which it had so narrowly 

 escaped its doom at our first interview. As we had conjectured, 

 it proved to be a young male, but smaller than any other male 

 specimen that I have handled. It weighed just lj lb. The 

 heaviest bird of this species that I ever weighed scaled just 

 1 lb. 10 oz. My personal experience of Long- tailed Ducks in 

 the Solway faunal area can happily be extended by that of Mr. 

 Nicol, who has met with several examples of this bird during 

 his gunning experiences near Silloth. Many immature Long- 

 tailed Ducks appeared on the English coasts during the autumn 

 and early winter of 1887 — it was quite a 'visitation' of 

 Harelda glacialis — as I pointed out in the Field, and a few 

 birds visited both the Scottish and English waters of the Solway 



