﻿108 
  

  

  BIRDS. 
  

  

  Spatula 
  clypeata 
  (L.). 
  Shoveller. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Jennings 
  informs 
  us 
  that 
  he 
  has 
  known 
  a 
  few 
  instances 
  of 
  this 
  

   species 
  breeding 
  on 
  small 
  swampy 
  lochs 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  

   Tain, 
  but 
  he 
  has 
  never 
  met 
  with 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  winter. 
  

  

  St. 
  John 
  mentions 
  that 
  several 
  pairs 
  of 
  Shovellers 
  bred 
  on 
  the 
  

   loch 
  of 
  Spynie, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  frequent 
  that 
  place 
  the 
  whole 
  winter. 
  

  

  The 
  only 
  place 
  we 
  have 
  personally 
  met 
  with 
  them 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  

   loch 
  of 
  Spynie, 
  which 
  is 
  carefully 
  preserved 
  by 
  the 
  owner, 
  Captain 
  

   Dunbar-Brander. 
  Here 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  pairs 
  of 
  Shovellers 
  nest, 
  and 
  

   we 
  put 
  up 
  several 
  when 
  going 
  about 
  in 
  the 
  punt. 
  When 
  rising, 
  

   this 
  duck 
  makes 
  a 
  peculiar 
  clapping 
  noise 
  with 
  its 
  wings, 
  quite 
  

   unlike 
  any 
  other 
  species. 
  

  

  Messrs. 
  Small, 
  Edinburgh, 
  had 
  one 
  sent 
  them 
  from 
  Morayshire 
  

   on 
  December 
  5th, 
  1870. 
  

  

  Edward 
  speaks 
  of 
  it 
  as 
  quite 
  a 
  rarity 
  about 
  Banff. 
  In 
  the 
  

   latter 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1837-38 
  a 
  mutilated 
  specimen 
  was 
  

   found 
  amongst 
  the 
  rocks 
  at 
  Blackpot, 
  on 
  the 
  coast. 
  

  

  Since 
  Edward's 
  time, 
  however, 
  the 
  Shoveller 
  has 
  become 
  

   more 
  plentiful 
  along 
  the 
  lands 
  on 
  the 
  south 
  shore 
  of 
  the 
  Moray 
  

   Firth. 
  In 
  1879 
  Harvie-Brown 
  saw 
  and 
  shot 
  both 
  old 
  and 
  young 
  

   within 
  the 
  boundaries 
  of 
  the 
  Deveron 
  watershed, 
  upon 
  dams 
  or 
  

   ponds 
  near 
  Keith, 
  in 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  August 
  ; 
  they 
  were 
  associating 
  

   at 
  the 
  time 
  with 
  other 
  wild-fowh 
  They 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  breed 
  

   regularly, 
  and 
  not 
  uncommonly, 
  in 
  many 
  parts 
  of 
  Moray. 
  In 
  

   1885 
  there 
  were 
  from 
  four 
  to 
  five 
  pairs 
  nesting 
  on 
  Loch 
  Spynie, 
  

   and 
  the 
  young 
  birds 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  are 
  not 
  infrequently 
  met 
  with 
  all 
  

   along 
  the 
  Laigh 
  of 
  Moray 
  (Captain 
  Dunbar-Brander 
  and 
  W. 
  S. 
  

   Mackessack 
  of 
  Newton 
  Struthers, 
  near 
  Forres), 
  and 
  in 
  1878 
  two 
  

   pairs 
  are 
  recorded 
  as 
  having 
  bred 
  in 
  the 
  Loch 
  of 
  Cotts 
  (Fauna 
  of 
  

   Moray, 
  edition 
  1889, 
  p. 
  33). 
  

  

  The 
  Shoveller 
  may 
  be 
  looked 
  upon 
  as 
  a 
  very 
  rapidly 
  increasing 
  

   nesting 
  species 
  in 
  many 
  parts 
  of 
  Scotland, 
  and 
  especially 
  of 
  late 
  

   years. 
  

  

  Dafila 
  acuta 
  (L.). 
  Pintail. 
  

  

  Although 
  mostly 
  a 
  spring 
  visitor 
  to 
  the 
  north-east 
  of 
  our 
  area, 
  and 
  

   not 
  a 
  very 
  common 
  one 
  even 
  then, 
  it 
  occurs 
  also 
  in 
  the 
  autumn 
  

   and 
  winter. 
  Mr. 
  Jennings 
  thus 
  says 
  that 
  the 
  Pintail 
  is 
  common 
  

   and 
  fairly 
  numerous 
  ' 
  in 
  severe 
  winters 
  ' 
  on 
  the 
  Dornoch 
  Firth. 
  A 
  

   fine 
  male 
  was 
  brought 
  to 
  him 
  on 
  one 
  occasion 
  from 
  a 
  locality 
  near 
  

  

  