﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  109 
  

  

  Tain 
  in 
  April 
  1888; 
  and 
  he 
  saw 
  a 
  young 
  male 
  that 
  had 
  been 
  

   killed 
  on 
  the 
  Cromarty 
  Firth 
  in 
  October 
  1889. 
  Specimens 
  in 
  his 
  

   collections 
  were 
  obtained 
  on 
  Loch 
  Eye, 
  near 
  Tain. 
  Booth 
  says 
  

   that 
  in 
  the 
  north-east 
  of 
  Scotland 
  these 
  birds 
  associate 
  with 
  

   Wigeons, 
  and 
  are 
  known 
  locally 
  as 
  1 
  "Wigeons' 
  Leaders.' 
  

  

  In 
  March 
  1851 
  two 
  Pintails 
  were 
  sent 
  to 
  Messrs. 
  Small, 
  Edin- 
  

   burgh, 
  from 
  Morayshire, 
  and 
  Macleay 
  received 
  specimens 
  from 
  

   Dalvey, 
  near 
  Forres, 
  in 
  1878, 
  and 
  from 
  Cawdor 
  in 
  1885. 
  St. 
  John 
  

   says 
  he 
  has 
  seen 
  Pintails 
  flying 
  about 
  the 
  loch 
  of 
  Spynie 
  in 
  June 
  

   and 
  July, 
  though 
  he 
  never 
  succeeded 
  in 
  finding 
  their 
  nest. 
  

  

  Edward 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  1 
  A 
  fine 
  male 
  brought 
  to 
  him, 
  shot 
  on 
  the 
  

   Deveron.' 
  This 
  species 
  is 
  not 
  represented 
  in 
  the 
  Banff 
  Museum. 
  

   Smith 
  says: 
  — 
  'The 
  writer 
  (i.e. 
  himself) 
  never 
  saw 
  one 
  on 
  the 
  

   Deveron, 
  but 
  in 
  1830 
  one 
  associated 
  with 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  Wild 
  

   Ducks.' 
  

  

  Pintails 
  have 
  occurred 
  in 
  adjoining 
  valleys 
  of 
  Moray, 
  and 
  

   have 
  been 
  received 
  by 
  Mr. 
  George 
  Sim, 
  in 
  the 
  flesh, 
  from 
  localities 
  

   such 
  as 
  Kingussie, 
  far 
  up 
  the 
  Spey, 
  Dalvey, 
  and 
  Forres 
  (rare) 
  ; 
  it 
  

   is 
  occasionally 
  seen 
  as 
  a 
  winter 
  visitant 
  on 
  Loch 
  Spynie, 
  and 
  

   specimens 
  are 
  also 
  recorded 
  from 
  the 
  Deveron 
  (Zoologist, 
  1848, 
  

   p. 
  2292). 
  

  

  Querquedula 
  crecca 
  (L.). 
  Teal. 
  

  

  The 
  Teal 
  is 
  a 
  common 
  bird 
  in 
  most 
  parts 
  of 
  our 
  area. 
  From 
  Mr. 
  

   Muirhead's 
  notes 
  this 
  species 
  would 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  very 
  common 
  on 
  

   Loch 
  Ness, 
  especially 
  where 
  the 
  Coilty 
  river 
  enters 
  it 
  at 
  Glen 
  

   Urquhart, 
  and 
  there 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  resident 
  ; 
  probably 
  this 
  may 
  

   be 
  because 
  Loch 
  Ness 
  does 
  not 
  freeze 
  in 
  winter. 
  Mr. 
  Jennings 
  

   says 
  it 
  is 
  resident 
  and 
  common 
  in 
  severe 
  weather 
  near 
  Tain, 
  

   though 
  farther 
  north 
  we 
  think 
  it 
  commoner 
  in 
  autumn, 
  departing 
  

   during 
  the 
  winter, 
  and 
  re-appearing 
  again 
  in 
  February 
  and 
  March. 
  

   It 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  commonest 
  ducks 
  during 
  the 
  whole 
  season 
  on 
  the 
  

   Beauly 
  Firth. 
  

  

  The 
  O.S.A. 
  makes 
  several 
  mentions 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  in 
  Alvah 
  

   (L. 
  D.), 
  Drainie, 
  Elgin, 
  and 
  S.W. 
  Moray. 
  Edward 
  says:— 
  

   'Occasionally 
  met 
  with 
  in 
  winter.' 
  Smith 
  includes 
  it 
  as 
  4 
  in 
  great 
  

   numbers 
  ' 
  near 
  the 
  Bridge 
  of 
  Alvah, 
  and 
  it 
  occurs 
  in 
  almost 
  all 
  

   local 
  lists 
  from 
  Cullen 
  on 
  the 
  sea 
  and 
  far 
  up 
  the 
  several 
  river 
  

   systems, 
  etc. 
  

  

  We 
  would 
  ourselves 
  consider 
  it 
  not 
  extremely 
  abundant, 
  but 
  

  

  