﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  Ill 
  

  

  recollect 
  seeing 
  young 
  ones 
  ; 
  but 
  I 
  have 
  not 
  seen 
  any 
  remain 
  

   for 
  the 
  last 
  dozen 
  years.' 
  Hinxman 
  records 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  In 
  lochs 
  of 
  

   Abernethy 
  in 
  early 
  spring 
  ; 
  perhaps 
  breeds.' 
  Dr. 
  Gordon, 
  in 
  his 
  

   Fauna 
  of 
  Moray, 
  also 
  speaks 
  of 
  it 
  as 
  not 
  very 
  common, 
  and 
  as 
  

   'occasionally 
  met 
  with 
  in 
  winter 
  on 
  the 
  rivers 
  and 
  lochs.' 
  St. 
  

   John 
  says 
  it 
  was 
  very 
  common 
  in 
  winter 
  as 
  long 
  ago 
  as 
  1847, 
  and 
  

   in 
  1885 
  it 
  is 
  recorded 
  as 
  1 
  common 
  and 
  abundant 
  ' 
  in 
  Findhorn 
  Bay, 
  

   arriving 
  in 
  September 
  and 
  leaving 
  in 
  March. 
  Hinxman 
  found 
  one 
  

   pair 
  on 
  lochans 
  at 
  the 
  head 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Blackwater 
  — 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   principal 
  tributaries 
  of 
  the 
  Deveron 
  — 
  about 
  14th 
  May 
  1891, 
  and 
  

   he 
  and 
  Eagle-Clarke 
  saw 
  many 
  among 
  the 
  forest-lochs 
  of 
  Strathspey 
  

   in 
  May 
  1895, 
  and 
  considered 
  that 
  they 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  nesting 
  

   there. 
  In 
  fine, 
  we 
  must 
  now 
  look 
  upon 
  the 
  Wigeon 
  as 
  a 
  rapidly 
  

   increasing 
  and 
  extending 
  species, 
  where 
  formerly 
  it 
  certainly 
  appears 
  

   to 
  have 
  been 
  comparatively 
  rare 
  ; 
  but 
  of 
  its 
  actual 
  breeding 
  areas 
  

   south 
  of 
  Loch 
  Ness 
  there 
  is 
  still 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  to 
  learn, 
  though 
  it 
  

   appears 
  to 
  be 
  extending 
  its 
  range 
  southward 
  in 
  that 
  direction. 
  

  

  [Obs. 
  — 
  Mareca 
  americana 
  (Gmel.). 
  American 
  Wigeon. 
  — 
  A 
  muti- 
  

   lated 
  specimen 
  — 
  a 
  male 
  — 
  shot 
  in 
  the 
  burn 
  of 
  Boyndie 
  in 
  January 
  

   1841, 
  was 
  for 
  many 
  years 
  in 
  Edward's 
  possession, 
  but 
  no 
  trace 
  of 
  

   it 
  can 
  now 
  be 
  found, 
  like 
  so 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  rarer 
  things 
  obtained 
  

   by 
  him.] 
  

  

  Fuligula 
  ferina 
  (L.). 
  Pochard. 
  

  

  By 
  no 
  means 
  a 
  common 
  bird 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  our 
  area, 
  and 
  

   even 
  in 
  the 
  Dornoch 
  Firth 
  they 
  are 
  only 
  common 
  in 
  severe 
  winters, 
  

   according 
  to 
  that 
  experienced 
  wild-fowler, 
  Mr. 
  Jennings. 
  One 
  was 
  

   killed 
  at 
  Invergarry 
  in 
  March 
  1853, 
  and 
  another 
  at 
  Invercarron 
  

   in 
  1864. 
  Mr. 
  Muirhead 
  shot 
  one 
  on 
  Loch 
  Ness 
  near 
  Temple 
  

   Pier 
  on 
  February 
  18th, 
  1867, 
  and 
  seemed 
  to 
  have 
  considered 
  it 
  1 
  

   rare 
  bird 
  there 
  at 
  that 
  time. 
  

  

  St. 
  John 
  considered 
  it 
  not 
  an 
  uncommon 
  bird 
  in 
  winter, 
  but 
  

   only 
  on 
  one 
  occasion 
  did 
  he 
  observe 
  it 
  during 
  the 
  breeding 
  

   season, 
  when 
  a 
  pair 
  hatched 
  out 
  their 
  young 
  in 
  Lochlee. 
  

  

  We 
  found 
  the 
  Pochard 
  breeding, 
  but 
  in 
  very 
  small 
  numbers, 
  

   on 
  Loch 
  Spynie, 
  both 
  in 
  1891 
  and 
  1892. 
  On 
  the 
  former 
  occasion 
  

   the 
  nest 
  was 
  placed, 
  like 
  a 
  water-hen's, 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  tuft 
  of 
  reeds 
  

   close 
  to 
  the 
  shore, 
  which 
  we 
  could 
  reach 
  without 
  wading; 
  there 
  

   were 
  young 
  just 
  hatched, 
  in 
  the 
  nest, 
  and 
  an 
  addled 
  egg. 
  On 
  

   the 
  second 
  occasion 
  the 
  nost 
  was 
  in 
  a 
  more 
  normal 
  position— 
  

  

  