NOTES AND QUERIES. 



351 



speaking of birds at a reasonable distance ; Geese flying in " skein " 

 or "gaggle" at a distance of half a mile or upwards could scarcely 

 be determined, and would not be noted unless the occurrence was 

 exceptional. The Pink-foot, Bean, and Grey Lag Geese are all com- 

 mon in season on the Solway marshes, and although the Pink-foot is 

 undoubtedly the commonest of the three, it does not appear to fre- 

 quent the lower marshes as much as the Bean, and on the upper 

 marshes the combined numbers of Bean and Grey Lag run it pretty 

 close. During the last two winters the game and poultry shops of 

 Carlisle contained quite as many of the two latter species as of 

 hrachyrhyncus, a good criterion of the comparative rarity or other- 

 wise of wildfowl. Perhaps we on the Solway have better oppor- 

 tunities of observing the various species of Geese than is afforded to 

 Mr. Eobinson, and it may surprise him to hear that at times the Wild 

 Geese on one particular marsh can only be estimated in thousands, 

 and it is possible frequently to hear the calls of the three species 

 mentioned at one time, and with the aid of a glass to distinctly make 

 out the different species. There is never the least difficulty with the 

 Grey Lag in flock, as the blue shoulder of the adult is most con- 

 spicuous, and the longer beak and generally darker coloration of the 

 Bean is almost quite as unmistakable to the experienced observer ; 

 moreover, it is probably as easy for Mr. Nichol to identify these 

 species at a distance of from two to four hundred yards as it is for 

 some people to do in the hand, even if they know certain charac- 

 teristics. We are quite sure that when Mr. Nichol says Bean Geese, 

 he has been able to distinctly identify them as "Bean" and not 

 "Pink-foot," and Mr. Eobinson may be assured that they were that 

 species. We need not reply to the query as to correct identification 

 of Grey Lag on Dec. 7th : the date is not exceptional. 



With regard to Mr. Eobinson's further letter respecting the breed- 

 ing of Wigeon at Bassenthwaite in April, 1908, we hardly see the 

 point of his criticism. Has it escaped him that this is another note 

 by Mr. W. J. Farrer, and is neither the first or second record to this 

 Bureau of such occurrence, but simply a record of the fact that a 

 Wigeon was nesting there at that time ? Mr. Farrer clearly esta- 

 blished his identification as correct in the first instance in 1903, as 

 Mr. Eobinson's quotation shows : "I found the female bird sitting on 

 ten eggs" ; his later records therefore cannot be doubted. The par- 

 ticulars of a pinioned Wigeon breeding in North Lancashire may be 

 interesting, but has no bearing upon the Bassenthwaite case. Several 

 pairs of Wigeon breed on an estate in North Cumberland, but they 



