chapman: ornithology of coquetdale. 151 



/Egialitis hiaticula (L.). Ring Dotterel. 



A few pairs appear every spring on the Coquet, but they do 

 not remain inland to breed. They do so on the coast within 

 twenty or thirty miles. 

 Mergus serrator L. Red-crested Merganser. 



I have never seen this bird come much inland, though there 

 are a fair number on the coast in suitable localities. It is 

 essentially marine in its haunts, and I should think it extremely 

 improbable that it visits the moorland loughs in winter. The 

 'mergus' which does come inland, is the Goosander {M. 

 ??terganse?' L.) ; but even it does not frequent the still waters of 

 the loughs, preferring streams such as Coquet and Reedwater, 

 where it feeds on trout. 



The diving ducks which come to the border loughs are nearly 

 all Golden Eyes — Clangula glaucion (L.) — which appear very 

 regularly in October, and are, next to the Mallards, the 

 commonest of the duck tribe. Most of the diving ducks which 

 I have shot, or seen shot, have been of this species ; but, though 

 from time to time I have killed various other kinds of ducks at 

 the inland loughs, I have never, as above stated, seen a 

 Merganser in such situations. 

 The above remarks only apply to some of the birds which are 

 mentioned by Mr. Cordeaux; but I must add that it is in the 

 omissions from his ' list ' that its inadequacy to convey a correct idea 

 of the local avi-fauna is most noticeable. I trust Mr. Cordeaux will 

 pardon me in saying that I very much question the utility of forming 

 ' hsts ' of birds on so short an acquaintance as his with a very wide 

 and wild district. December 12th, 1884. 



We would point out that Mr. Cordeaux's paper did not profess to be 

 a ' list,' or indeed to be anything more than ' ornithological notes ' 

 thrown into Hst form for the reader's convenience. We also think 

 that when a field-ornithologist of Mr. Cordeaux's standing visits a 

 locality concerning which but little has appeared in print, the 

 observations he makes should certainly be placed on record. We 

 were pleased to have the opportunity of publishing it, nor can we 

 be less so when it has been the means of ehciting such interesting 

 supplementary observations as those we now publish from the pen 

 of an ornithologist so thoroughly acquainted with the district as 

 Mr. Chapman is. — Eds. 



