NUMBER OF SPECIES 
XCIX 
Goose, I confess to an inclination to eliminate the square 
brackets, especially in the case of the latter. The Ivory- 
Gull was presumably wrongly identified. The Ruddy Sheld- 
Duck has been shown to have been an " escape," as were 
undoubtedly the Egyptian Goose, North American Summer- 
Duck, Black-necked Swan, Black Swan, Muscovy Duck, 
Chukar Partridge and Red-winged Starling ; while the 
Virginian Colin was an introduced species which never 
became established, and the Red-legged Partridge comes 
under the same category. 
Reference will not again be made to the Emus and Rheas 
kept in semi-captivity from 1875 to 1885 by Richard Bell 
at Billholm and Castle O'er,* as such introductions do 
not come within the scope of this volume. There remain 
several ornithological puzzles presented by descriptions of 
birds which were unknown to their chroniclers ; such as a 
bird (possibly a Nutcracker) recorded in 1794 f ; and an 
extraordinary duck described by William Hastings in 1885. J 
These and others I have been unable to identify with 
sufficient certainty to mention hereafter. 
I must not conclude these introductory remarks without 
pointing out that the hand-rearing of various species of 
wildfowl, now in progress at Netherby, Cumberland, is 
likely to make itself felt in Dumfriesshire. Sir Richard 
Graham has most courteously informed me of various 
experiments he has in hand there on a large scale, both as 
regards hybrid ducks and the estabHshment of such species 
as the American Wigeon, and Garganey, in a full-winged 
state. Reference to the map wiU show how presumable 
it is that some of these domesticated wildfowl may any day 
visit this county, and subsequent students of the avifauna 
of Dumfriesshire may find it useful to bear this in mind. 
* My Strange Pets, pp. 1-38. 
t Stat. Acct. Scot., Vol. X., p. 214. 
J Trans. D. and G. Nat. Hist. Soc, December 4th, 1885. 
