BIRDS OF DUMFRIESSHIRE 
through the heather I put her off the nest. I did not know 
what kind of a duck it was at that time, but have shot many 
a one since. The Sheld-Duck is much Hke the Goosander, 
but different in head and beak, it nests in burrows on the 
moss here." I wrote to Mr. Hugh Mackay that the dates 
m the two accounts did not agree, and also pointed out that 
this description of the eggs as " of a darker blue than the 
common wild duck," threw considerable doubt on the 
alleged occurrence. In his reply Mr. Mackay states that 
to the best of his recollection, Mr. Coupland told him that the 
eggs were buff, that the construction and situation of the 
nest were satisfactorily described, and that the date was 
as he had previously stated ; but that all his notes on the 
subject had been unfortunately lost. 
The allegation of the Goosander having nested in Dumfries- 
shire, therefore remains unsubstantiated; and it is well 
to remember that the name " Stockannet," or "Stock- 
gander " is often locally appKed to this species as well as 
to the Sheld-Duck. 
The Goosander nests in parts of northern and central 
Europe and Asia, as also in the Scottish Highlands. " A hole 
in the trunk of a tree (frequently an alder), a recess beneath 
gnarled roots, a hole in a peat bog, or sometimes a sheltered 
ledge of rock, are the locahties selected"* for the nest, 
in which from eight to thirteen creamy or buff-white eggs 
are laid. In winter the bird occurs in Europe as far south 
as Spain and is seen with us usually from November till 
April, or occasionally even later. 
THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 
Mergus serrator, Linnaeus. 
A %vinter-visitant to the Solway. 
Sir WiUiam Jardine in 1843 writes of this species : " In 
the south of Scotland it does not ascend rivers regularly 
* Man. Brit Birds, 1899, p. 472. 
