BIRDS OF DUMFRIESSHIRE 457 
I have been unable to find any record of the species 
having nested in the county, but " Mabie Moss," writing 
in 1896, asks : " Does this fine bird ever breed in any of 
our lonely lochs amongst the hills ? " He adds that he has 
never seen it there, nor heard of it, although it is " frequently 
captured by fishermen in their nets in June, and is plentiful 
in the shallow waters of the Solway in winter."* I used 
to see the Red-throated Diver frequently on Loch Howie 
(Kirkcudbrightshire) in August some twenty years ago, and 
in 1899 I put one off Loch Ettrick (Closeburn) on April 
11th; but, as above stated, I know of no record of its 
having bred in Dumfriesshire. 
Formerly it was more commonly met with inland than 
nowadays, judging from the recollections of the older game- 
keepers with whom I have discussed the subject ; but on the 
shore it is still frequently observed, and Mr. R. Service 
tells me that he has often obtained specimens which have 
been caught in the salmon-nets of the local fishermen. 
In 1791, in a list of birds of the parish of Kirkmichael, 
" the Diver " is included, but there is no information as to 
the species intended. f In 1832 Sir William Jardine states 
that the Red-throated Diver had been once met with in the 
parish of Applegarth and Sibbaldbie " in immature plumage, 
or as the speckled diver of Bewick." J In 1843, he writes : 
" Along all the Scottish coasts it is [during winter] common, 
sometimes coming inland to such lochs as are not frozen, 
and occasionally ascending rivers ; we have shot specimens 
in the Annan fifteen miles from the sea," and he goes on to 
say that he had only once or twice met with birds apparently 
breeding, though he was never able to discover the nest§ ; 
the context, however, gives one no idea as to whether Sir 
William refers to the vicinity of Jardine Hall, or to 
Scotland in general. Thomas Maxwell told Dr. Grierson 
* Dumfries Courier and Herald, June 25th, 1896. 
t Stat. Acct. Scot., Vol. I., p. 61. 
X New Stat. Acct. Scot., Vol. IV., p. 182. 
§ Nat. Lib., 1843, Vol. XIV., pp. 188, 189. 
