Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 6 (1902).djvu/529

Rh specimen I procured. On July 9th, 1901. a native fowler brought me in a Pochard in female garb, which on being dissected turned out to be a male. Was this a late stayer or an early arrival? The bird was in good condition, and the testes were enlarged, so it is just possible it may have bred somewhere near at hand.

N. ferruginea, Gmel. (White-eyed Duck).—Exceedingly common, though in the season 1901 I did not notice them so common as in previous years. They begin to arrive in September, and leave in April.

N.fuligula, Linn. (Tufted Duck).—A very irregular migrant. During 1899-900 I only got two specimens, but in the season 1900-01 ten were brought in by native fowlers, and I saw several when out shooting. Once when I was Duck-shooting I saw a small flock of these birds, and, on firing at them whilst they were sitting, I was surprised to see them all disappear under water, instead of flying away, as I expected.

Podicipes cristatus, Linn. (Great Crested Grebe).—Not at all common, and I only procured one specimen myself, and saw two or three others.

P. albipennis, Sharpe (Little Grebe or Dabchick).—Very common on almost every piece of water. It commences breeding in July. In the year 1900 I had a good opportunity of watching a pair nesting on a small pond. Both birds during this time kept up a curious "rattling" cry, though they are quite silent at other times of the year. The nest was made of rotting waterplants, and the eggs were always kept covered up. Both birds seemed to trust more to the heat of the sun for the hatching of the eggs than to the usual mode of incubation, and I never saw either bird sitting during the day. They appeared to be very restless, and kept on taking short flights across the pond, making a good deal of noise. The male bird was most attentive to the female during the period of incubation, always keeping close to her, and feeding her with small fish and aquatic insects. The young, when first hatched, are pretty little creatures, covered with greyish down striped with black. I once surprised a party of these birds, consisting of one old one and five young. The young at once tried to conceal themselves by hiding among the weeds, while the old one tried to draw my attention from them by fluttering, as if wounded, in front of