Florida and Some Snakes 235 



were in full moult and young birds were obtained 

 which appeared to be from four to five months old. 

 We were told that this bird bred in August and was 

 locally known as Agostero for that reason. 



The call of the male masked duck is very distinctive, 

 *'kirri-kirroo, kirri kirroo, kirroo, kirroo, kirroo,'^ and 

 the bird has a curious habit of responding like a cock 

 pheasant to such noises as the banging of a punt pole 

 on the water or an explosion in the distance. The fe- 

 male makes a short hissing noise, repeated several 

 times. 



No firsthand information was collected with regard 

 to these birds' nesting habits, but a local hunter pointed 

 out several nests which he said were those of masked 

 ducks. According to him, the nests were always placed 

 amongst short, round rushes, and contained from five 

 to six eggs but never any down at all. 



After his return to England Will Percy and I corre- 

 sponded in a desultory way. Once I went to visit him at 

 Catfield Hall, near Great Yarmouth, motoring over from 

 Cambridge. This was after his marriage. For in July 1922 

 he wrote me: — 



Dear Tom: 



I'm too busy to write, and too happy to do so co- 

 herently. I am going to get married on 25th July to 

 Miss Mary Swinton with whose family mine has 

 swapped for nearly 1000 years. Poor girl — she gets 

 a bad bargain in marrying a worn-out fossil of forty 

 (she being 23) but she is bearing up wonderfully. 



