INDIAN DUCKS AND THEIR ALLIES. 23 



rather well-built affiiir of rushes and reeds, rather more compactly jiut 

 together than are most ducks' r,ests, and lined very ))l0ntifully with 

 down, presumably taken from the lireasts of the jiarent birds themselves. 

 So thick is this down that in some of the nests, the cups of which were in 

 some cases as much as six inches deep, it filled them completely to the top, 

 hiding the eggs which were inside. The nests were placed in thick tufts 

 of grass, beds of sedges, or, more rarely, under and amongst bushes ; they 

 w^ere not very carefully hidden, and, but for the treacherous nature of the 

 ground in which they were found, not particularly hard to get. The duck 

 is a close sitter, and is assisted, at least occasionally, by the drake, which 

 is seldom fomid far from the nest. They lay from sis to nine eggs, 

 beginning to lay in the end of May, and continuing through June and 

 the early pai-t of July. 



The eggs are said to l)e like those of the Conamon Teal, but whiter and 

 a great deal larger. 



Dybrowski {vide Hume) says that in Western Dauria, and the country 

 to the south of Lake Baikal, " the Crested Teal arrives in great nimibere 

 during the latter half of April; but in the Darasun region it is more com- 

 mon. The female makes her nest among the bushes of swamps, collecting 

 diy reeds and grass, and lining it thickly with down. At the beginning 

 of June she lays eight eggs, sits closely, and only rises at your feet. 

 They remain in autumn as late as the 27th December. 



Taczanowski in describing the eggs taken by the alx)ve naturalist 

 writes : "The eggs are decidedly smaller than those of the Mallard, and 

 in colour resemble those of the Gadwull, though the yellow tmge is 

 somewhat more pronounced. They vai-y from 2*1" at 2 '3" in length 

 and from 1*52" to nearly 1'7" in breadth." 



Dresser, quoted in Hume and Marshall, describes the eggs as l>eing 

 of a creamy- white colour, like the eggs of the Common Widgeon, and of 

 a very smooth texture. 



Genus CHAULELASMUS. 



This genus is remarkably close to Anas^ and might almost more con- 

 veniently come between Anas and Eunetta rather than between Eunetta 

 and Mareca or Nettion. It diffei*s from Anas in having the bill propor- 

 tionately rather shorter and smaller, from Euneita in not having the 

 long inner secondaries sickle-shaped, and from Mareca and Nettion in 

 having the lamelhe of the maxilla or upper niaudil'le very promineuL ; 



