NESTING IN KASHMIR. 641 



placed in long reeds, they were shallow saucer-shaped nests, of dried 

 reeds and grass. Eggs white, rather long ovals, 5 or 6 in number. 



1606. Nyroca ferruginea, — White-eyed Duck. — A few of these 

 birds were breeding on the Anchar Lake in June, and on the 21st we 

 were lucky enough to get one nest containing 10 eggs slightly incubated. 

 A peculiar thing about this nest, off which the bird rose when I 

 was about 20 yards off, was that all the eggs were carefully covered 

 up with reed, as those of the Grebe are found ; the nest was in a clump 

 of thick reeds, and I saw the bird over them as she rose and found the 

 eggs covered up as described. I do not remember seeing this noted 

 before, except in the well known case of the Little Grebe. 



This completes the list of eggs found by us in Kashmir. Of course 

 our trip was not wholely devoted to egg collecting, and except at 

 Sonamerg and Sumbul, we spent very little time in searching for 

 nests, most of our finds occurring on the line of march or when mov- 

 ing up or down the river by boat. But it shows that it is a country 

 that will well repay the efforts of collectors : and in the high camping 

 grounds at Sonamerg and otiier places, really splendid eggs are to be 

 found, and in many of these camps there is so little to employ one's 

 time, that it is well to have some such hobby to follow. The want of 

 a collecting gun was sorely felt by us, as our 12 bore usually destroy- 

 ed the small birds we shot as specimens. 



