NESTIXG-SElilES OF URITTSH BIRDS. 191 



food, inosl III" uliich is obtained liy divinj;-, and, as a rule, the tlesli is 

 iiidifl'ereiit eating. The nest, of dry f;rass lined with down, is con- 

 c(-aled in a tuft of grass or sedge. From eight to thirteen greenish- 

 biift' eggs arc hiid about tlie cud of jNI: 



^06' 



IV. 



Norfolk, June. 

 Presented hij Lord Jl'ahiiuiltfiiii . 



No. 146. POCHARD. (Nyruca ferina.) 



This species of diving-duck, often known as tlie Eed-headed Poker 

 or Dim-bird, is mainly a winter visitor to the Britisli Islands, arriving 

 in October and departing in spring, but a good many pairs remain to 

 breed on some of our inland waters. While frequenting fresh water and 

 feeding on tlic plants that grow below the surface, it is excellent eating, 

 but after it has visited the sea, a diet of marine crustaceans and molluscs 

 renders the flesh vmpalatablc. The nest is placed near the margin of 

 some lake or pool, and consists of a layer of old dead flags surrounded 

 and concealed by growing reeds and aquatic plants. From seven to 

 ten greenish-drab eggs are laid in ilay, and embedded in greyish-brown 

 down, taken from the breast of the female. 



Norfolk, June. 



Presented by Lord Wahingham. 



No. 147. GREY LAG-GOOSE. (Auscr ferus.) 



This is the only species of Wild Goose whieli nests within the 

 British Islands, and is tlie source from which our domestic race lias 

 spi'ung. Though not so plentiful as some of its allies, during the 

 winti'r months a good many pairs remain to bivcd in the northern parts 

 of Scotland and in the Hebrides, especially in the outer islands ; while 

 in Ireland a colony is resident on the lake at Castle Coole, Co. Mono- 

 gjian. The nest, composed of reeds, moss, dry hcatlicr, etc., is generally 

 placed among coarse grass and rushes or in deep heather near tlie 

 edge of a loch or on an island. The yellowish-white eggs are usually 

 from four to seven in number, and surrounded by down plucked from 

 tlie lircast of the female. The males take no part in the incubation, 

 lint associate in flocks on the nearest water. 



Sutherlandsliire, May. 



Presented by Captain S. G. Reid, IF. R. Oyilvie-Grant ^ 

 G. A. St. Qiiiniin, Esqs. 



