188 Letters, Extracts, and Motes. 



esting books of travel that we have comeacross for many years. 

 There are some, though not many, allusions to birds in it, 

 but Dr. Wollaston was busy with his plants and insects and 

 left the " birds " to his companions, from whom we shall, no 

 doubt, get full information on this part of the subject when 

 the general results are published. 



The volume is well illustrated by numerous full-paged 

 plates taken from photographs, most of which are excellent. 

 No one interested in Natural History of any kind should fail 

 to read it. 



VIII. — Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 



We have received the following letters addressed " To the 

 Editors " :— 



Sirs, — Some account of the breeding of the Golden-eye 

 {Clangula ylaucion) in captivity may perhaps find a place in 

 ' The Ibis.' 



I had kept a pair of these ducks for six or seven years on 

 a pond in my park together with a great variety of other 

 water-fowl. The male courted the female every spring, 

 but she had never laid any eggs. In May last the female 

 was observed to frequent some of the nesting-boxes which 

 are placed on poles in different parts of the pond, and in the 

 latter half of the month two bright green eggs were found in 

 one of the boxes and a third in another box. 



As the female Golden-eye shewed no inclination to incubate, 

 being probably disturbed by some female Summer-Ducks 

 which laid eggs in the same boxes, the three green eggs were 

 put under a domestic hen. After being sat upon for twenty 

 days, on the 26th of June the three eggs were hatched, 

 giving birth to three black-and-white ducklings. One of 

 these died the first day, but the two others have been doing 

 well and are alive now. The downy dress may be described 

 as follows : — Upper parts black, crown of head glossy black. 

 Throat and sides of head to almost under the eyes, but not 

 meeting at the back of the neck, pure white. A white spot 



