GADWALL. 163 



swimming appeared to liave one leg resting over the 

 tail. When %ing tliey soared to a great height, play- 

 ing with each other in the air, and then descended almost 

 perpendicularly to the water, on which they Hoat high 

 as if more buoyant than most other ducks." Professor 

 Newton ("Encyclop. Brit.," ed. 9, Article Gadwall) re- 

 marks upon the peculiar seat upon the water of this 

 species, as follows : " Its appearance on the water is 

 very different [from the wild duck], its small head, flat 

 back, elongated form, and elevated stern rendering it 

 recognisable by the fowler, even at such a distance as 

 hinders him from seeing its very distinct plumage." 



I have never seen the nest of a gadwall far from the 

 the water ; it is generally placed either in a very boggy 

 spot, or in a tussock of sedge, by which it is raised 

 above the shallow water itself. In such situations it is 

 constructed ot dead grass or sedges, and very sparingly 

 lined with down. The usual complement of eggs seems 

 to be from ten to thirteen. 



I am not aware that the gadwall has been actually 

 detected nesting in the Broads, but Mr. A. H. Evans 

 was told that two of these birds were seen on Hickling 

 Broad for the week or two preceding May 22nd, 1880. 

 On the 31st January, 1889, Lord VValsinghaui killed at 

 Stanford forty-one ducks, six of which were gadwall s. 



Locally this species is known as the " Grey-duck " or 

 " Heart-duck." 



ANAS ACUTA, Linnaeus. 



PINTAIL. 



Although sparingly met with in most years from 

 October to March, this elegant duck is at no time 

 numerous in Norfolk. Occasionally it is taken in 

 decoys, but I have records of only eighteen such occur- 

 rences. Seven of these were as follows : one in October, 

 two in November, one in December, two in January, 

 and one in March, so that they seem to be pretty equally 

 distributed over the season. Its well-known preference 

 for fresh water would render the more frequent capture 

 of this species in decoys probable. 

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