432 ANATID;^. 



Payne-Gallwey that the Tufted Duck brings forth its ragged, 

 sooty-looldug little brood, every year, on the lake in his 

 grounds. 



In the Foeroes it is stated by Mr. Collin to have bred in 

 June 1872 ; but its reported occurrence in Iceland by Faber 

 is unconfirmed by any subsequent observers ; and the same 

 may be said of Greenland. Although not numerous, it is 

 generally distributed during the breeding-season throughout 

 Norway, becoming more abundant in Sweden; also in Finland, 

 and Russia up to 68° N. lat. In Denmark it nests occasion- 

 ally ; and it does so regularly in some districts of Northern 

 and Central Germany. Over the rest of Europe it is found 

 on migration, in varying numbers, down to and throughout 

 the Mediterranean basin ; ranging as far south as Abyssinia, 

 where Mr. Blanford found it in pairs on Lake Ashangi in 

 May, at an elevation of 8,500 feet. Eastward it can be 

 traced through the Caspian district to Turkestan, Kashgaria, 

 Dauria, and Mongolia, in summer ; and during the cold 

 season considerable numbers visit Northern and Central 

 India, China, and Japan. 



According to Mr. Whitaker, the Tufted Duck pairs in 

 March, but incubation does not commence before the end of 

 May or the beginning of June. The nest is usually placed 

 under some bush or tuft of sedge, and the eggs, from eight to 

 thirteen in number, are of a greenish-buff colour ; average 

 measurements 2*4 by 1-G5 in. Tbe call-note, on alighting, 

 is rendered by Mr. Whitaker by the words ' currugh, 

 currugh,' uttered gutturally ; and his experience is that, 

 when both birds are together, the female is invariably the 

 first to rise. They dive freely and frequently. As regards 

 the merits of this species for the table, they depend upon 

 its food ; when this has consisted principally of aquatic 

 plants, the bird is good enough, but at other times, even 

 from Nottinghamshire waters, the result is not satisfactory, 

 in spite of the removal of the oil-gland before cooking. 



Mr. Whitaker states that in 1878 a nest of the Tufted 

 Duck was mown out, and the eggs were safely hatched out 

 under a hen, the birds going off to the lake when full grown, 



