252 Manual of the Game Birds of India. 



have a male specially attached to herself, 

 who waits upon her, and does not venture 

 to rise from the water until she takes wing, 

 but is not allowed to interfere in the selec- 

 tion of a site for the nest, or in the im- 

 portant operation of building it, or, after 

 the eggs are hatched, in the care of the 

 young. The nest is generally placed in 

 the open, well concealed in long grass or 

 heath, and is not very skilfully made. 

 The depression in which it is placed, if 

 deep, is only slenderly lined with dead 

 grass or sedge ; but, if shallow, a consider- 

 able amount of material is collected to 

 give the nest the required depth. When 

 the female leaves her eggs after she has 

 begun to sit, she carefully covers them 

 with down. Seven to nine is the usual 

 number of eggs, but occasionally clutches 

 are found as large as ten to fourteen. 

 Only one brood is reared in the year ; 

 but if the first nest be robbed before in- 

 cubation has proceeded very far, a second 

 nest is made, but seldom more than five 

 or six eggs are laid in it." 



The eggs of the Shoveller are nearly 

 elliptical in shape, one end being very 

 slightly more pointed than the other. In 

 colour they are a pale greenish grey, and 

 they measure from i'8 to 2*2 in length 



