—————_—__ 
alas 
NESTING-SERIES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 187 
are procured by diving. The nest, made of moss and grass with a lining 
of down, is placed on an island in a freshwater loch or among the 
heather in the vicinity. From six to nine yellowish-white eggs are laid 
early in June. 
Caithness, June. 
Presented by Colonel L. H. Irby & Captain S. G. Reid. 
No. 137. EIDER DUCK. (Somateria mollissima.) 
On the southern and western coasts of England and Wales this 
species is only known as a winter visitor, but it breeds on the Farne 
Islands, in Northumberland, and in suitable localities along the coasts 
of Scotland. As a straggler it is occasionally met with on the Irish 
coast. ‘The food, obtained by diving, consists of shellfish and crustaceans 
(which are often swallowed entire), as well as seaweed, etc. The nest, 
usually situated among coarse herbage on low islands, is composed of 
the stems of plants, grass, and fine seaweed, and contains from five to 
eight green eggs. As incubation proceeds, a lining of down plucked 
from the breast of the female is gradually added ; each nest contains 
about three ounces of eider-down. As soon as the ducks begin to sit 
the drakes leave them, and the latter may then be met with in small 
parties off the coast. 
Island of Coll, Hebrides, May. 
Presented by Colonel L. H. Irby. 
No. 138. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 
(Mergus serrator. ) 
During the winter months this species is met with on the coasts and 
tidal rivers of England and Wales, but in Scotland (including the Shet- 
lands, Orkneys, and Hebrides), as well as in Ireland, it is resident and 
breeds more or less plentifully on the freshwater lochs and on many 
parts of the coasts. It is an expert diver and feeds chiefly on trout, 
young salmon, and other small fishes. The nest (a hollow in the ground 
thickly lined with down) is usually well concealed among heather, loug 
grass, etc., but is sometimes placed in an old burrow. The greenish- 
buff eggs, rarely more than ten in number, are laid towards the end of 
May, and the female undertakes the entire duties of incubation. A 
male in winter plumage has been introduced into the Case to show the 
difference in plumage between the two sexes. 
Island of Skye, July. 
Presented by the Rev. H, A, Macpherson. 
02 
