386 THE GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL 



Nidification. The breeding season of the Red-crested Pochard com- 

 mences late in April or early in May in some localities, not before June in others. 

 The nest is rarely made far from the water, and an island covered with flags and 

 other aquatic vegetation is selected where possible. It is made amongst the 

 herbage on the ground, of dead rushes, leaves, and other vegetable refuse, and 

 lined with a warm bed of down from the female's breast. Nests found by Canon 

 Tristram in Algeria, are described as being like that of the Coot, but not so large. 

 The eggs are from seven to ten in number, and described by Salvin as " a most 

 brilliant fresh green colour when unblown ; the contents were no sooner expelled, 

 and the egg dry, than the delicate tints were gone, and their beauty sadly 

 diminished." They are greyish-olive after being in collections for some time, 

 and measure on an average 2'3 inches in length by T6 inch in breadth. The 

 down tufts are apparently undescribed. One brood only is reared in the year. 



Diagnostic characters. (Nuptial plumage), Netta, with the head 

 and upper neck chestnut, and the bill vermilion (adult male) ; with the axillaries 

 white, with no white alar speculum, and with the head and neck yellowish-white 

 speckled with black (adult female). Length, 20 to 22 inches. 



