PLATE II 

 MALLARD. Anas boscas 



June i6///, 1896. This nest was placed on a small island on Loch Uisg, 

 Lochbuie, Mull. It was beautifully concealed among a tangle of brambles, 

 reeds, grass, and wild honeysuckle, and was copiously lined with moss, little 

 bits of grass, and a profusion of down. It contained twelve highly incubated 

 eggs, which were hatched out successfully two days after I photographed 

 them. 



The Mallard was very tame on my first visit, and let me stand looking at 

 her within a few feet. Unfortunately I had no camera with me, and when I 

 returned next day to photograph it she had gone off to feed. The length of 

 the period of incubation seems to vary slightly in different localities. This 

 nest was hatched successfully on the twenty-eighth day, counting from the 

 date the first egg was laid. I have records of several other nests successfully 

 hatched out on the twenty-fourth day, and one of six eggs on the twenty- 

 second day; but twenty-five days seems to be the average time for a nest of 

 nine eggs from the date on which the first egg is laid. 



