188 BIRD GALLERY. 



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, long 

 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 dudes 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. 



No. 139. COMMON SHELD-DUCK. (Tadorna cornuta.) 



The " Burrow-Duck/' as it is sometimes called, is not uncommon on 

 suitable parts of the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. Low sand- 

 hills, sand-bars, and mud-flats are its favourite haunts, where small 

 mollusca, Crustacea, marine insects, and other kinds of food are 

 plentiful. The plumage of the sexes is very similar, but the colours of 

 the female are less bright and well defined than those of the male. The 

 nest (made of bents, with a thick lining of down from the breast of the 

 female) is generally placed inside a rabbit-burrow some feet from the 

 entrance. In the present instance it was situated at the unusual depth 

 of 15 feet and 7 feet below the surface [see Diagram], From seven 

 to twelve cream-coloured eggs are laid in May. The male takes no 

 part in the incubation, which lasts for twenty-eight or thirty days, but 

 remains in the vicinity of the nest, often in company with other drakes 

 of his kind. 



Cromarty, June. 



Presented by G. A. St. Quintin ty W. /?. Oyilvie-Grant, Esqs. 



No. 14O. GADWALL. (Chaulelasmus streperus.) 



This Duck is a winter visitor to the British Islands, though in no 

 great numbers, but now breeds regularly in a few localities in Norfolk, 



