NESTING-SERIES OP BRITISH BIRDS. 191 



food, most of which is obtained by diving, and, as a rule, the flesh is 

 indifferent eating. The nest, of dry grass lined with down, is con- 

 cealed in a tuft of grass or sedge. From eight to thirteen greenish- 

 buff eggs are laid about the end of May. 



Norfolk, June. 

 Presented by Lord Walsingham. 



No. 146. POCHARD. (Nyroca ferina.) 



This species of diving-duck, often known as the Bed-headed Poker 

 or Dun-bird, is mainly a winter visitor to the British Islands, arriving 

 in October and departing in spring, but a good many pairs remain to 

 breed on some of our inland waters. While frequenting fresh water and 

 feeding on the plants that grow below the surface, it is excellent eating, 

 but after it has visited the sea, a diet of marine crustaceans and molluscs 

 renders the flesh unpalatable. The nest is placed near the margin of 

 some lake or pool, and consists of a layer of old dead flags surrounded 

 and concealed by growing reeds and aquatic plants. From seven to 

 ten greenish-drab eggs are laid in May, and embedded in greyish-brown 

 down, taken from the breast of the female. 



Norfolk, June. 

 Presented by Lord Walsingham. 



No. 147. GREY LAG-GOOSE. (Anser ferus.) 



This is the only species of Wild Goose which nests within the 

 British Islands, and is the source from which our domestic race has 

 sprung. Though not so plentiful as some of its allies, during the 

 winter months a good many pairs remain to breed in the northern parts 

 of Scotland and in the Hebrides, especially in the outer islands ; while 

 in Ireland a colony is resident on the lake at Castle Coolc, Co. Mono- 

 ghan. The nest, composed of reeds, moss, dry heather, etc., is generally 

 placed among coarse grass and rushes or in deep heather near the 

 edge of a loch or on an island. The yellowish-white eggs are usually 

 from four to seven in number, and surrounded by down plucked from 

 the breast of the female. The males take no part in the incubation, 

 but associate in flocks on the nearest water. 



Sutherlandshire, May. 



Presented by Captain S. G. Reid, W. R. Ogilvie-Grant ty 

 G. A. Si. Quintin, Esqs. 



