420 Manual of the Game Birds of India. 



to receive a clutch of what looked like 

 Wigeon's eggs, with pale grey down. The 

 man who brought it knew the bird well, 

 and told us that he had taken the eggs 

 from a hollow tree." 



Some of these eggs brought by Mr. 

 Seebohm from the Petchora are now in 

 the British Museum. They are nearly 

 elliptical in shape, very smooth and 

 glossy. They are of a pale cream colour, 

 and measure from 1*9 to 2*05 in length, 

 and from 1*42 to 1*52 in breadth. 



The Smew generally breeds in the 

 month of July, and lays seven or eight 

 eggs, which are placed in the hollow of 

 of a tree or in one of the boxes hung 

 up by the villagers for the use of the 

 Golden-eye. 



The adult male has a large, black 

 patch in front of, and below, the eye ; 

 and a short black band on either side 

 of the back of the head, the two bands 

 not quite joining behind. With these 

 exceptions, the whole head, the neck, and 

 the lower plumage, with the axillaries, 

 are pure white. The sides of the body 

 are very delicately vermiculated with 

 grey. The under wing-coverts are partly 

 white and partly black. The upper 

 part of the mantle is white with some 



