122 Among the Birds in Northern Shires. 



adjoins them. Strange as it may seem, we must 

 include the Mallard as a heath bird. To mention 

 one locality only where this bird breeds regularly 

 upon heaths we may name the Sherwood Forest 

 area. We have taken nests here far from water or 

 wet ground of any description, made amongst dead 

 bracken; and what is also worthy of remark, these 

 nests were by far the handsomest we have ever seen 

 of this Duck. They were composed principally of 

 down from the female's body, intermixed with fronds 

 of bracken, and were raised from eight to ten inches 

 above the surrounding ground. Here again we had 

 another instance of nests being most difficult to see 

 in the barest localities. Some were made where the 

 bracken had been cut, amongst scattered green stems 

 of the new growth and upon green turf; and yet we 

 can remember how we had to look long and closely 

 before we saw them, as they were actually pointed 

 out to us by a keeper acquaintance. In one instance 

 and that where the nest was the most exposed of 

 all we could not see the nest, and did not, until the 

 big brown duck went lumbering off. Of course when 

 the nests were discovered they seemed conspicuous 

 in the highest degree, and we could do nothing but 

 wonder how ever it was possible to overlook them. 



One more bird deserves notice ere we bring our 

 survey of avine life upon the heaths to a conclusion, 

 and that is the Short-eared Owl. This bird is quite 



