p. H. BAHR: THE SCAUP-DUCK IN SCOTLAND. 215 



nest with eleven eggs was found. While I busied myself 

 taking some photographs, Kinnear explored the remaining 

 island of the series. This was also very small, had a rocky 

 base, with large tufts of long grass on top. A brown 

 duck was flushed off a nest, and settled on the water but 

 twenty yards from the shore, and was watched for a 

 quarter of an hour at a stretch through glasses. At 

 the same time a drake Scaup was seen riding out on the 

 loch at some distance from the island, and he, afterwards. 



Fig. 3.— The Duck Scaup coming off the Nest. (Drawn by P. H. Bahr.) 



in company with a drake Tufted, flew past me in my 

 hiding-place. Kinnear refrained from investigating any 

 further, but noted that the nest was situated in a deep 

 hollow some nine inches below the level of the ground, and 

 well guarded by large tufts of grass (Fig. 1) ; a trampled 

 pathway led up from the edge of the water to the nest. 



An hour after he returned with me. On our approach 

 the duck was seen leaving the nest, threading her way, 

 with neck stretched in front of her, through the matted 

 grass. She scuttled into the water (Fig. 3) and remained 

 within thirty yards of the bank. The white patch and 



