384 BRITISH BIRDS. 



this natural groyne was the nest, which, although very 

 exposed, was not visible from the " mainland," but I 

 marvelled greatly that it had escaped the prying eyes of the 

 Crows. Facing the reeds growing in the deep backwater 

 opposite, it was secured under the lea of a large spread-eagled 

 tuft of extremely coarse sword-like grass, and was built up 

 from the ooze beneath to a height of five inches. It was a 

 moist affair of freshly- plucked green grass, flat shreds of 

 dried grass, fragments of reed, sedge and water- weeds, finished 

 off with a few wisps of green grass. To some extent it 

 resembled a Coot's nest, though it was not so utterly exposed 

 as most nests of that species. There was a well-trodden sloping 

 platform, or " slide," of vegetation about a foot long and 

 seven inches wide leading up to the nest from the water. It 

 was then, as above cited, only April 29th, far too early for 

 a full clutch of Pochard's eggs, and there were but two in the 

 nest. These were uncovered and cold, for, of course, their 

 owner had merely been standing by them. But their shape, 

 size, and coloration, not to mention the presence of the bird, 

 the disposition of the nest, and a few tufts of down, settled 

 their identity beyond quibble. 



J. Walpole-Bond. 



THE FOOD OF THE EIDER. 



In a note in our last issue (p. 344) on this subject we 

 made Mr. Robinson say that it was curious that Razor-shells 

 were never found in birds killed in the early morning. 

 Mr. Robinson points out that he wrote that these shells " may 

 often be found in Eiders shot at any time except early 

 morning." By this, he now tells us, he merely meant that the 

 shells were no^ present before the birds had breakfasted, and 

 not, as we inferred, that the birds do not feed on these 

 shell-fish in the early morning. — Eds. 



GOOSANDER IN BEDFORDSHIRE. 



On February 27th, 1909, I saw a female Goosander (Mergus 

 merganser) amongst the ducks on one of our ponds at Woburn. 

 The bird has often been recorded in Bedfordshire, but it is 

 perhaps sufficiently rare to be \\'orthy of mention. 



M. Bedford. 



RED GROUSE AND BLACK GROUSE HYBRIDS. 



It would be natural to suppose that species which are 

 closely allied and which frequent the same ground would often 

 interbreed ; but §uch is not the case. It is well known that 



I 



