THE ZooLoGist—OcTOBER, 1872. 3243 
Notes on the Breeding in Confinement of the Pochard, Pinkfooted 
Goose, and Wigeon. By Cecit Smita, Esq. 
Turse three species having bred in my pond this year, I think 
a few short notes on the subject may not be uninteresting to some 
of the readers of the ‘ Zoologist.’ 
The pochards were the first to produce their brood, which they 
did on the 12th of May: as I did not find the nest until the old 
bird had been sitting some time, I am not able to tell the exact 
time of incubation. The nest was placed on the side of a steep 
bank, close to the water: it was a mere hollow in the bank, the eggs 
being only kept from rolling down into the water by the projecting 
roots of some laurels, under which it was placed; it was lined with 
a few dry bents and leaves, aud a little down from the body of the 
bird,—but of this there was very little, not nearly so much as is 
usually found in a wild duck’s nest,—nor did the old bird take so 
much trouble to hide her eggs with grass and leaves as a wild duck 
usually does when she leaves it. The old bird came off her nest 
about three times a week to feed and wash herself: at these times 
she was very ravenous, bolting meat or barley-meal by the handful. 
Immediately she was satisfied, and had had a good wash, she 
returned to her nest as hard as she could swim. The young ones 
looked very much like young wild ducks in colour, size, and 
markings, except about the feet and legs, which were decidedly 
pochard, especially the hind toe, which had the large membrane of 
the diving duck very fully developed. The brood consisted of four, 
and one which was left dead in the nest, which I have preserved. 
Tam sorry to say none of the brood survived more than a few days: 
as the weather was very wet the pond got flooded, and the young 
pochards were swept over one of the waterfalls and lost. 
The pinkfooted geese were more successful: the first egg was 
laid on the 2nd of May, and the bird began to. sit on the 8th, 
having laid six eggs, three of which eventually proved to be 
addled; the other three were hatched on the 5th of June. The 
eggs were placed close by the side of a pond, at first without any 
nest; but as the number of eggs increased, the old birds collected 
some long bents of grass and a few leaves, which, with a little down 
from the body of the female, completed the nest. During the 
whole time of incubation the gander remained close to the nest, 
