388 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



eggs have been laid and the usual attention is now being paid to them. 

 The onl}' entrance to the nest is through a round hole, exactly one inch in 

 diameter, and is precisely in the centre of the buffer-facing. This hole is, of 

 course, covered by the buffer-facing of trucks when going towards Clacton 

 or by the buffer of the engine when going to Thorpe, so that the bird is a 

 prisoner on each of her trips. On arrival at Clacton-ou-Sea on Wednesday 

 morning the buffer was watched, but although the carriages stood there for 

 about two hours, the bird, which was distinctly seen on arrival, was not 

 observed to leave her nest. No doubt her mate was waiting for her at 

 Thorpe, where their movements were first observed on Tuesday by some 

 plate-layers." The distance from Thorpe to Clacton is four miles and a 

 half. Being acquainted with the station-master at Thorpe (Mr. Rush- 

 brooke), I wrote to ask if he could verify the statement. Annexed is his reply, 

 dated June 9th. — H. Miller (Bismere House, Norwich Road, Ipswich). 



" I have pleasure in verifying in every particular the correctness of 

 Mr. Briggs' statement, as per extract from ' Suffolk Chronicle,' but am 

 sorry to say that some mischievous individual has destroyed the nest since 

 the account appeared. I am vexed it should be so, as doubtless the eggs 

 would have been hatched, rendering the incident more interesting thereby. 

 T return the extract." — 0. Roshbrooke (Railway Station, Thorpe-le-Soken, 

 Essex). 



Common Domestic Duck diving for Food. — When at Buxton last 

 year I spent a good deal of my time in watching and occasionally feeding 

 the waterfowl in the ponds of the garden. On week-days the ducks received 

 large contributions from the visitors, but on Sundays they apparently were 

 on rather short commons, judging by their greater activity in searching for 

 food, and constantly standing on their heads in the water, so as to search 

 the bottom for aquatic plants. Of course every scrap of plant to the depth 

 of ten or fifteen inches (eighteen inches where the geese were) was cleared 

 away. I was surprised one Sunday to see a common Domestic Duck 

 (female) diving in three or four feet of water, and searching along the 

 ground, as if she had been "to the manner born," for plants, which, when 

 she found, were brought to the surface ; some fifteen or twenty other ducks 

 watched her proceedings with great interest, and made an immediate rush 

 at her when she came up to share in the food, exactly as the Wigeon 

 pounce upon the Canvas-back Ducks at the mouth of the Delaware River 

 and other favourite winter feeding-places of these delicious birds, which, 

 notwithstanding their difficulties with their thievish tormentors, must 

 manage to pick up a fairly good living, as when killed they are usually 

 in fine condition. I saw only one duck (a Mallard) at Buxton make any 

 attempt to imitate the clever diver, but his efforts were always ignominious 

 failures. Had I been living in Buxton I should have endeavoured to get 

 some eggs of this diving duck and had them hatched, with the object of 



