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their offspring, but, of course, as the breeding season approaches, it will be

necessary to part them.


Of Waterfowl, the following species nested : Geese —Bean and White-

fronted, but the eggs of each proved clear. Ducks —three Eider Ducks laid

clutches of eggs, and three young Eider Ducklings were hatched under a

hen, of which two died when the size of a Teal, apparently overcome by

the sun one very hot day ; one, a female, survived aud is doing well.


Young of Mandarin, Carolina, Common Shelduck, Wigeon, Red-

crested Pochard, and Tufted-duck were successfully reared. Two clutches

of eggs, laid by a Carolina duck mated with a Mandarin drake, proved

unfertile, as has been the case on several other occasions. I have lately

heard of an instance, in a neighbouring county, where a hybrid between

these species was hatched and reared up to the first moult. Some half-a-

dozen years ago, one of my full-winged Mandarin ducks paired with a

full-winged Carolina drake, and nested in the hollow bough of a tall elm

tree; five young were hatched under a hen, and at the end of a fortnight

were thriving, but were all lost in one day through the unfortunate

neglect of the person in charge.


Wigeon, Pochards, Tufted-ducks, and Gadwalls are all established

here, breeding freely and, except in hard weather, supporting themselves—

the offspring of pinioned pairs turned down. The Gadwalls, unfortunately,

have a way of nesting in the covers away from the water, and the sitting

ducks get woefully thinned by foxes. This spring there was only one

Gadwall duck about, with several drakes, aud I could not find that there

was a nest.


My Whooper Swans made a nest, or rather the male did—a fine bird

which I obtained when in the grey plumage of the first year. The female

was a recent acquisition, and not in very good condition when the breeding

season commenced. It was very curious to see the male steal on to the nest

in the mornings, and most carefully go through the pantomime of covering

up the egg that the female was supposed to have laid—so at least we

interpreted his proceedings. As a matter of fact, the female never appeared

to feel any interest in the nest; but I hope to have better results this year.


My Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (two pairs) laid several clutches of their

beautiful eggs, but owing, I think, to the excessive looseness of the soil in

their aviary, the sand fell in on the eggs and filled up the scratches, which

are made rather deep, and the bird each time gave up incubating. (In 1897

we reared a fine young female of this species). A pair of Black-breasted

Sandgrouse laid three clutches of three eggs each, but each time the eggs

were cracked, the blame being laid at first upon a Rock Thrush, then upon

some Pratincoles, until the male Grouse was found to be the real

delinquent. As in this family the male bird takes his share of incubation,

in the case of the Pin-tailed species at any rate, regularly going on to

the nest for the night, it would be impossible to divide the birds after the

eggs were laid, and I am at a loss to know what plan to adopt in case the

same thing occurs this next season.


A pair of Cornish Choughs, which I have had for five or six years,

made their usual nest in a box, but though both birds seemed to take the

greatest interest in the proceedings, and the nest was well constructed of

birch twigs, and carefully lined with the hair of an old grey pony, no eggs

were laid. I am now allowing the birds to live pradtically at liberty in the



