88 INDIAN DUCKS. 



Drew, writing o£ one of the many islands in the Tsomonrari Lake in 

 Ladakh, says : — 



" The island is about half a mile from' the shore, near midway in the 

 length of the western side — it may be 100 yds. corner to corner in one 

 direction, and GO yds. in another ; it is of gneiss rock, rising only nine or 

 ten feet above the water ; the soundings before given show that there is 

 about 100 ft. of water between the island and the near shore. This little 

 place, being ordinarily undisturbed by man, is a great resort of the gull, 

 which in Ladakhi is called Chagharatse ; the surface was nearly all 

 covered w^ith its droppings, and there were hundreds of the young about ; 

 most of these must have been hatched near the beginning of July. Having 

 heard that it was a matter of interest with some ornithologists to learn 

 about the nidification of the wild (barred-headed) goose, I was on the look 

 out for information concerning it, and I found that this island is one of the 

 places where it lays its eggs. I was told by the Champas that they find 

 the eggs there just before the ice breaks up — say, the beginning of May ; 

 after that they have no means of reaching the island. I myself found 

 there a broken egg, but at the time I was on the island (the last week in 

 July) the young had all been hatched. A few days later, I followed the 

 same enquiry in the valley of the Salt Lake, and on an earthy island in the 

 fresh-water lake called Panbuk I found a nest where the mother was 

 sitting with some goslings and two eggs, one just breaking with the chick; 

 the other egg I measured, and found to be 3;^ x 2^ inches and very nearly 

 elliptical in form. The nest was a slight hollow, lined with, first, a few 

 bits of soft herb, then with feathers. I was told that these goose eggs are 

 found also at the edge of the Salt Lake itself." 



Capt. Stein, I.M.S., took a considerable number of the eggs of this 

 species in the Chumba Valley, some of which have come into my possession 

 or passed through my hands. These are just like the eggs of Anser ferus, 

 but average smaller, and the measurements of the 14 I have seen were 

 only 3*07 x 2"2'd inches. The colour was pure white, were unsoiled, and 

 the texture exactly like that of the eggs of A. ferus. Four or five appears 

 to^be the normal full number in a clutch. 



