IGO INDIAN DICKS. 



and rank. At lioinf it is considered (|uire one of the liiolicr clas> of Mucks 

 for eatin<i;, but out in India it is often not of a iii;^lier chiss; Hume snvs 

 of sonic he oot on the sea-coast that tliey liad such distinct '"odour of 

 brine troni the ocean "^ about tlieni that they were (|uite un]ialatable. 

 Those sliot in ('achai' and A><ain I lunc always found verv oood indeed. 



The AVi^con breeils thronohout the ^M'eater part ()\i its northern 

 haljitat. but probably nowliere -within tlie Arctic Circle. It is connnon in 

 Iceland and still nioi'e so in La])lan(b breeds throu^liout Xorthern Europe, 

 and al-o. 1 am told, in Ea>t PiMissia, and it al.-o bi-eed- in Xortii-wost 

 Asia, less commonly to the ea>t. In (ireat I'l-itain it ha- often been 

 found l)reedinfr in Scotland and also in Ireland, and in I.s'.t.S Mr. AV. J. 

 Clark has recorded the findino- of a Wieeon's nest in Yorkshire, tin- beinu- 

 the first record of its breeding; within the linuts of England itself. 



Its nest may be placed either close to Avater in amongst tlie growth 

 on the l)ank5 or shores, or it is sometimes placed a good distance from it. 

 In Scotland it is frequently found well hidden in amongst heather, far 

 from llie neare-t water. As a rule, it is very carefully hidden, but at 

 other times it is very conspicuous and can be seen from a few vards 

 awav. The duck sits very close indeed, and flying up at one's feet 

 usually show> the whereabouts of the nest, however well it inav l>e 

 hidden. The drake would >eem to take little interest in the ne-t or ecos^ 

 and leaves the duck not only to do all the incnbatioii. but al-o to look 

 after the A-oung until they are some day> ohL 



The uest would a])])('ar to differ from other ducks' nests in Iteino- 

 better put together in most cases. In some nests the material — moss, 

 leaves, grasses, and weeds — are well intermingled and interwoven with one 

 another and with down, which not only forms the lining, but is also 

 incorporated in the body of the nest itself, Frequentl}-, on the other hand, 

 the nest is very primitive, and con-i-ts of only a few of the material- 

 mentioned, just loosely placed in some hollow in the ground. 



Dresser, a- (pioted by Hume, says : — '-The eggs are deposited late in 

 early in dune, the locality selected for the purpose of nidification 

 oeing sometimes close to tlie water's edge and at others some distance 

 from it: but Mr. Colley informs me that he found a nest on the fells, not 

 far from the town of Lilleliammer, which was undr-r a juniper bu<h, at 

 least 800 yards from the water. The nest is a lUf re depression or hole 

 scratched in the ground, and well lined wirli down ami a few feathers, 

 intermixed with a little moss or a few gra.-s-bents. A nest which T 

 possessed consists of a little moss matted together with. down, the latter 



