y 



80 THE SPECIES. 



The Mallard— Dimensions, Qp ; Eggs, Pb— is the common Wild Duck, fiom which our 

 domesticated ducks are derived. As with them the drake can be distinguished by the curl 

 of the upper tail coverts. The flight is straight and swift, and the wings work rapidly in 

 long full strokes, without any intermission. The duck always rises first, the drake follows. 

 The note of the male is " quork," that of the female is *' quark," and the female invariably 

 makes the most noise. The female has a dark grey bill with a black nail j the male s bill is 

 greenish yellow. In summer the male assumes the female plumage. The nest is o" 1"^ 

 ground^ and generally— but not always— near water, and sometimes the Mallard will take 

 possession of an old crow's nest. The nest is always lined with down from the female 5 

 breast, neutral grey in colour, with small white tips. When specially built it is composed of 

 dead grass, reeds, and leaves. The eggs are from 8 to 16 in number, and have smooth 

 shells. The female is generally smaller than the male, and sometimes she lias been found to 

 assume the male plumage. In fact our No. 235 is a confusing sort of bird from all pomts of 

 attack. To avoid calling a drake a duck, its name of Wild Duck was discountenanced in 

 favour of Mallard, which simply means Drake. 



AnouB. Plate xxx. LARIDM. 



353. siolidus, 14 in. Noddy. Crown grey ; throat greyish ; the rest 



dark sooty brown ; bill black ; fourth tail feather 



from outside longest ; feet brown with yellowish 



webs. 



The Noddy— Dimensions, Mb; Eggs, Np— is a tropical species, which in 1830 sent two 



representatives to be shot off the coast of Wexford. It had never been seen in Europe 



before nor has it been seen since. Its eggs are worth noting as being the only tern's eggs 



laid in a nest. 



Anaer. Plate xix. ANA TID^. 



221. erythropus, 20 in. Lesser White-fronted Goose. Forehead 



white ; bill pink, with horn coloured nail ; legs 



orange. 

 220. albifrons, 28 in. ■ White-fronted Goose. Forehead white ; bill 



yellow, with white nail ; black bars on lower 



breast ; legs yellow. 

 z\^.hrachyrhynchus,-2<^\Vk. Pink-FOOTED Goose. Bill pink with black nail; 



legs pink. 



217. cinereus, 30 in. Grey Lag Goose. Bill pink with white nail; 



black bars on lower breast ; legs flesh colour. 

 22;?, hyperboreus, 30 in. Snow Goose. White ; wings black and white ; 

 bill and legs red. 



218. segeium, 34 in. Bean Goose. Bill orange, with black nail ; legs 



yellow. 



The Lesser White-fronted Goose— Dimensions, Pk ; Eggs, Rm— i^ a very rare winter 

 visitor from Scandinavia. The female is more rutescent in colour and smaller than the male. 



The White-fronted Goose — Dimensions, Sc ; Eggs, Rk — visits us every winter, but does 

 not breed here. It has large spots of black on the breast and below. The female is smaller 

 than the male and has much less black on the breast. 



*rhe Pink-footed Goose— Dimensions, Se ; Eggs, Sc — is another winter visitor, but much 

 rarer. 



The Grey Lag Goose — Dimensions, Sh ; Eggs, Sr — was once resident amongst us in 

 considerable numbers, but it is now best known as a regular visitor. Its flight is high, heavy, 

 and sedate ; in the breeding season it flies in pairs, the goose being in front ; on mfgration 

 it flies in families in a V formation, and the families often join company so as to make up a 

 series of W's. The note is "gag, gag," or "kak-kak," or "gaggle. The female is a 

 seventh shorter than the male. The nest is generally among the heather, or on a crag, or 

 lome lonely moor, and consists of a few sticks with a pile of reeds, grass, and sedge nearly 

 a yard across, and lined with down as soon as the eggs are laid. The eggs number from six 

 to fourteen. According to the older etymologists this bird derives its name from the grey 

 wings which are so conspicuous in its flight. 



The Snow Goose— Dimensions, SI ; Eggs, Sd— is a straggler from North America, 

 first shot in Ireland in 1871. 



The Bean Goose— Dimensions, Sqj Eggs, Sf— is one of our usual winter visitors. It has 

 no black on the breast. It rises heavily, striking the water with its wings to begin with, and 

 flies in lines either straight, angular, or wavy. Its note is a trumpet-like "clank," The 

 female is rather smaller than the male. 



