THE SPECIES. 97 



drunken man. The female has the head and back ashy brown, the rump yellowish green, 

 and the breast yellowish grey. The nest is a beautiful, compact, structure of rootlets, moss, 

 and grass, lined with hair and feathers, and generally with some chips of decayed wood 

 outside. There are four or five eggs. 



The Brambling— Dimensions, Dp; Eggs, Ct— visits us in the winter. It has a rapid 

 undulating flight. Its note is a flute-like " chip-a-way." The female has a dark brown 

 head and shoulders, and has no black and chestnut. The nest is higher in the trees than a 

 Chaffinch's, and nearly always has birch bark in it, the other constituents being green moss,' 

 lichens, cobwebs, and thistle down, forming a rather large accumulation. There are from 

 five to seven eggs. 



Fulica. Plate xxiv. RALLID^. 



284. aira, 15 in. Coot. Broad white shield on forehead ; plumage 



blackish grey, with narrow white wing bar ; remiges 

 25, third primary longest ; tail feathers, 14. 



The Coot — Dimensions, Mk; Eggs, Nm — can swim, dive, walk, and run. It can fly 

 strongly, but prefers to skim along, touching the water every now and then with its feet. 

 The call is " kew." The sexes are alike in plumage. The nest is a bulky structure of 

 rushes and flags, often two feet high, built up from the bed of the water to form an island, 

 and occasionally afloat or moored to a reed. It is lined with dry dead reeds ; and the eggs, 

 which number from 6 to 12, are of the colour of the reeds among which they are laid. 



Fuligula. Plate xxi. ANATIDAi, 



246. nyroca, 16 In. White-eyrd Duck. Head ferruginous ; back 



brown ; lower breast white ; eye white ; 18 feathers 

 in tail. 



247. cristaia, 17 in. TuFTED DuCK. Crest and head black ; back 



black. 



245. ferina, 18 in. Pochard. Head chestnut ; back grey ; wing 



speculum grey. 



248. maj'iia, 2.0 in. Scaup. Head, neck, and shoulders black ; back 



white or speckled. 



244. rujina, 21 in. Red-crested Pochard. Crest and head chest- 



nut ; back brown ; eye brown ; 16 feathers in tail. 



The White-eyed Duck — Dimensions, Na ; Eggs, Ng — has not only a white eye but a 

 white wing bar or speculum. Its bill is dark blue with a black nail. It is almost as well 

 known as the Ferruginous Duck. It has been occasionally found here, generally in 

 Leadenhall Market. 



The Tufted Duck — Dimensions, Nc^ ; Eggs, Pf — is very common in Nottinghamshire. 

 Its bin is greyish blue with a black nad. The female is brown where the male is black, and 

 the white wing patch is smaller. They are capital divers. The flight is a strong, steady 

 one, close to the water for some distance and then with a considerable rise. The call is 

 a *' kr-kr-kurra." There are from 8 to 12 eggs. The nest is in a tuft, generally on the 

 brink of a pond, and it is built of dry reeds and grass, lined with small down, which is 

 greyish black, with an obscure white centre. 



The Pochard — Dimensions, Od ; Eggs, Pr— is another of the Diving Ducks now increasing 

 in this country. Its bill is black, blue and black, the blue being a stripe in the middle. 

 The sexes are alike in plumage, except that the female has a dull brown head and neck, 

 and a white chin. Both sexes have a grey wing bar. The flight is straight, rapid, low, and 

 noisy, and the call is a " kr, kr, kr," with a whistle. The nest is always near water, and is 

 made of dry grass and sedge, lined with brownish grey down, having obscure white centres. 



The Scaup — Dimensions, Pc ; Eggs, Qa — is so called from its call. It has a light blue 

 bill with a black nail, and its tail is not longer than its closed wings. Its wing bar is white. 

 The female, like the young male, has a white band round the base of the bill. The flight is 

 noisy and rapid. The cry is given with a peculiar tossing of the head and opening of the 

 bill. The nest is usually on a sloping; bank, and is made of dry grass and sedge, lined with 

 broken sedge and dark brown down without white tips, but with pale centres. 



The Red-crested Pochard— Dimensions, Pn ; Eggs, Pc— has a red bill and red legs. 

 Its wing bar is white. The female is light grey on the cheeks and throat. It is well known 

 in Northern India, but Is only a rare straggler to this country. 



