112 NETTA RUFINA 



the sporting point of view these ducks leave little to be desired, since they are as shy 

 and active as their cousins, the Common Pochards. A large flock of male Red-crests 

 on the water must be a sight worth seeing. "One morning in December," says G. 

 Reid (1881), "I came across countless numbers on a jhil in the Fyzabad district, 

 closely packed, and covering nearly the whole surface of the water, with their red 

 heads moving independently, while the breeze kept their crests in motion; a distant 

 spectator might have mistaken them for a vast expanse of beautiful aquatic flowers." 



Behavior in Captivity. None of the diving ducks is better suited for the orna- 

 mental pond than this. It is very attractive, moderately hardy, long-lived and easily 

 tamed. All diving ducks have this advantage over the surface-feeders, that they 

 spend much more time on the open water and so make a finer show on the pond. 

 Besides these qualities the Red-crest nests rather freely in captivity, and the young, 

 though not so easy to rear as those of the Mallard and other common ducks, respond 

 well to expert care. They have been reared in so many zoological gardens and es- 

 tates in England and on the Continent that it is not necessary to go into details. It 

 seems not to have been kept in England before 1874, when Mr. E. C. Buck presented 

 it to the London Gardens. In 1876 he forwarded twelve males and six females from 

 India. These did not breed among themselves, but crossed with Rosy-bills (Meto- 

 piana). Later the species was frequently reared. At first the value was very high, 

 up to £30, but later on it fell to £3 or £5 the pair (Hubbard, 1907). The pre- 

 sent price for good hand-reared stock in England is £5 the pair. In this country 

 before the War they used to sell for about $25.00 to $30.00 the pair. 



In the Berlin Gardens many free-flying birds were kept and seldom left the vicin- 

 ity. But one banded specimen reared in the spring of 1911, left in the autumn, and 

 was taken on November 26, 1911, at Peronne in France (Heinroth, 1912a). In these 

 Gardens, clutches were recognized by their being placed on rather flat cones on the 

 top of which the mold for the nest was formed. This nest-form was adhered to even 

 when the location was perfectly dry, and seems to be characteristic of the diving 

 ducks, who elevate their nests rather than depress them, as the surface-feeders do. 

 Some of the females, especially at the beginning of the breeding season, were very 

 sensitive about human disturbance, and left the nest permanently if once driven 

 away. Others were persistent sitters and paid little attention to human beings. The 

 young have to be reared with specially prepared food, and on account of their weak 

 legs they soon become worn out if allowed to follow a hen about (Heinroth, 1911). 

 It was also noted that the wings of the ducklings grow very much later than those of 

 the surface-feeding ducks. At Scampston, Yorkshire, Mr. St. Quintin's caretaker 

 had little trouble in rearing the young. They proved to be early layers (April) and 

 produced clutches of seven to nine eggs, which were deposited in bulky nests. The 

 nests were hidden beneath thick bushes or dense undergrowth and incubation in one 



