74 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
expected to find this reservoir a good resort for wildfowl, and was not 
disappointed. Tufted Ducks, to the number of at least two hundred, 
were busy diving in twos and threes, and little parties of twenty or 
thirty all over the water, a good proportion being adult drakes in full 
plumage. The birds were rather restless and often on the wing. 
Pochards were perhaps a little more abundant than the Tufted Ducks. 
Coming rather suddenly on a sheltered bay, I counted one hundred 
and fifty of this species resting, with other waterfowl, in a compact 
flock on the water. They were not very shy, merely swimming 
quietly out a little way into the lake, and returning to doze as soon as 
I had passed. Besides this flock many other Pochards were scattered 
over the water. A splendid adult drake Golden-eye followed by a duck 
kept well out in the rough water, and was continually diving. There 
were also a good many Mallard about, and a fair number of Wigeon 
and Teal, all very shy and probably lately shot at, but I could only 
make out two Shovelers, both fine drakes. A bird which must have 
been a female or immature Smew puzzled me for a long time. It was 
perhaps the shyest bird upon the water, and kept out of easy range 
of my glasses. The throat and neck showed white, and during flight 
there were very conspicuous white markings visible on the wings. 
Coots might be seen in hundreds, perhaps in thousands. They were 
everywhere, and mingled with the other fowl. I also noticed two 
Herons. A strong south-west breeze was blowing, ruffling the water 
considerably, but many of the Diving Ducks seemed to like the rough 
water. JI am told on good authority that other species, such as 
Grebes and Divers, have been seen on the water, and that Shovelers 
and Tufted Ducks have been known recently to remain to breed by | 
the lake. In winter twelve guns are said to have shot two hundred 
Duck, chiefly Teal, in one day. The lake, already famous for its big 
Trout, is evidently a very interesting bird resort, and is worthy of the 
attention of naturalists——F. L. Buarawayt (Lincoln). 
Distinct Types in Eggs.—In ‘ The Zoologist’ (ante, p. 30) I have 
read with interest the article on ‘“‘Hggs of the Red-backed Shrike,” 
which is a reply to a previous note on the same subject. My limited 
experience leads me to agree with Mr. Bunyard. For years I had 
the run of a large Black-headed Gullery (Larus ridibundus) in Perth- 
shire. Year after year in the same part of the moss we used to look 
for and find the exact same type of eggs—such as spotless blue and 
beautifully zoned eggs. We always held these were the production of 
the same female. In 1903 I picked up a clutch of two almost spotless 
blue eggs, slightly malformed. Returning to the same spot in 1904, 
