140 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
(From my Note-book.) 
May 5th, 1907.—On one of the ponds in Windsor Park one 
pair of Tufted Duck and six pair of Pochard still remain, and 
Spring is now so far advanced that it is reasonable to suppose 
that both birds may breed here; whether it is possible to wade 
through the thick belt of reeds in order to make sure of this 
remains to be seen. 
19th.—To-day Mr. Pettitt and I succeeded in wading out to 
one section of the reeds round the pond in Windsor Park. It 
was difficult work, but we were well rewarded in finding two 
nests of Pochard with eight and nine eggs; in the smaller clutch 
the young were just chipping through the shell, while the nine 
eges appeared quite fresh. The eggs are somewhat larger and 
of a deeper colour than those of the Mallard. There were several 
male and female Pochard on the water, though not in company. 
We saw no Tufted Duck. 
June 9th.—I do not know when I have spent a more un- 
comfortable morning. Mr. Pettitt and I waded right round the 
pond in Windsor Park. It was desperately hard work flounder- 
ing about up to our waists in mud and water, the perspiration 
streamed down our faces, and swarms of midges, disturbed by 
our progress through the reeds, buzzed around our heads, while 
every step brought up great bubbles of foul-smelling gas. After 
four hours in the water we were heartily glad to get ashore 
again. The result of the morning’s work was fifteen Reed- 
Warbler’s nests, one with a young Cuckoo a few days old, and 
another with a Cuckoo’s egg; three nests of Pochard with 
seven, seven, and eight eggs (tested in the water all these 
clutches showed signs of being much ineubated). The other 
nests met with were Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Great Crested 
Grebe, and Reed-Bunting. 
Pettitt and I were both scared several times by some bird (?) 
that we could not get a glimpse of; right under our feet there 
would suddenly be a great commotion in the water, and some- 
thing was rushing about and splashing below the surface. It 
happened to me first, and when I told Pettitt about it he 
laughingly said, ‘‘Mind you are not grabbed by a Crocodile.” 
Later on the same thing happened to him, and he admitted that 
it was much too like the swirling of a Crocodile to be pleasant, 
