58 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



time differed somewhat from the sketch given in ' The Zoologist,' 

 1903, p. 131, by Mr. J. H. Gurney. Passing back in the after- 

 noon of the same day, I again saw this interesting family near 

 the same spot, and the male once more went through the same 

 series of evolutions to draw me away as in the morning. 



The members of these three species of ducks breeding in this 

 district are, I think, on the increase. The Mallard has probably 

 always been common as a nesting bird, but I believe that the 

 Shoveler has only become a breeder here during the last five or 

 six years. My first note of seeing the bird in spring was in 

 1902 ; they have certainly increased in numbers greatly during 

 the last two years. The Sheld-Duck perhaps has bred in small 

 numbers for some time. I have been told all along, by shep- 

 herds and farmers, of birds nesting both in the pipes and in the 

 rabbit-burrows ; but I am certain that the numbers of nesting 

 birds, of the non-breeding birds, and of the winter flocks have 

 all increased during the last three years. 



A matter of some interest in connection with the nesting of 

 various species of ducks is the identification of them by means 

 of the down with which they cover their nests. Amongst this 

 down there is always — I think one may say invariably — some 

 admixture of small breast contour feathers. In my opinion 

 these latter feathers are a much safer guide to go by for identifi- 

 cation than the down itself. In the three species in question 

 these small feathers from the breast have very distinctive 

 markings, as may be seen from the accompanying Plate II. 

 Of course, the Sheld-Duck's nest is identified easily enough 

 without any such aid as this, but still it is interesting to com- 

 pare the three feathers together. In the Sheld-Duck the feather 

 is a very pure white, with the tip shaded with sepia, so dark as 

 to be almost black. The depth of this coloured tip varies some- 

 what. Occasionally it is nearly lost through abrasion, and more 

 rarely absent altogether, the feathers being then pure white all 

 over. There are also a very few French-grey feathers of the same 

 shape amongst the down. In the small breast-feathers of the 

 Mallard the dark strip in the centre is deep umber in colour. 

 This dark strip always runs out to the very end of the web. It 

 sometimes widens out at the base so as to be hastate in shape. 

 The rest of the feather- web is a dirty white. In the Shoveler 



