NOTES AND QUERIES. 75 



imagine that ninety-eight is an unusually large number. — Flora 

 Bussell (2, Audley Square, W.). 



Colour of Eyes in Fuligula nyroca. — On Jan. 1st I handled a 

 locally and fresh-killed immature specimen of the "White -eyed Pochard 

 (not a hybrid), the irides of which were light brown, without any trace 

 or shade of white. Can the authorities be wrong, as no writer known 

 to me suggests the elimination of white from the eye of this species at 

 any age ? The eye of the Common Pochard is generally given as red 

 or pink in the adult male, but this is only the case in over-yeared birds, 

 and then seldom before January. I have on several occasions noticed 

 this colour fade to yellow shortly after death, or even before in birds 

 that I have shot. — Maurice C. H. Bird (Brunstead Bectory, Stalham, 

 Norwich). 



Eider (Somateria mollissima) in Cheshire. — On Dec. 31st (1905) an 

 Eider — a duck or a drake in the plumage of the first winter — was 

 swimming close inshore at Leasowe. Sheltered from the gale, which 

 was blowing from the south-east, the bird was diving for food in the 

 quiet water under the lee of the sea-wall, and I was able to get within 

 a few yards of it, sufficiently close to distinguish with a glass the 

 feathered wedge on the upper mandible, and the details of its plumage, 

 although I could not make out upon what it was feeding. When it 

 saw me the bird got on the wing, and, keeping well in the shelter of 

 the embankment, flew just above the water for about a quarter of a 

 mile. Then it dropped and began to feed, affording me another 

 opportunity to approach and watch it at close quarters. The Eider 

 is a rare species on the north-west coast of England, and has only 

 once before been recorded for Cheshire. — Chas. Oldham (Knutsford). 



Interesting Hybrid Duck. — When walking up and down the ranks 

 of Yarmouth Market on Jan. 20th, as is my usual custom on Saturdays 

 during the shooting season, in search of any interesting fowl that may 

 turn up, I was attracted by an odd-looking Duck strung up by the neck 

 with a Mallard, hanging on a slate. On closer inspection I found it 

 to be a remarkably pretty hybrid between a Mallard and a Black East 

 Indian Duck. The head was glossy greenish black, as was the back. 

 Underneath the bird was a patch of white, with another spot of white 

 on the "throat," and the breast was a dark brown. The black feet 

 were small, the toes only showing a brown streak, and the black upper 

 mandible was relieved by a light brown patch on either side. The bird 

 was in fine condition, and undoubtedly a male. I should have pur- 

 chased it, but the good woman "couldn't for the life on her" say the 



