282 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



me that when the young birds are first hatched they do not 

 require much water, and that if they had it, to put it in his own 

 words, would " swim themselves to death." Scattered about the 

 heather-covered moors of Surrey are small pools of water, formed 

 by the rain and fringed with bog-moss or sphagnum. It is to 

 one of these pools the old duck will at first take her brood by 

 slow degrees, the young ducks in the meantime living on gnats 

 and flies — if anyone watches a young duck they will see how 

 eagerly they snap at these — until they reach this pool. Here 

 they will remain, perhaps for some days, always making for the 

 shelter of the heather at the slightest approach of danger. As 

 the young birds grow, the old duck will lead them to a larger 

 pool, which empties itself into a stream. Down this stream the 

 brood will wander until their haven is reached in the shape of a 

 large pond or mere, and by this time the ducklings are big 

 enough to swim at will, with no fear of overdoing it. The sitting 

 duck, as a rule, exhibits no fear during incubation, and I have 

 seen one bird lifted right off her nest, and not make the slightest 

 attempt to escape. Though not addicted to polygamy, I have 

 my strong suspicion this occurs sometimes. I have known three 

 sitting ducks all within a few yards of each other, while hard by 

 on a small pond swam a solitary drake, and I have frequently 

 seen one Mallard with five or six ducks. The Mallard commences 

 to moult about April 3rd, some of the feathers on the fore breast 

 beginning to go first. The sitting duck is carefully guarded by 

 her mate, and if a stray Mallard should approach too near the 

 nest is at once driven away. 



The Little Grebe, or Dabchick, in some individuals assumes 

 its summer dress as early as February 17th, and starts building 

 about April 18th, but the eggs are seldom laid before the end of 

 that month. The earliest eggs I have seen were on the 30fch. 

 Three, according to my experience, is the usual number, and I 

 have never seen a nest with more than four. On May 1st this 

 year (1906) I went round a piece of water on a large private 

 estate, and found several nests but no eggs, and it was not until 

 May 7th that I found one with three eggs, and another with one. 

 These eggs, strangely enough, were not covered up by the sitting 

 bird, as is the usual custom, but were fully exposed to view. 

 The Dabchick builds the most untidy nests I have ever seen. 



