THE GREY OR SPOT-BILL DUCK. 169 
as I have described the nest that I myself examined. The 
nest contained six fresh eggs. 
Captain G.F.L. Marshall writes: “I found a nest in the 
Muttra District on the 31st August 1871. It was a well-made, 
cup-shaped nest of grass, fresh plucked, about 9 inches across, 
3 inches deep, and the sides fully 2 inches thick; it was 
sparingly lined with down and feathers from the breast of 
the parent bird, and contained seven brownish white eggs. It 
was placed on the ground in a slight hollow amongst thick 
grass, about 18 inches high, under the trees on the outer side 
of the canal bank, and about a yard from the edge of a small 
excavation pit, full of water. The bird was on the nest, and 
when roused flew with difficulty.” 
Writing from Sindh, Mr. Doig says: “On the 28th of April 
I found a nest containing eight eggs, all incubated. I saw the 
bird fly on to a small island covered with long grass about a foot 
high, which was out in the middle of the Narra, so suspecting 
that there was a nest, I went off in a boat, and after some 
searching found the nest, the old bird nearly letting me catch 
her before flying away. The nest was made of grass and 
lined with feathers from the birds themselves. 
“On the 1st of May I found another nest on another island, 
which had contained ten incubated eggs; but the eggs were 
scattered all about and broken, only one remaining whole. 
The nest itself had been pulled to pieces and scattered all 
about. 
“Shortly before getting to the island I noticed a large 
family of otters playing about on it, who all bolted on seeing 
me approach in my canoe, so that I have very little doubt that 
they were the culprits. It could not possibly have been crows, 
as none of the eggs were pecked, but simply broken; besides 
if it had been crows, I should have seen them near the place ; 
and, besides, they would be certain to have eaten them. This 
nest was also in long grass at the foot of a stump of an old 
tamarisk tree. 
“The nest having been disturbed, the bird made another 
nest about 4 feet from it, and laid again the following day 
(2nd May). On the 23rd June I observed flappers, just able 
to fly, in the same locality, and again I caught young birds, 
not able to fly, on the 8th of November.” 
Captain Butler remarks: “I found several nests of this 
species at Langraij between Deesa and Ahmedabad in 
October 1876. Some contained fresh eggs, some stale eggs— 
of which a few had been sucked by some kind of animal,— 
some incubated eggs, and many contained only shells, the 
young having hatched off. The nests were, in every single 
instance, placed in long grass, growing either by the side of 
tanks or else on mounds of earth overgrown with grass, or 
small islands in the tanks, In some instances, the nests were 
». « 
