200 



The Irish Naturalist. 



September, 1905. 



darker than that of the Tufted Duck, a species that breeds numerously 

 there, and that she was a larger bird. 



Of the two eggs which he took he kindly sent me one, and after the 

 young had left the nest he sent me the latter, which contained down and 

 feathers. These I sent to Mr. Heatley Noble, who has made a special 

 study of ducks' eggs and down, and who set me right as to a supposed 

 case of the Wigeon breeding in Ireland. Without seeing the duckling 

 Mr. Noble wrote : — " There is no other duck's egg in my collection like 

 yours but the Common Scoter's, and I can match the down and feathers 

 with my nest of this bird, and no other.'" Subsequently he saw the nest- 

 ling duck taken by Major Trevelyan and had no hesitation in saying it 

 was a young Scoter, thus confirming the opinion previously formed by 

 Dr. Bowdler Sharpe. 



The parent duck might have been easily shot, but I congratulate Major 

 Treveh an in having obtained proof of her species without destroying 

 this bird in her attempt to rear her young in Ireland. One of the eggs 

 and the young duck are in the Natural History Museum, South Kensing- 

 ton, and the other egg and the nest are in the Museum of Science and 

 Art, Dublin, having been kindly presented by the finder. 



R. J. USSHRR. 



Cappagh, Co. Waterford. 



Wild Duck's Nest in a Tree. 



I saw last season a Wild Duck's nest in a spruce fir tree near here. It 

 was about eighteen feet from the ground. Notwithstanding the fact 

 that the nest, in consequence of the novelty of the situation, was often 

 visited, and the sitting bird alarmed, it was not deserted. All the nine 

 eggs were hatched and the young ones safely removed. Unfortunately 

 no one saw the method adopted by the parent ducks for the conveyance 

 of the young from the nest to the Sixmile-water near. [ am indebted to 

 Mr. John White, late gamekeeper to Lord Massereene, for information 

 respecting the nest. 



It may be added that during the past few years two other Wild Ducks' 

 nests have been noticed in unusual situations. They occurred near the 

 Dunore river on the eastern side of Antrim Bay, and about three-and- 

 a-half miles from Antrim town. One was on the top of a post about ten 

 feet high, which partly supported the roof of a shed, and the other was 

 in the hollow of a decayed tree trunk, about six feet from the ground. 



W. S. Smith. 



Antrim. 



Birds of Balbriggan. 



To the Zoologist for May, Rev. C. W. Benson contributes an article on 

 birds observed at Balbriggan in the years 1903 and 1904. During that 

 period the author has noted ninety-eight species. 



