7o 
on her nest again. On page 51 is a nest in long grass containing two 
newly hatched goslings that had evidently not the necessary strength 
to follow the rest of the family down to the sea. Five or six eggs is 
the usual number, they are generally laid in late October or in 
November. Immature geese are shown on page 52. 
Antarctic Skua ( Megaltstris antarctica). Page 57. The 
Antarctic Skua is known locally as the Sea Hen. Arriving in the 
Falkland Islands about the middle of October, these bold bad birds 
remain till April, at the end of which month all but stragglers have 
departed. Lambs, sheep when helpless on their backs, goslings, 
ducklings, and any such defenceless creatures, are unmercifully 
attacked by them. About the end of December, when their own 
youngsters are hatched, Sea Hens make things remarkably unplea- 
sant for any human beings, horses, or dogs that come their wa> , 
swooping down at a terrific pace and screaming harshly. The 
chicks, when first out of the eggs, are little yellow downy things, as 
on page 57. The adult birds arc dark brown with a white stripe 
across the wings. 
Crested Duck or Grey Duck ( Anas cristata). Page 58. The 
Grey Duck is very plentiful in many parts of the islands. It does 
not keep strictly to the calendar wilh regard to nesting, as some 
birds do, for one hears of the eggs heing found as early as July, and 
as late as March or April. The nests are soft and downy, generally 
containing fivfe eggs of a creamy-wliite colour, and built in long 
grass. Although a brood of five quite small birds is often seen, the 
pathetic sight of the parents anxiously guarding their last couple, or 
even a single youngster, is more common, the others presumably 
having met with death “ by misadventure ” or Gulls? 
Mollymawk ( Diomedia melanof>hrys). Pages 59, 60. I he 
Mollymawk breeds in large numbers on a few of the islands in the 
West Falklands, and on the Bbauchene Islands. These birds spend 
the winter at sea, returning early in October to lay their one big egg, 
which is a dirty white colour with reddish spots and markings at the 
larger end. The eggs are collected for eating, some being used while 
fresh and others preserved for the winter. The photographs on 
pages 59 and 60 are of an immature Mollymawk that had strayed 
inland on the East Falklands, and was in a rather exhausted 
condition. 
Tussac or Black Bird ( Cinclodes antarcticus). Page 61. 
These little birds are very tame and friendly, and as inquisitive as an 
English robin. They build in holes and crevices in cliffs, under 
overhanging rocks, and in. any convenient shelter. One nest was 
found in an old box on the beach ; the box was about twenty inches 
square, and had two entrances by which the little grass nest was 
reached. Two eggs are laid some time in October or November. 
Tussac birds twitter much like swallows, and often come close to a 
house or into it. They will even fly into the kitchen and peck at anv 
food on the table, or enter a bedroom on a fine morning, sit on the 
looking-glass and chatter till the occupant awakes. They are very 
quarrelsome among themselves f when angry they have a halnt of 
spreading their wings above their heads, chattering the while in a 
shrill and scolding manner. They eat house flies ami flourish on 
islands where there are no cats or rats. 
