and for that very reason [ am the

many on the water,
but there is a reach of still water out of hearing of

Osberton Ducks in your work. I never saw s0
ata - them to be disturbed ;
more parti ular not to allow ; : - alwave cn :
he | | | I hope to be able to get them before the end of the week. I always consider that the
the axe, were ~ ' oe “to , oy - 218 sec

| in thi ‘ehbourhood, saves the Ducks, as the decoys shorten the numbers of their mess ten
frost, at least in this neighb ou, + : : ro —

-tsman’s gun; and even most of the rivers are now frozen up, I am especially
spor . Sg a. n

to one more than the
swarms 3 but I have only

Mallard, Teal, Widgeon, Pochard, and Tufted
well situated, and my sanctuary )

Ducks in sight. | Goosanders fly over, but the piece of water 1s too small for pase to stay i it. I cannot
recollect the time when the water has been without two or three pairs of Tufted oe troy Novena
to April; but I believe the first instance of their breeding here was in the yout i i Je —
was found by the keeper, and shown to me. To the best of my recollection it te ae <a of
which I took four, placing three in the collection at this place, and giving one to Sit illiam Milner,
to having observed broods on that

but I am told that those which have been found here since were not

The | t Clumber spoke lake a year or two previously. The nest
ic seepers a 7 > \ 4

| saw Was thatched like a Magpie 83
roofed. The Tufted Ducks have lately increased in number, I believe in consequence of the introduction
During the frost we have had as many as forty together. We never find them in

of the American weed. :
of still water which acts as a mill-dam. I noted

the river above or below the lake, except in a reach
that. when two or more were in company, one always remains as a sentry while the others are under
water. They begin to leave in March; but two or three pairs annually remain till June and have

occasionally brought off their broods in July. I do not allow the nests to be searched for or the

. . ° ‘ - wh. a sa ‘ ~ ve
birds at all disturbed. The nest mentioned above was built of rushes, or what we call ‘ flags,’ and
partially concealed amongst those growing close to the edge of the water.

i ialway’s, at S * eight was hatched off.”
in one nest: and I believe, at Lord Galway’s, at Serlby, a brood of eight was hatched off.

The late Mr. John Wolley informed me that the Tufted Duck also breeds freely at Osmaston and other

I have heard of eight eggs

places in Derbyshire ; but these have originated in tamed birds.

Like the other Fuliguline Ducks, this species flies rapidly and directly, swims with the utmost ease and
very quickly, and dives so expertly that it is with difficulty shot on the water; and by this means readily
escapes from the decoy, as, instead of rising and flying forward when within the tunnel, it immediately
dives and returns to the open pool : it is by diving, also, that it obtains its food, which, when among lakes,
pools, marshes, and the still parts of rivers, chiefly consists of insects, testaceous mollusks, and worms ; at
sea, mainly of bivalve mollusca. Its flesh is tender and well flavoured, but is not in much demand ; still it
is not uncommon in the markets, where it is sometimes sold under the name of Black Widgeon.

Speaking of the bird in Ireland, Thompson says :—‘‘ At that beautiful sheet of water, Ballydrain Lake,

this species is seen to great advantage. When it was frozen over on the 27th of January, 1833, in addition

to a few wild Ducks and Teal, a number of Tufted Ducks appeared in company with Pochards, During
February the Tufted Ducks continued there ; and on the 3rd of March, a warm day for the season, twenty-
six males, with fine crests and pure white sides, and twenty-five females, with apparently no crests, brownish
sides, and generally of a brownish black colour, were congregated together. About a dozen Pochards, too,
appeared, with their bills concealed in their dorsal plumage,—a favourite position of the Fidigule when
quietly resting on the calm waters of an inland lake or the sea by day ; at full tide, in particular, they are
thus seen sleeping or enjoying their rest after the toil of flight or feeding during the preceding night.”

The following details were taken from the three examples shot by Mr. Foljambe, and kindly sent me to
form the subjects of the accompanying illustrations. They consisted of two males and a female; one of the
former weighed two pounds and two ounces, the other male and the female an ounce less than two pounds

each. A white band across the primaries and partially across the secondaries of both sexes must show

very conspicuously during flight, but not so when the wings are closed. The crown and crest of the male is
purplish black ; the cheeks and upper part of the head appear purple in one light and deep green in
another ; the tertiaries and tail-feathers are bronzy brown ; centre of the back, upper surface, chest, and anal
region black, the latter minutely freckled with brown; the remainder of the plumage ai freckled
with brown on the flanks ; irides brilliant orange-yellow ; bill beautiful bluish grey ; tarsi greyish brown.
Phe female is chestnut-brown where the male is black, has the anal region white, the irides not so fine

as in the opposite sex and inclining to light brown, and a few light feathers in the front of the face. With
respect to thes lo ‘oo re ' Ls . a

ms - hese light feathers, Mr. J. H. Gurney, Jun., informs me that he is ‘quite sure they are a
mark of yout } oh ignore ee F i a
you h, though ignored by British authors, and that they exist In very young females, and, perhaps,
in males, a

he figures represent the

two sexes, of the natural size.