Anas obscura rubripes.

Western Mass.

Extract -from a letter by Robert 0.Morris to Wm.Brewster,
dated Springfield, Mass., January 19, 1903.

" In regard to the red legged black ducks about which we
had some correspondence a month or two ago. Late in the au¬
tumn, I"left word with the proprietor of a market in Spring-
field, that dealt in game, to send me any black ducks he re¬
ceived that he knew were taken in this vicinity, which re¬
sulted in my obtaining through that source, half a dozen spec¬
imens of true obscura. About the same time, I told a man, who
shot a good many ducks about here, that if he captured a black
duck with red legs, to send it to me. and all I received from
him was a female mallard. Mot far from the first of December,
I visited a place near the line between the towns of Wilbraham
and Hampden, where black ducks always winter, and found a
flock of about thirty there, but I failed to capture any. Two
or three weeks later, and after a very cold time, I went to
the same place, and found the flock had been reduced to half
a dozen individuals, but in walking, the breaking of the crust
upon the snow made so much noise, I was unable to approach
very near without flushing them. It then occurred to me that
the true obscura had been driven south by the cold, and only
the northern form remained. Last Saturday I visited the place

again, and found about the same number there as at the last

2 .

Anas obscura rubripes.

time, and succeeded in capturing one, which proved to be a
rubripes , and as you described it in the Auk last April. I
am inclined to think that only a few of this sub species visit
us, but further investigation may show the contrary." 1 '

3

Aa^uXoo <~^. Cr-cA^rt (rf CQ^&Umj^ ( (Q-<+^t. A+-t}

^c^^t =-, cJLie xx/// pj.jfo 6 u, 3'/s'.

^ AaJ. £.tyh £. 5-fX^ 7 -

Hybrid Black Duck (Anas obscura rubripes f ).— The status
of the Black Duck here is quite interesting. According to local
ornithologists of long standing and of ability, the facts do not
agree with Brewster’s position as stated in Yol. XIX of ‘The
Auk.’ We may revert to this sometime in the future. What is
to be recorded here is an apparently new and curious hybrid. On
last Nov. 20, I saw in the Ottawa market a number of Black

Ducks that were strikingly dissimilar to the common form. The
head was larger, the neck thicker and shorter, the color blacker,
especially also about the head and neck, and the bill and tarsus
shorter and stouter. The dealer said they had been shot on the
St. Lawrence River, near Montreal. Two ornithological friends
of mine, who besides being highly competent ornithologists, are
also sportsmen of long experience, say that this form is a hybrid
between Black Ducks used on the St. Lawrence as decoys find
some domestic ducks. Are similar hybrids noticed elsewhere ?
— The more common hybrid form, Black Duck + Mallard also
occurs here.

Birds of Toronto, Ontario.

By James H.Fleming.

Pt.I, Water Birds.

AuK, XXIII, Oct., 1906, p.444.

32 Anas obscura rubripes. Red-legged Black Duck — Common
migrant. The dates given for the Black Duck include this rather doubtful
form, which remains later and consequently more are taken in the fall
than of the other.

/ $ 6 3 _,

The winter A was the severest for at least twenty-five years, as evidenced
by the freezing of the whole of Casco Bay inside the islands. From 300
to 500 Black Ducks were driven into the inner harbor by the closing of
their usual feeding grounds among the islands. They congregated near
Martin’s Point bridge on the Falmouth shore and for several weeks staid
within two hundred yards of the bridge, flying up at the approach of the
electric cars which cross the bridge every fifteen minutes. They suffered
to some extent for food, and corn and other things were thrown on the
flats for them by kind-hearted persons, who thought the birds were liable
to starve. Not one of them died, as a matter of fact, except a few whose
death was doubtless due to flying against the wires which pass over the
b..dge The, .laid uaUl the Ice began b .,, object, of

“™“7 ■>"■“>"* »1» wen, there for the pnrpo.e of

g o unusual a sight.— W. H. Brownson, Portland, Me

, 3 9 si - 3

Black Ducks which became very tame.— Four Black Ducks (Anas
rubripes) have been spending the winter in one of the coves at Had-
lyme, Conn. The cove has been frozen over with ice from 18 to 24
inches thick. At the north shore of the cove are two spring holes which are
near the main road in the town and every day these ducks have been seen
by a great many people. Late in the afternoon of Feb. 15 I carried to the
spot about a peck of cracked corn and spread around on the ice and placed
some in the spring holes, the next morning some crows came and started
to eat the corn, but the ducks drove them away, they were too much for
the crows.

Soon after the grain was placed there, two more ducks arrived, the
second day two, the third day fifteen, and finally thirty arrived to feed,
they are very tame allowing one to approach very near before taking flight.

This shows how tame our wildest birds will become, if not shot at or
molested.— Arthur W. Brockway, Hadlyme , Conn.

'A^KxiX.-AjU-19/1-/t.

Notes

concerning certain Birds
of Long Island, IJ.Y.

Anas obscura rubripes. Soon after the publication of Mr. William
Brewster’s description of this newly defined subspecies I made inquiries
regarding the presence of a Black Duck on Long Island answering the
description of rubripes. I found that the difference in external character¬
istics was sufficient to have attracted the notice of certain sportsmen and
baymen. Mr. Brewster found that the red-legged form is well known to
baymen in Massachusetts and that it is regarded by them as a distinct
variety of the Black Duck. I find substantially the same facts to apply
on Long Island. In answer to my request, from one of whom I had
made inquiries, that specimens of this variety of Black Duck be furnished
me, I received a few days later two fine specimens answering in every
respect to Mr. Brewster’s description. This subspecies is, therefore, here¬
with definitely recorded for Long Island.

William C.Braislin, M.D., Brooklyn, IJ.Y.

C

1890.
Mar 7

Florida,
Canaveral,

Banana Creek.

0 /

Common, associating chiefly with the 'Widgeon, feeding much in
the fresh water ponds, tmt also frequently seen around the shores
of the bays. An exceedingly shy bird, not decoying as readily
as most of the other species. When flying it is difficult to dis¬
tinguish this duck from the Widgeon, the color of the ixnder parts
appearing similar at a distance, W**dU-the wings have a similar
white patch. As far as I could make out, the flight of the two
species is practically the same. The notes of the Qadrel are very
different from those of the Widgeon, and much nearer a quack than
a whistie, When a number are feeding together they frequently make
a good deal of noise. fjVneir notes resemble somewhat the bleating
of a lamb, but are shorter._ /<* . Aji . J 4

«

/\Aa -

/VO /A

kjlUJ. •aaa^ p

35

Birds of Toronto, Ontario.

By Janies H.Fleming.

Pt.I, Water Birds.

Auk, XXIII, Out., 1906, p.444.

33. Chaulelasmus streperus. Gadwall. — Rare migrant; a male in
Mr. Maughan’s collection taken November 2, 1901.

Notes on Hybrid Ducks from Long Point, Ontario. — Among a
number of ducks recently shot at Long Point, Ontario, was an interesting
hybrid between Anas rubripes and A. platyrhynchos. It was an immature
male, and every character which normally distinguishes the two species was
about evenly merged in this bird. It was large, weighing three and a quarter
pounds, and was the second hybrid of the same parentage to have been
taken on these grounds. The first was a more mature bird, taken about
1912 (now mounted at the Long Point Club) showing vermiculation in
the plumage, which the younger specimen lacks.

A fine adult male European Widgeon was taken here on October 12, 1914,
and is also in the club collection.— Lotus Agassiz Fitertes, Ithaca, N. Y.
xxx ///pouA.. /£>, fi.

T

Anas strenera

The Ducks of Plymouth County, Massachusetts,
by Herbert K.Job.

Auk, Xlll, July, 1396, pp.1^97-204.

See under Anas obscura .

Rare Ducks in Massachusetts. — While looking over recently an inter¬
esting local collection of birds, belonging to Mr. Arthur C. Dyke of
Bridgewater, Mass., consisting of birds taken within the limits of that
town, I came across two very rare species of ducks for this locality.

Chaulelasmus streperus. Gadwall. — There were two well-marked
specimens of this species, in immature plumage, both of which were taken
by Mr. Harry Sturtevant, on Oct. 18 , 1901 , at Nippenicket Pond in Bridge
water. They came in to live decoys at a gunning stand on this pond, con¬
trolled by Mr. Joseph E. Bassett and Mr. Sturtevant. The Gadwall is a
very rare or accidental visitor in this State. So far as I know there is only

Auk, XIX, April., 1902, p

one other record.

v. C V

The Gadwall and Yellow Rail near Springfield, Mass.— Chaulelasmus
streperus. A Gadwall was taken October 14 , 1904 , in Glastonbury, Conn.,
thirty miles below Springfield. Individuals of this species appear in the
Connecticut Valley only in very rare instances.

Aak, Xl'il, A , 1905, p. 3j>7. #«<«*<* o.'frtnnAn,

, 1 ? c cJ&yfa.)

_ jL _Ur7. / ■

Gadwall in Massachusetts. — Mr. Harry P. Sturtevant reports the
capture at Nippinicket Pond, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, upon October
11, 1916, of two Gadwalls (Chaulelasmus streperus ).— Arthur C. Dyke,
Bridgewater , Mass.

/6

Ga dwell Duck in R. I.—A collector
brought to us a fine Female Gadwell Duck
which he shot at Newport, Sunday, Feb. 26.

It is the first capture in this State as far as
I am aware.— Fred. T. Jencks, Frov., It. I.

O.&O. VH.May.15, 1882. p.

387 . Gadwell [s*V] Duck in R[hode] I[sland]. By Fred. T. Jencks.

Ibid., p. 123 .—Shot at Newport, Feb. 26 , 1882 —its first capture in the
State, so far as known to the writer. Q t Q. V’Qln VII

'F> n ttcfaJ'Tfc/ 7 ? -M.

OoRBoato* S«c. Nat.History,

Chaulelasmus streperus. Gadwall. — A specimen was taken December
1, 1902, at Point Judith, R. I,

Auk 26, Ajpr-lfiO».P*3' 3 ^

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[Llf

Dutcher, Rare Long Island Birds.

Anas strepera. Gadwall. —Presented by Col. Pike, who says : “Killed
in a fresh water pond near Speonk, Long Island, 1841. Formerly
com raon.”

Auk X, July, 18&3 p 270.

198. Chaulelasmus streperus. Gadwall. — Rare. Mr. Henry Pren¬
tiss shot one on Lake Champlain in April, 1882.

BuaN.O.C, 7,Oot,1882,p.25Q

Bird Notes from Long Island, N.Y.
William Dutcher.

7, Anas strepera. Gadwall. —Mr. A. II. Helme, of Miller s Place,
allows me to record a Gadwall Duck which was taken April 9, 1879, at
Mount Sinai Harbor, Suffolk Co. It was shot by a gunner who reported
having secured a similar Duck a few days prior. The last one shot was
seen by Mr. Helme and positively identified; but the first one, although
probably a Gadwall, may have been some other species. November 24,
1886, a female of this rare species was sent to me by Mr. Andrew Chiches¬
ter, of Amityville, who subsequently sent to me the following note : “My
brother and I were gunning in partnership; I was at the north end of
Gilgo Island and he was about three-quarters of a mile west of me and to
the windward. A flock of fifteen or twenty Black Ducks came to my de¬
coys and I noticed among them one which I supposed was a Pintail or
Widgeon, but as they do not sell as well in market as Black Ducks, I paid
no further attention to it, but tried to make the best shot I could at the
others. The flock passed on to my brother’s blind, but would not
come near enough for a shot, although they noticed the decoys. After
passing, the Gadwall left the flock, turned back and lit among the decoys,
when he shot it. Neither my brother nor myself ever saw one like it
before, nor have we ever heard of one being killed around here.” The
Messrs. Chichester are professional gunners who are well acquainted with
the wild fowl that frequent the western end of Great South Bay. Mr.
Giraud says of this Duck: “In this vicinity, the Gadwall is quite rare.
My first acquaintance with this bird was in 1834, while pursuing my favorite
amusement of water fowl shooting in the celebrated South Bay. It was
flying alone, seemingly wandering about as if in search of companions. It
passed and repassed several times outside of my decoys, without approach¬
ing within gunshot, but sufficiently near to excite in me a desire for hav¬
ing a better opportunity to examine it. I concealed myself with great
care, hoping that it would approach within shooting distance, as I was in¬
duced to believe that it would, from the desire it exhibited to join the motley
flock which my ‘decoys’ represented ; but as it advanced, it appeared to see
that all was not right, and at the moment when my hopes were the brightest,
it quickly changed its course, and alighted on a marsh about a half a mile
from me. I gave quick pursuit, and after wading through the tall grass
and mud, discovered it sitting on a bog, pluming and dressing its feathers,
unconscious of its impending fate. Its perfectly neat appearance so en¬
gaged my attention, that I forgot that a gun was in my possession, until
it took to wing, when the desire to obtain it returned, and I brought it
down. On taking it up, although proud of this valuable acquisition t6
my collection, I could not forbear feeling that Nature had been robbed of
one of her greatest ornaments. I have since killed a few along the south
shore of Long Island.” *

Auk, V, April, 1888. p .173 ~/ 7 V.

* Birds of Long Island, pp. 305, 306.

A Small Flight of Gadwalls (Chaulelasmus streperus) near New York.—

Early in the morning of October 16, 1909, my young friends Allan and
James Hand were watching at a pond on the salt marshes near Lawrence,
L. I. About sunrise a flock of seven odd looking ducks circled the pond
several times and finally six of them came to the decoys, four being shot.
The boys remained an hour or so longer, seeing two or three more flocks
that they felt sure were the same kind of duck, but none came near enough
for positive identification. They brought the birds to me — to be identi¬
fied as young Gadwalls, rather poor in flesh, their average weight being
under twenty-four ounces. The best one I preserved.

My friend Col. Franklin Brandreth of Ossining, N. Y., tells me of a single
specimen brought to him, that was killed near that place about October 29,
1909.

The marshes of Lake Erie are the nearest points to Long Island where the
Gadwall is regularly found, and there they are not very common. The
carefully kept record of a shooting club at the western end of the lake shows
that in twenty-one years, to 1908, but one has been taken in each two
hundred ducks, or about one-half per cent, of the total score. This year
(1909), however, they were more abundant than usual, I personally secur¬
ing eleven specimens, which is exactly the same number I have secured,
in the aggregate, on the same marshes, during the previous eighteen years.
— Harold Herrick, New York City.

▲ok 27. Jan-lfliO p, 7 7 .

M Anas strepera. Gadwall.— This species fnoyfe mr..-' r-.

Mountain tains, where there was water in sufficient quantity, and was probably

Of Arizona, breeding, although we failed to discover its nest-J^TsamS, Jan. 1 890. p. SO

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Capture of the European Widgeon in New Hampshire. — I received on
Nov. 17, 1908, from Peabrook, N. H., a young male European Widgeon
(•Mareca penelope). This bird was taken in company with a flock of Black
Ducks by a market gunner in that locality. I intend to present it to the
Boston Society of Natural History.— John H. Hardy, Jr., Arlington, Mass.

Auk 26 , July -1909 4N

I 35

Brewster, Rare Massachusetts Birds.

ON THE OCCURRENCE, IN MASSACHUSETTS, OF
CERTAIN RARE OR INTERESTING BIRDS.

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

European Widgeon {Mareca penelope) . — Mr. James T. Clark,
the well-known Boston taxidermist, has recently shown me a
mounted specimen of this species which was shot in Monponsett
Pond, near Halifax, Massachusetts, October 20 , 1899 , by a Mr.
Shindler who keeps a small shooting shanty or house for the
accommodation of sportsmen who visit the pond in pursuit of water
fowl. The M. penelope came in to decoys in company with a
small flock of American Widgeon of which' several were killed at
the same time and two, an adult male and female, sent to Mr.
Clark for preservation with the European bird. The latter is. a
fine old male in remarkably handsome plumage. The creamy
white of the forehead and crown is strongly tinged with chestnut;
the sides of the head are rich chestnut finely spotted with green.
Mr. Clark tells me that the bird was very fat and that its stomach
contained a few freshwater shells and a quantity of seeds of
aquatic grasses. It is, I believe, the first specimen that has ever
been reported from any part of New England.

Auk, XVIII, April., 1901, p, / 3

voi.xvnn

1901 J

Brewster, Rare Massachusetts Birds.

T 35

ON THE OCCURRENCE, IN MASSACHUSETTS, OF
CERTAIN RARE OR INTERESTING BIRDS.

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

European Widgeon (Mareca penelope'). — Mr. James T. Clark,
the well-known Boston taxidermist, has recently shown me a
mounted specimen of this species which was shot in Monponsett
Pond, near Halifax, Massachusetts, October 20 , 1899 , by a Mr.
Shindler who keeps a small shooting shanty or house for the
accommodation of sportsmen who visit the pond in pursuit of water
fowl. The M. penelope came in to decoys in company with a
small flock of American Widgeon of which several were killed at
the same time and two, an adult male and female, sent to Mr.
Clark for preservation with the European bird. The latter is- a
fine old male in remarkably handsome plumage. The creamy
white of the forehead and crown is strongly tinged with chestnut;
the sides of the head are rich chestnut finely spotted with green.
Mr. Clark tells me that the bird was very fat and that its stomach
contained a few freshwater shells and a quantity of seeds of
aquatic grasses. It is, I believe, the first specimen that has ever
been reported from any part of New England.

Auk, XVIII, April,, 1901, p, / 3 «T.

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voi.xvm-]

1901 J

Brewster, Rare Massachusetts Birds.

*35

ON THE OCCURRENCE, IN MASSACHUSETTS, OF
CERTAIN RARE OR INTERESTING BIRDS.

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

European Widgeon ( Marecapenelope).— Mr. James T. Clark,
the well-known Boston taxidermist, has recently shown me a
mounted specimen of this species which was shot in Monponsett
Pond, near Halifax, Massachusetts, October 20 , 1899 , by a Mr.
Shindler who keeps a small shooting shanty or house for the
accommodation of sportsmen who visit the pond in pursuit of water
fowl. The M. penelope came in to decoys in company with a
small flock of American Widgeon of which several were killed at
the same time and two, an adult male and female, sent to Mr.
Clark for preservation with the European bird. The latter is- a
fine old male in remarkably handsome plumage. The creamy
white of the forehead and crown is strongly tinged with chestnut 5
the sides of the head are rich chestnut finely spotted with green.
Mr. Clark tells me that the bird was very fat and that its stomach
contained a few freshwater shells and a quantity of seeds of
aquatic grasses. It is, I believe, the first specimen that has ever
been reported from any part of New England.

Auk, XVIII, April., 1901, p./36".

'Jo t w -e

o

•o

JAMES T. CLARK, |

-^ifaxiileiiistj-

Large Animals anti Game Heads
a Specialty,

FUR MATS AND RUGS.

....ALL WORK GUARANTEED....

409 WASHINGTON ST.,
Boston, Mass.

V ° 1901 J Brewster, Rare Massachusetts Birds. 135

ON THE OCCURRENCE, IN MASSACHUSETTS, OF
CERTAIN RARE OR INTERESTING BIRDS.

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

European Widgeon (Mareca penelope'). — Mr. James T. Clark,
the well-known Boston taxidermist, has recently shown me a
mounted specimen of this species which was shot in Monponsett
Pond, near Halifax, Massachusetts, October 20, 1899, by a Mr.
Shindler who keeps a small shooting shanty or house for the
accommodation of sportsmen who visit the pond in pursuit of water
fowl. The M. penelope came in to decoys in company with a
small flock of American Widgeon of which several were killed at
the same time and two, an adult male and female, sent to Mr.
Clark for preservation with the European bird. The latter is. a
fine old male in remarkably handsome plumage. The creamy
white of the forehead and crown is strongly tinged with chestnut;
the sides of the head are rich chestnut finely spotted with green.
Mr. Clark tells me that the bird was very fat and that its stomach
contained a few freshwater shells and a quantity of seeds of
aquatic grasses. It is, I believe, the first specimen that has ever
been reported from any part of New England.

Auk, XVIII, April., 1901, p . 7 3 if.

la <?

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Voi.xviin

1901 J

Brewster, Rare Massachusetts Birds.

x 35

cu

ON THE OCCURRENCE, IN MASSACHUSETTS, OF
CERTAIN RARE OR INTERESTING BIRDS.

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

European Widgeon ( Marecapenelope'). —-Mr. James T. Clark,
the well-known Boston taxidermist, has recently shown me a
mounted specimen of this species which was shot in Monponsett
Pond, near Halifax, Massachusetts, October 20, 1899, by a Mr.
Shindler who keeps a small shooting shanty or house for the
accommodation of sportsmen who visit the pond in pursuit of water
fowl. The M. penelope came in to decoys in company with a
small flock of American Widgeon of which several were killed at
the same time and two, an adult male and female, sent to Mr.
Clark for preservation with the European bird. The latter is- a
fine old male in remarkably handsome plumage. The creamy
white of the forehead and crown is strongly tinged with chestnut;
the sides of the head are rich chestnut finely spotted with green.
Mr. Clark tells me that the bird was very fat and that its stomach
contained a few freshwater shells and a quantity of seeds of
, aquatic grasses. It is, I believe, the first specimen that has ever
been reported from any part of New England.

Auk, XVIII, April., 1901, p. / 3 i".

tf

Brewster, Rare Massachusetts Birds. ^35

ON THE OCCURRENCE, IN MASSACHUSETTS, OF
CERTAIN RARE OR INTERESTING BIRDS.

BY WILLIAM BREWSTER.

European Widgeon (Marecapenelope) .—-Mr. James T. Clark,
the well-known Boston taxidermist, has recently shown me a
mounted specimen of this species which was shot in Monponsett
Pond, near Halifax, Massachusetts, October 20, 1899, by a Mr.
Shindler who keeps a small shooting shanty or house for the
accommodation of sportsmen who visit the pond in pursuit of water
fowl. The M. penelope came in to decoys in company with a
small flock of American Widgeon of which several were killed at
the same time and two, an adult male and female, sent to Mr.
Clark for preservation with the European bird. The latter is. a
fine old male in remarkably handsome plumage. The creamy
white of the forehead and crown is strongly tinged with chestnut;
the sides of the head are rich chestnut finely spotted with green.
Mr. Clark tells me that the bird was very fat and that its stomach
contained a few freshwater shells and a quantity of seeds of
aquatic grasses. It is, I believe, the first specimen that has ever
been reported from any part of New England.

Auk, XVIII, April., 1901, p. /3i",

(f

“Vv c ^ r tjSSrzl

BUREAU OF NATURAL HISTORY. eJt„. u .h„ , B76 ^~T~ L telephone Connection

J. W. CRITCHLE^,

Successor to Southwick & critchley.

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Records from Nippinickett Pond, Bridgewater, Mass.— The

captures of the following ducks on Nippinickett Pond seem worthy of
record. European Widgeon, Mareca penelope, Nov. 7, 1902. Shot by A
C. Dyke.

Two European Widgeons, Mareca -penelope , Oct. 22, 1910, from a flock
of 4 birds. Shot by Harry P. Sturtevant.

European Widgeon, Mareca penelope, Oct. 23, 1910. Shot by A. C.
Dyke.

ok^xx/x. OcJr, 19 / isf'V'd-jL

yyi/u fZ*

Two Unrecorded Specimens of the European Widgeon from
Massachusetts. — As the European Widgeon ( Mareca penelope) has so
rarely been taken in Massachusetts I wish to record a specimen in my
collection taken at Ipswich, on October 25, 1909. The bird, an immature
male, was shot by a gunner and sent into the Boston markets where it was
recognized by Mr. John H. Hardy, Jr., through whose kindness it came
into my possession.

Mr. A. C. Bent permits me to record another specimen, in similar plum¬
age taken at Bridgewater on November 9, 1903, by Mr. J. E. Bassett and
now in his collection (No. 1886, Coll. A. C. Bent). This is the first record
of the occurrence of the species in Bristol County.—■ F. Seymour Hersey,
Taunton, Mass. XXXl, I 9 ZIJ3.

European Widgeon ( Mareca penelope) at Boston, Mass. On Octo

[ „ tmrl were afterwards viewed from time to time during

ef Oeieher and thrmurhout, November and December.

When in early January ice was forming on the pond, one of the two left
on the third or fourth day; the other remained to January 17, when ice
had covered all but a few small areas of the pond. These young males
showed little or nothing of the creamy buff crown upon their arrival, but
they gradually developed this feature. So at first their true identifica¬
tion was difficult, but the two-note call and chestnut color of the head
clearly differentiated them from Baldpates. By December the plumage
of the adult male European Widgeon was quite fully developed, and at the
time they left they lacked little of its completeness. One gained the adult
plumage somewhat earlier than the other, so they could readily be dis¬
tinguished. A female Baldpate joined them about December 1 and left
on January 16, one day earlier than the later remaining Widgeon. A cold
wave had brought the temperature at the pond down to 13° below zero

on the thirteenth.

In early December their companions on the pond were 400 to 500 Black
Ducks, the number varying from day to day, several Mallards, a few
Scaup Ducks, 90 to 100 Lesser Scaup, a young male Bufflehead, 3 Ruddy
Ducks, 25 to 60 Mergansers, 8 Coot, and a few Herring Gulls, a collection
of water fowl, the numbers of which had been steadily increasing during

November and were decreasing in late December.

This occurrence of European Widgeon on Jamaica Pond was the first
in Boston and its immediate vicinity, if I am not in error. Like other
wild ducks which visit protected waters, these Widgeons soon become
unsuspicious and allowed near approach. They were objects of interest
and pleasure to many observers throughout their long visit.— Horace W.
Wright, Boston, Mass. <4~Jk.xxxi.j^ /9'Vft.3?7.3?8.

2 2 .

Early European Widgeon on Long Island. On Sept. 12, 1915,
a European Widgeon (. Mareca penebpe) was observed by the writers on
Moriches Bay under the beach meadows at Mastic, Long Island, with
three American Widgeon (M. americana). It was examined carefully
through binoculars in sufficie ntly good light to make out its gray, dark-
tipped bill. The head was chestnut, the sides of the breast cinnamon, and
' as it flew the white in the wing was of course conspicuous. It was probably
an eclipse male. This is a very early, so far as we know, the earliest
recorded date for this rare duck. Strangely enough on Sept. 12, 1914,
at almost exactly the same spot, a reddish headed bird was observed by the
senior writer among about fifty American Widgeon, which were associated
with a large flock of Black Duck. This 1914 bird was, however, not
satisfactorily determined. — J. T. Nichols and Ludlow Griscom, New
York City.

/?/ 6 .^ 7 « 5 - 76 .

The European Widgeon in Massachusetts. — Messrs. Angell and
Cash, the well-known taxidermists of Providence, Rhode Island, have
kindly given me permission to report that an adult male European Widgeon
(.Mareca penelope), recently skinned and mounted by them, was shot at
Chappaquiddick, Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, October 6, 1917, by
Mr. Arthur R. Sharpe. The specimen has been identified by Mr. Arthur C.
Bent and Mr. John C. Sharpe, Jr. It would be interesting to know whether,
as would seem to be the case, this old world species visits our Atlantic
sea-board oftener now than formerly or is found there oftener fnerely
because competent field observers of bird life are so much more numerous
and omnipresent than they were thirty or forty years ago.— William
Brewster, Cambridge, Mass.

- ' 4 «Axxxi/, /7/1?, J ' l .

The European Widgeon in Rhode Island. — Almost any large collection of
birds is likely to yield occasional surprises in the way of rarities which have
been previously misidentified or overlooked. An instance of this hap¬
pened only a few weeks ago when I found in my series of American Widgeon
a peculiarly colored specimen, labeled Anas americana, which I do not
remember to have ever noticed before. My record books show that it was
purchased, with a number of other birds, in 1896, from Mr. Edward Sturte-
vant of Newport, Rhode Island, and that one of my assistants catalogued
and relabeled it with the others, possibly when I was absent from Cambridge.
Its original label, still attached to the skin, reads as follows: — “ Dafila
acuta, 22, Rhode Island, Middletown 20 Sep. 1889. Taken by Edward
Sturtevant, Collection of Edward Sturtevant.” My assistant wrote in the
Catalogue, between quotation marks:—“This is the only one I ever saw
in this locality (salt marshes between 2d and 3d Beaches). ” lam unable to
Widgeon to which I have just called attention. In his text relating to the
American Widgeon (which has been taken a few times in Great Britain)
Millais says (on page 57):— “The old male in eclipse plumage more closely
resembles the female of his own species than our drake Wigeon — his
flanks are very grey-brown, and not that rich, red-brown colour seen in our
bird.” The female, also, is described by him as differing from that of the
European species in a similar way, having “not so much red-brown on the
flanks and breast.”

Although it is not always safe to rely largely on plates and descriptions,
however accurate, when identifying obscurely characterized birds, the
evidence just given is sufficient, in my opinion, to warrant a rather positive
reference of the Widgeon taken by Mr. Sturtevant at Middletown, Rhode
Island, to Mareca penelope, of which, indeed, it seems to be a nearly typical
representative. It is, I believe, the first European Wigeon known to have
been obtained in New England. The second (hitherto supposed to have
been the first) was shot in Monponsett Pond near Halifax, Massachusetts,
on October 20, 1899. When I referred to the latter in ‘The Auk’ 1 as a
“fine old male in remarkably handsome plumage, I had not seen Milla is’s
book which, indeed, was not published until the following year. On
reexamining this specimen in the light of his testimony, I find that I was
not mistaken in regarding it as mature; for its wings closely resemble
those of the Wigeon killed by Mr. Sturtevant although in most other
respects it is very unlike his bird owing to the fact that it is in full winter
plumage. It came into my possession not long after it was recorded
in ‘The Auk.’ Soon after this I secured the remains of a third European
Widgeon to which Dr. Townsend has alluded in the following words. 2
“ There is in Mr. William Brewster’s collection the head and one wing of an
adult male of this species shot at Marblehead on December 29th, 1900.”
This statement is not quite correct for I have both wings of the Marblehead
bird and they indicate plainly that it was not more than six or seven
months old when killed, being essentially like those of a female Widgeon
and wholly without the white patches which, according to Millais, are
sometimes shown by the male soon after the close of his first winter and
invariably assumed by him before the end of his second autumn; after
which he never lacks them at any season,— even when masquerading, for
a brief time in late summer, in the subdued garb so generally like that of
his mate and so appropriately termed his “eclipse” plumage. — William
Brewster, Cambridge, Mass.

1 Auk, XVIII, No. 2, April 1901, p. 125.

2 C. W. Townsend, Birds of Essex County, Massachusetts, Memoirs Nutt. Orn.

Club, III, 1905, p. 129.

Ank 26, Apr-1900, p. /ft,

trace this statement to its source but it must have originated with Mr.
Sturtevant and it may have been taken from one of his letters, afterwards
destroyed.

In Millais’s admirable ‘Natural History of the British Surface Feeding
Ducks’ I find a figure (No. 3, Plate XVII) of an “ immature male” European
Widgeon, “ coming out of the eclipse plumage into winter dress, age 16
months.” Males of this age and condition somewhat resemble the females,
from which they may easily be distinguished, however, by the presence of
'■ conspicuous grayish mottling on the scapulars and by a large white patch
on the wing. From fully adult males in corresponding dress they differ,
according to Millais, only in having the white on the wing somewhat less
pure and widespread. Judged by this test my Rhode Island specimen is
evidently mature, for the white on its wings is immaculate and of nearly
maximum extent. In respect to every other detail of color and marking
the bird agrees almost perfectly with the representation of the European
Widgeon to which I have just called attention. In his text relating to the
American Widgeon (which has been taken a few times in Great Britain)
Millais says (on page 57):— “The old male in eclipse plumage more closely
resembles the female of his own species than our drake Wigeon — his
flanks are very grey-brown, and not that rich, red-brown colour seen in our
bird. The female, also, is described by him as differing from that of the
European species in a similar way, having “not so much red-brown on the
flanks and breast.”

Although it is not always safe to rely largely on plates and descriptions,
however accurate, when identifying obscurely characterized birds, the
evidence just given is sufficient, in my opinion, to warrant a rather positive
reference of the Widgeon taken by Mr. Sturtevant at Middletown, Rhode
Island, to Mareca perwlope, of which, indeed, it seems to be a nearly typical
representative. It is, I believe, the first European Wigeon known to have
been obtained in New England. The second (hitherto supposed to have
been the first) was shot in Monponsett Pond near Halifax, Massachusetts,
on October 20, 1899. When I referred to the latter in ‘The Auk’ 1 as a
“fine old male in remarkably handsome plumage, I had not seen Milla is’s
book which, indeed, was not published until the following year. On
Teexamining this specimen in the light of his testimony, I find that I was
not mistaken in regarding it as mature; for its wings closely resemble
those of the Wigeon killed by Mr. Sturtevant although in most other
respects it is very unlike his bird owing to the fact that it is in full winter
plumage. It came into my possession not long after it was recorded
in The Auk.’ Soon after this I secured the remains of a third European
Widgeon to which Dr. Townsend has alluded in the following words. 2
“There is in Mr. William Brewster’s collection the head and one wing of an
adult male of this species shot at Marblehead on December 29th, 1900.”
This statement is not quite correct for I have both wings of the Marblehead
bird and they indicate plainly that it was not more than six or seven
months old when killed, being essentially like those of a female Widgeon
and wholly without the white patches which, according to Millais, are
sometimes shown by the male soon after the close of his first winter and
invariably assumed by him before the end of his second autumn; after
which he never lacks them at any season,— even when masquerading, for
a brief time in late summer, in the subdued garb so generally like that of
his mate and so appropriately termed his “eclipse” plumage.— William
Brewster, Cambridge, Mass.

1 Auk, XVIII, No. 2, April 1901, p. 125.

2 C. W. Townsend, Birds of Essex County, Massachusetts, Memoirs Nutt. Orn.

Club, III, 1905, p. 129.

Auk 26, Apr-1900, p. %<g.

European Widgeon {Mareca jbenelope) on Long Island, N. Y.— It gives
me great pleasure to record the capture of an unusually fine adult male
English Widgeon at Bostwicks Pond, Gardiners Island, Suffolk County,

N. Y., on Wednesday, November 27, 1901. This duck, which was brought
to me for identification, was killed by my friend, Mr. Thomas Newbold
Rhinelander, while shooting over decoys from an island in Bostwicks
Pond. The bird was entirely alone, rather wild and a little shy of the
decoys.

On Saturday night and all of Sunday preceding there had been a heavy
northeast storm followed on Monday and Tuesday by high northwest wind
with clearing weather, and on Wednesday (the day the duck was shot)
very high northwest wind, freezing hard. There was an unusually large
flight of American Widgeon ( Mareca americana ) during the two days
immediately following the storm, many flocks numbering over one hun¬
dred birds. A number of American Widgeon were killed. An old
resident of Gardiners Island informed Mr. Rhinelander that every year
the Widgeon came to the Pond in large numbers but usually later in the
winter. The other ducks noted in great numbers were Black Duck ( Anas
obscura) and Red-breasted Merganser ( Merganser serrator). A great many
Black Ducks were also killed. — Newbold T. Lawrence, New York City.

Aak, XIX, April., 1902, p p . .

Notes concerning certain Birds
of Long Island, N.Y.

Anas penelope. A specimen of the European Widgeon was killed on
Gardiner’s Island, Feb. 5, 1902, by Hiram Miller, of Springs. The cap¬
ture of this bird was reported to me by Mr. Ivan C. Byram, a taxidermist
of Sag Harbor, who mounted the bird and who identified it. To meet the
question of possible error in identification I requested and received from
Mr. Miller the following description: “Wing patch green; longer wing-
feathers and tail dark brown; head and neck chestnut shading to buff on
forehead; breast gray shading to white belly; under tail-coverts black;
legs and feet dusky lead.” He adds : “There was another killed the
autumn before I killed mine here, and another this autumn here.” He
states that the specimen in question was killed from a large flock of
Baldpates.

William C.Braislin, M.D., Brooklyn, jr.Y.

A.uk, 4>r. ,190 , p-2SS.

The European Widgeon at Gardner’s Island, New York. — At

Gardiner’s Island, New York, on December 3, 1911, the writer, in company
with Mr. Ludlow Griscom and Mr. Stanley Ladow, had the good fortune
to see two adult male European Widgeons (Mareca penelope). They were
in the North Inlet with a great flock of waterfowl numbering approximately
1000 Baldpates, and 300 Redheads, with a sprinkling of Buffle-heads,
Golden-eyes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Lesser Scaups and Black Ducks.

The Widgeons were observed from a low hill overlooking the inlet, under
unusually favorable conditions of light and position. They were watched
through powerful binoculars for many minutes, at a distance of probably
not over 1.50 or 175 feet, and were most satisfactorily identified.—W. DeW.
Millek, American Musmim of Natural History, New York City.

fa.

The European Widgeon in Central New York. — On April 11, 1915,
Prof. A. A. Allen and I were in the Montezuma marshes at the outlet of
Lake Cayuga, attempting to photograph the wild fowl. Leaving Prof.
Allen in the blind I wandered over the marsh to “ Black Lake ” where a
handsome drake of this species was discovered in a flock of Baldpate. An
hour or so later we both returned, and the European Widgeon was observed
at fairly close range through prism glasses for a quarter of an hour, every
detail of plumage being satisfactorily made out. The species has not
been recorded from the Cayuga Lake Basin in many years, and through
Prof. Allen’s courtesy I am able to record our observation.— Ltjdlow
Griscom, Ithaca, N. Y.

/?{(>■-/-v, 3X6.

Additional Records of the European Widgeon (Mareca fenelope ) in
Indiana. — My last record of this duck for Indiana was noted in ‘ The
Auk,’ Vol. XVI, 1899, p. 270.

An adult male was killed March 27, 1903, on the Englis Lake marshes
by Mr. James M. McKay and the mounted bird is now in his possession.
While he came to the decoy alone, there were several flocks of his Amer¬
ican cousins on the marsh at the time, in whose company he had undoubt¬
edly been.

Mr. Harry Ehlers of Chicago, has in his collection of mounted ducks,
an adult male which he shot April 7, 1898, and a female shot March 28,
1898. This pair was taken on the Kankakee marshes near Thayer,
Indiana. Another male was killed by Mr. Peter Willem of Chicago, near
the same locality on March 31, 1902, and the mounted specimen is in his
possession.

As a specimen was captured on Licking Reservoir, Ohio, in 1902, 1 and
three others on the Monroe marshes, Michigan, in 1900 and 1902. 2 These
records bring the number to seventeen for the interior and nine for the
State of Indiana. It is not a little strange that all these Indiana birds
should have been taken along the Kankakee River during a period of
twenty-two years. — Ruthven Deane, Chicago , III.

Auk. XX. Julv. 1903. d -3«3.

2 ?

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1890
Mar7-15

Yn

Florida,

Canaveral, ganana Creek.

i 0

The most abundant of fresh water Ducks found here. It asso¬
ciates freely with the Gaiter and to some extent with most of the
other species, but is often found in flocks composed wholly of
its own kind. It feeds in shallow water, il^ing up the tail in
the same manner as the Mallard . When swimming ) birds of both
sexes appear similar and of a

of the '~ ^

brown
showing with great

cinnamon color, the white color
distinctness when the bird is facing the observer. On the wing
the white belly, white spe c ulum and black under-tail coverts are
conspicuous features w^i4^serve to distinguish the bird from any
other species found here except the Ga^l*rizs4iiise. Its flight is com¬
paratively slow and heavy, the wings being moved much in the man¬
ner of those of the Black Duck. It is an exceedingly shy bird,
but comes readily to the decoys and can be usually called by imi¬
tating its note. This note is a very singular one for^a Duck,
resembling the peeping of young birds, perhaps young drafieb. It
is a soft and rather pleasing sound, a whistle rather than a quack,
varying from two or three syllables as follows:— -/<-A*-

Although not apparently loud it carries well
^.nd is ventriloqual to a high degree. The birds utter it almost
incessantly at frequent intervals while flying, I heard it at
all times of the night where these fowl were feeding in Iqrge num¬
bers .

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34

3irds of Toronto, Ontario.

By James K.Fleming.

Pt.I, Water Birds.

Au};, XXIII, Oct., 1905, r>.444.

34. Mareca americana. American Widgeon. — Regular migrant;
not common; the only dates I have are April 12 and October 27.

ol-

1

<•< o

auA ^

t-t < A

d^cC cy ^ut-i (

cJ^-i. M--y /jy/kfy

l /l' / ^& C /

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c f <^.

The Widgeon in Maine in February.— On the 20th of February last
Mr. T. B. Davis, the gunsmith of this city, showed me a recently killed
male specimen of the Widgeon (Mareca americana ), which had been for¬
warded to him for preservation by a sportsman of Freeport, Maine. The
bird had been dead several days. February, 1884, will be remembered as
a month of mild and rainy weather. It appears probable, therefore, that
this bird should be regarded as an early migrant rather than as a winter
resident.

I have looked through the records in vain for specific notice of the
Widgeon’s occurrence in New England during winter. Dr. Coues, how¬
ever, both in his ‘ List of New England Birds’ and in ‘New England Bird
Life,’ states, in general terms, that it is to be found at that season.—
Nathan Clifford Brown. Portland , Me.

Auk, I, Oct.. 1884. p.

Breezy Point, Warren, N.H.

pYLjjuuC*^ - 0-, M ■ r, i -v y.

1895. f

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6-e^ZZL- f^_JL t^^eJL £C^

{t~<S~-c*-£(- C <7 Ky//tu*<s<-A>^

/

1881, a young male Widgeon ( Mareca cimericana). It was flying in com¬
pany with a flock of twelve others, apparently of the same species. — A.
Thorndike, Brookline , Tf<7,^. Bulk N. O. Q» V, July. 1882,_ jy. / * *•

Birds of Bristol County, Mass,
P. W. Andros.

dnas americana (Linn.), Baldpate. Migrant,
rare.

O.&O. XII. Sept. 1887 p.jISS

Ducks of Cohasset, Mass., 1860-92
O.H.E. Boston, Mass.

7. Baldpate (137). In all, five specimens
have been taken since I860.

O.&O.Vol.17, June,1892 p.90

Anas araericana .

The Ducks of Plymouth County, Massachusetts
by Herbert K.Job.

Auk, Xlll, July, 139S, ??.197-204.

See under Anas obsoura.

ajl

Mareca americana. One spent April 17 , 1904 , on the Chestnut Hill
Reservoir, Brighton, in company with two Black Ducks.

*7 _ d.<-^ Ot C, QfajuJlfS-

.3 %

Xc $Ajt-cJLs

A

l fyg^jLc ^ZT 42“ ^L^Lf <*W4»

<*

&&*.,3 / /ftz / Je tt /T'

^ A > «■<■. -<^ **—-o

4*-*ji£*ztr* €<A^cZi ^ -^y Jhj<^c+^ *

,c»-~c^C y

jW

JL*u-<^S ^ ^*-xx,

/^&*ZZL« t,^t*-^. J^kr*

A y / /

The Baldpate in Rhode Island. —The American Widgeon or Bald-
pate (Mareca americana ) has been unusually abundant in the wateis of
Southern Rhode Island during November, and the first week of Decem¬
ber, 1882. About December 1 a gentleman brought in a bunch for identi¬
fication, and at the same time informed me that he had just killed twenty- ,
four._F. T. Jencks, Providence , /?. /. BU& N. O. O 8, Jan, 1883, p. *> / ■

(r? yiiertAUsOs*vu

Mareca americana. Baldpate. - Rare along Lake Champlain.

Bail N. 0.0. 7,Oot,X882, P.256

200 .

rfim, U, -mrU, m*. Gc MstXAX44U OAWtMitte+uo

<Z4L+MAyC4, akjLlt# 1 ***, -t^sK-eCcc
"/LyfaiiC tOc+tsfaX ^ . Ovt-n . 9. ^w-fc^tT

#V 6?. ///. 6?U. /M7./t . /{??.

687 Congress St.

Office Hours,

9 to I 0, a. m.

Recent Occurrence of the European Teal and the Marbled Godwit
near Portland, Maine. — My collection contains a male European Teal
(Nettion crecca ) which was shot in Casco Bay by a fisherman on April 6,
1903. I had the satisfaction of seeing it before it received the attentions
of a taxidermist, thus making perfectly sure that no deception was prac¬
tised in the case. It is a remarkably beautiful and highly typical speci¬
men. So far as I am aware, it is the first of its kind recorded for this
State. r QlQo*7. P- 9 H■

A Second European Teal (Nettion crecca) in Maine — On March 26,
1910, I was called upon to examine a specimen of the European Teal m
the flesh, which had been taken a day or two earlier at Scarborough, Maine
During the day, the bird was examined by Messrs. Nathan C. Brown and
Walter H. Rich. It was a male in good plumage. The skin passed into
the possession of Dr. Henry H. Brock, of this city. The stemun, shoulder
girdle, and sacrum are in my possession.

The only other occurrence in the State known to me is the one recorded
by Dr. Brock, as taken in Casco Bay, April 6, 1903 (Auk, XXIV, p. 94).—
Arthur H. Norton, Portland , Me.

iio, Apr»19Il p. 0.615':

Notes on Several Species of Water Birds at Muskeget Island, Massa¬
chusetts. — Anas crecca.—On March 16, 1890, I had the good fortune to
shoot a European Teal at Muskeget. It was an adult male in full spring
plumage, and was the only Teal seen there. The day before there had
been a very severe northeasterly snowstorm. The bird’s stomach con¬
tained nothing but a few seeds. These have been identified by Mr. Sereno
Watson as no doubt belonging to some species of Ranunculus , most prob¬
ably R • septentrionalis , which is common in swamps and ditches from
New England to Florida and Texas. Little clue is afforded therefore as
to the bird’s last feeding ground. The skin is now in the cojlection of Mr.
William Brewster.

Auk, vil. July, 1890, p, .

j£gL

J ) /V Herbarium of Harvard UWvprsity, .

/I J JCc^T ^ ^ ^ / ^ /8 9c

f r » A Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Mass.

3 / ^ l8 9 o

1

V

t-F

Notes on Several Species of Water Birds at Muskeget Island, Massa¬
chusetts. — Anas crecca. — On March 16, 1890, I had the good fortune to
shoot a European Teal at Muskeget. It was an adult male in full spring
plumage, and was the only Teal seen there. The day before there had
been a very severe northeasterly snowstorm. The bird’s stomach con¬
tained nothing but a few seeds. These have been identified by Mr. Sereno
Watson as no doubt belonging to some species of Ranunculus , most prob¬
ably R- septentrionalis, which is common in swamps and ditches from
New England to Florida and Texas. Little clue is afforded therefore as

to the bird’s last feeding ground. The skin is now in the collection of Mr.

to me unu s . ■ ...- ; .

William Brewster. fl ■ . f**- " -

Auk, VII. July. 1890, P« .

The European Teal (Nettion crecca ) again Returning to Wenham,
Mass.— In ‘The Auk,’ 1911, page 366,1 told of the migration and return
of a European Teal raised in captivity here at Wenham. The bird arrived
April 19, 1911 after an absence since December 6, 1910.

All summer of 1911 this bird was in or near the pond. On November 25
our captive fowl were placed in winter quarters, and our Teal vacated.
Four other poorly pinioned European Teal escaped at the same time,
having grown outer secondaries or new primaries long enough to enable
them to fly. Our bird, however, did not leave until December 31, as she
was seen several times about the pond and lake until that date. Wenham
Lake closed during the first few days of January, 1912, the fall having been
extremely mild.

On the morning of April 18, 1912, our bird was again back in the pond
where she was hatched, having arrived during the night or early morning;
thus completing her second migration. That day she was quite shy, and
flushed immediately, but soon returned. I saw her first on April 20. She
was then perfectly tame and could with difficulty be driven from the pond.

On April 23 another Teal appeared in the pond; whether an escape of
last fall, or some other bird, can only be conjectured. This bird did not
remain long, however.

It is fair, I think, to consider the first arrival the same bird as before
reported, though there is no absolute evidence. The dates of spring arrival
on the two years are I think interesting.— J. C. Phillips, Wenham, Mass.

A Case of the Migration and Return of the European Teal in
Massachusetts.— The following facts must be taken only for what they
are worth, for unfortunately the data are incomplete. There is, however,
no doubt in my mind that we are dealing with a case of the migration,
and return to the place of birth, of a non-indigenous bird.

In the spring of 1909, Mr. Thomas Johnston came over from England
to enter my employment, and brought with him five pairs of live European
Teal (Nettion crecca), together with some other water-fowl. These birds
were bred in England on the estate of Sir Richard Graham in Cumberland
County, where many interesting experiments in propagating water-fowl

are in progress. .

The teal suffered many vicissitudes of fortune, from various causes, and
were reduced in 1910 to two pairs. These two pairs were kept with other
water-fowl in a small, enclosed, artificial pond, in the orchard at Wenham,
situated about 75 yards from the farm-house, 40 yards from the road,
and a third of a mile from Wenham Lake. No other varieties of teal were

kept. .

About the middle of June, 1910, two downy young were led out into
the pond by one of the female teal. These thrived amazingly and obtained
their wings so soon that the first attempt at their capture, which was put
off for fear of disturbing other fowl, resulted in finding that the youngsters
were too spry for the net. They turned out to be both females, and were
not disturbed again. They traded between the pond and Wenham Lake
all the summer and fall, spending the greater part of their time in the
enclosed pond and feeding on a mud flat on the eastern shore of the lake.
They were perfectly tame while in the pond, and were only flushed with
difficulty, but outside its boundaries they were as wild as any teal.

On December 6, the pond, and also the lake, froze. The other fowl
were placed in winter quarters the day before the freeze, and our teal

vanished, as we thought for good. , . .

On the morning of April 19, 1911, a single female teal was found in the

pond, none of the other fowl having yet been released from winter quarters.
This teal was perfectly at home and absolutely tame. She allowed close
approach, and when actually flushed made the same characteristic flight
to the lake, keeping only a few yards off the ground. In a short time she
returned. At the present date, May 17, she is still with us.

All that can be said is that this bird is a female green-winged teal,
further identification being impossible as the plumage of the females of
the American and European species is similar. I believe however that
this returned bird is one of those that hatched in our pond, for the following
reasons.

First, its actions are exactly similar to the birds of the previous summer,
and very different from those which a strange teal would exhibit.

Second, it returned to a spot that no wild water-fowl have ever used.
Third, it shows no disposition to migrate north.

Fourth, the occurrence of Green-winged Teal in this locality in the
spring is so rare that I have never met with one.

It seems also far more likely that our bird migrated to at least a much
warmer latitude, for it could not possibly have wintered here, especially
during such a severe winter as that of 1910-11. It returned nearly four
weeks after the ice was out of the ponds and rivers.

Such cases, granted we are not mistaken, and also those where birds
have successfully returned to their nests, when transported far beyond
their natural range (see Watson, Carnegie Institute Publication No. 103,
p. 227) force one to assume a directive sense in birds far beyond any¬
thing at present conceivable.— J. C. Phillips, Wenham, Mass.

1 Munsell, Joel. The Annals of Albany. Albany, 1858, Vol. IX, p. 206.

4^-yjq.or/.xxv/ h, w/ ft- 366-J67.

Distribution of New England Birds.-
A Beply to Dr.Brewer. H-A.Purcie.

( Rjluh i/Lq

/$AS*_dLi Cy" c . d! <■/ l^y d-i , /<S. ~

1 Ff, t c.(t- <i . )

Nettion crecca. European Teal. — At a meeting of the Boston
Society of Natural History, April 18, 1855, Dr. Bryant remarked that a
specimen of the European Green-winged Teal had been sent to Mr. E.
Samuels to be mounted. It was shot in Massachusetts, the first he had
ever seen in the State. (Proc. Bos. Soc. Nat. His., Vol. V, p. 195.) This
instance is cited by Allen (Proc. Ess. Inst., Yol. IV, 1864) and by C. J-
Maynard (Naturalist’s Guide, 1870). “A European species, but so often

taken on the coast as to be fairly considered as more than an accidental
visitor.” (Coues, Proc. Ess. Inst., Yol. V, 1868.)

Bull. N. O.O. 2, Jan. .1877. p.

, n

European Teal (Nettion crecca ).— On February 26 , 1896 ,
Mr. Clark brought to me in the flesh, in fresh condition, an adult
male European Teal which he had received on the 24 th from Rev.
E. A. Phillips of Sagamore, Massachusetts. Mr. Phillips said
that the bird had been caught, a few days previous to the date on
which he sent it, in a steel trap and that, in company with two
other Teal of similar appearance (but probably belonging to the
American species), it had been seen repeatedly in the same place.
This is, I believe, only the second known instance of the occur¬
rence of the European Teal in New England, the first being that
of the bird, also an adult male, taken by Mr. George H. Mackay
at Muskeget, March 16 , 1890 (see Auk, VII, 1890 , p. 294 ).
Both specimens are now in my collection.

Auk, XVIII, April., 1901, p./3S~.

Anas crecca in Connecticut—November 14, 1SS9, a resident gunner
brought me a fine adult male of this species, which he said he shot as it
was flying with another, apparently of the same species, over an open
field. It is now in the collection of Mr. John H. Sage of Portland, Conn.
—Willard E. Treat, East Hartford , Conn.

1 Jan, 1991, p n *•

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Anas crecca in Connecticut.— November 14, 1889, a resident gunner
brought me a fine adult male of this species, which he said he shot as it
was flying with another, apparently of the same species, over an open
field. It is now in the collection of Mr. John H. Sage of Portland, Conn.

Willard E. Treat, East Hartford , Conn .

• V~:'-",o ,n t 18 ©I a p

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NOTES CONCERNING CERTAIN BIRDS OF
LONG ISLAND.

BY WILLIAM C. BRAISLIN, M. D.

Nettion crecca. A number of jears has passed since the publication of
any lecord of the European Teal on Long Island. This species is in¬
cluded in Lawrence’s ‘ List ’ (1866), but is not mentioned by Giraud in his
‘Birds of Long Island’ (1844). I am able to record two additional speci¬
mens for Long Island. These, together with one American Green¬
winged Teal, were shot by Mr. Sherman Smith of Merrick, on a small
fresh-water pond at that place, about a week before Christmas, 1900.
These birds were mounted by Mr. Albert Lott, a taxidermist of Freeport;
one of them I found recently in Mr. Willis’s shop at the latter place and
traced the history of the specimens as related, finding the second specimen
at Mr. Lott’s house. Both are males in fine plumage. They are now in
my collection of Long Island birds.

Auk, XIX, April., 1002, p . iV5"

Albinistic Plumages. B. Deane.

37. Querquedula crecca. English Teal. — Specimen in the Mu¬
seum at Nice, France {Merrill).,

Bull. N.0.0. 5, Jan., 1880. p.30

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Anas carolinonsis .

| Cambridge
1897.
Dec.11.

1899.
iDecember.

, Mass.

The Ducks (seen this morning on Fresh Pond among a large
flock of Gulls) were scarcely less interesting for although
there were only eight of them they represented no less than
three different species; viz. Anas obscura . A. boschas , and A.

( Nett ion ) carolinensis .

The Teal were a pair or, at least, male and female. The
drake was immature lacking the lunar markings on the sides of
the breast and having the chestnut of the head somewhat ob¬
scured by grayish mottling but with the creamy buff patch on
the under tail coverts fully developed. For the first half-
hour these birds kept apart from the other water-fowl swimming
rapidly to and fro as if nervous or apprehensive and frequent¬
ly raising their bodies out of water and flapping their wings
after the manner of most Duck;, they finally approached and
joined the Black Duck and Mallard.

One in Fresh Pond on the 13th. It was a young male
changing into the full plumage, the head and neck being
strongly tinged with reddish and the tail markings nearly
completed although the body plumage was colored like that of
the female. It kept close company with a number of Black

Ducks.

Birds within Ten Miles of Point
deMonts, Can, Gomeau<feMerr'iam

109 . Querquedula carolinensis. Green-winged Teal.— Rare here,
but they breed at Manacougan.

BulLN.O.O, 7,Oot, 1882, p.239

An Ornithologist’s Summer in Labrador
M. Abbott Frazar.

Anas carolinensis, Green-winged Teal. Early
in September I saw two which an Indian had
just killed from a hunch of six, in the vicinity
of Esquimaux Point.

O.&O. XII, Feb.188 7, p. /f

Newf oundland Notes. A Trip up the
Humber Fiver, Aug. 10 - Sept, 24,1899,

7. Anas carolinensis. Green-winged Teal. — Rather uncommon.
Several observed.

Louis H, Porter, New York City.

Auk, XVII, Jan., 1900, p. 71

Birds of Toronto, Ontario.

By James K.Fleming.

Pt.I, Water Birds.

Auk, XXIII, Oct., 1905, p.444.

35. Nettion carolinensis. Green-winged Teal. — Regular migrant,
March 28 to probably May 1, returning early in September; latest record
November 24, 1897.

Birds of Dead River Region, Me. P. H. 0.

98. Nettion carolinensis, (Green-winged Teal).

A few were seen at Flagstaff in September and
three were shot by a hunter who gave them to
me. They were seen at no other place, yet they
occur at times in considerable numbers at the
above lake, as many of the settlers informed me.

O.&O. XI. Deo. 1G86. p. 178

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8. uerquedula carolinensis. Ratio of increase, sav 2.

Bull* N, 0, 0, @,Ap*lL 1881, p, 127

Birds of Bristol County, Mass.

F. W. Andros.

^tnas carolinensis Gmel., Green-winged
Teal. Migrant, rare.

O .&o. XIX. Sept. 1887 P.1S8

General n*t»l*

General Notes.

[ 99

Anas carolinensis and Gallinago delicata in Winter.—Mr. John B.
Rodgers brought into the Quincy Market, Boston, Mass., on February 2
1S92, one Green-winged Teal, and four Wilson’s Snipe, which he had
shot at West Barnstabie, Cape Cod, Mass., probably a day or so before.
Both the Teal and the Snipe were very fat.— George H. Mackay, Wa»-
iucket, Mass. Auk. 8, April, 18912. p.

Ducks of Oohaeset, Maes., 1860-92
O.H.B. Boston, Mass.

5 . Green-winged Teal (139). Formerly fairly

common, but during the last ten years rarely
mot with.

5-7

0.&O.Vol.l7, June, 1892 p.90

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Anas carolinensis .

The DucXs of Plymouth County, Masschusetts.

by Herbert K.Job.

Alik, Xlll, July, 189S, pp.197-204.

See under Anas obsoura .

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Birds of the Adirondack Region.
■C.H.Merriam.

j Nettion carolinensis ( Gmelin) Baird. Green-winged Teal
—N ot common.

Ball. N.O.Ci 0,Oct, 1881, P.234

Birds Tiog^Oa. N.T, Aldea Loring .

612. Green-winged Teal. Rare. One was
sliot here a time ago, only one ever seen around
here. Oj'fsO; 5UB6» 18^0* P-80

847- An Albino [ Green-winged ] Teal, By W. N. B[yers].

7. :i' f,V

Ibid.

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Anas aiscors

Concord,
1898.
Oct .10.

Mass.

Just as I was about to start up the river Gilbert came
in to tell me that he had seen a Duck on the opposite side of
the river below the cabin. I paddled to the place and found
a Blue-winged Teal swimming among the pickerel weed feeding
busily. I shot it just as it raised its head and started off.
It is probably the same bird that I saw on the Srd near Dav¬

is's Hill

1890.
Mar 7

ri • Vv ^-

• J .SUV

V

Florida,

Canaveral, Banana Creek.

Common about the bays and creeks as well as in many of the
ponds. As a rule, they go in flocks apart from other species of
Ducks, but I saw a few flying with Gad«al and Widgeon. The males
were all in perfect spring plumage, and it was a beautiful sight
to see a dozen or more of them intermingled withnabout an equal
number of females standing huddled together on a mud bar, or swim¬
ming close along the mangrove-bordered shores. Curiously enough,
considering its tameness at the North, this little duck is here
one of the wildest of its kind. It is impossible to get anywhere
near a flock in a boat, and difficult to creep within range along
the shore, unless the cover is very good. These Teal however,
come fairly well to decoys, and all we killed were shot in this
way. This bird is the swiftest flyer of the fresh water ducks
found here except its Green-winged cousin, which easily outstrips
it in speed. I di d no t hear it make any unusua T^ sound during this
trip .

6 S'

Birds within Ten Miles of Point
deMonts, Can, Comeau<feMerriam

no. Querquedula discors. Blue-winged Teal.
seen than the preceding. Has been shot early in May.

Rare, but oftener

Bua N, 0.0, 7, Oot, 1882, p, 239

Birds of Toronto, Ontario.
By James K.Fleming.
Pt.I, Water Birds.

Auk, XXIII, Oot., 1906, p.444.

36 Querquedula discors. Blue-winged Teal.- Regular
pril 2 to May 15 (May 31, 1906) and from July 28 to October 5
common as it was; said to have formerly bred.

migrant,
Not as

ij . / sj i o f y 3 J (, /

uu-y ■/^ / lo / £/' Z 3,2-y'SLJ Bye Beach, N. H. 1886.

Bye Beach, N. HJ 868.

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a , /u ~* V f y t t JLV 3

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7 . ^Hierquedula disc.ors. Ratio of increase, sav 2 .

i3ull. N.Q.Q, 0, April, 1881, p.127

Birds of Bristol County, Mass.
F.W. Andros.

Anas discern Linn., Blue-winged Teal. Mi¬
grant, fairly common.

O.&O. XII.Sept. 1887 p .138

Duetts ,f Coha33Ci, Maas., 1360-98

O.H.E. Boston, Mass,

0. Blue-winged Teal (140). Abundant thirty
or forty years ago, but lately almost as rare as
tlie preceeding.

0,&O.Vol.l7, June,1892 p;0O

1

■*

*»-UI

I

W C t/ _7

A, yfc/X

Anas discors .

The Ducks of Plymouth County, Massachusetts,
by Herbert K.Job.

Auk, Xlll, July, 1896, pp.197-204.

See under Anas obscura .

<* d.- *- > i ^

^ >V ^ ^ -/iff*' 3T' ? _

7 . §>uerquedula discors. Ratio of increase, say 2 .

Bull. N.O.a. a. Anril. Iftftl

Birds of Bristol County, Mass.
F.W. Andros.

Aias discors Linn., Blue-winged Teal. Mi¬
grant, fairly common.

O.&O. XII.Sept. 1887 p. 138

Duc&s .f Cobasset, Mass., 1360-92

O.H.E. Boston, Mass.

6. Blue-winged Teal (140). Abundant thirty
or forty years ago, but lately almost as rare as
the preceeding.

0.& O.Vol.17, June, 1892 p.00

Anas discors .

The Ducks of Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
by Herbert K.Job.

Auk, Xlll, July, 1896, pp.197-204.

See under Anas obscura .

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Massachusetts Notes.- Blue-winged Teal

Because this bird is considered a rare spring migrant near the coast o
State I would like to record having seen a pair on April 1 , > P

near Wenham Swamp, Topsfield, Mass The male was in J^d them for
age, the white crescent before the eye plainly visible I ob^ved toem
some time with a pair of glasses and as they were not over a hundred yards
distant there could be no question as to their identity.

A O V S. ntl trlQH t / T

Birds observed in Naval Hospital
Grounds. Brooklyn, G.H.Qoues

59. Querquedula discors. Blue-winged Teal. Five specimens
seen.

Bull, N.O.O. 4, Jan.. 1870. p.33

Birds of the Adirondack Region.
C. H.Merriam,

157. Querquedula discors {Linn.) Stephens. Blue-winged Teal.
—Occurs during the migrations.

Bull N .0.0. a, Oct, 1881, p. 23 q

Mr. H. Taylor, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., re¬
ports with good evidence, the nesting of the
BhjerwhigJTea], (Querquedula discors) at Black
Pond, Ulster Co., N. Y., in the summer of 1886.

O.&o. XII. Dec. 1887

998. Reported Occurrence of the Blue-winged Teal near Redcar.
By T. H. Nelson. Ibid., p. 113.—A specimen previously recorded (Zool¬
ogist, 1882, p. 92) by the same writer as Jpuerquedula discors proves to
have been a young Garganey droid). Zoologist^ ;

7 /

Albinism and Melanism in North
American Birds. Ruthven D< an«,

S-nt-T-s ^ q discors, CJ

Bull, N. 0 . 0 . 1,April, 1876, p .23

/ /^tr*z eo' t^vLT in*. a.

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^clu, /4yOU*l> 'h^Ut4, " Aj, . X. \ut2zti

(e*Cc>. x//. (aJ--. iM^./(tf'

Vp£ 33. (9*3 1815. The Wiles of a Mother Teal. By Rex. Ibid.—Anas discors.

. For, & Stream,

kA-/

1890

Mar 7-15

Florida,

Canaveral, Banana Creek.

Very common about the bays and to some extent,also, in the
ponds, as well as throughout the creeks, frequenting sometimes
very narrow and winding ones, bordered by overhanging mangroves.

The Shovelle” rarely associates, except incidentally, with other
species of Pucks, but is oftenest seen in pairs or small flocks
composed y of its own kind. The males were all in full plu¬

mage, and were decidedly the showiest bird found in these waters.
While sitting on the water, the white collar around the neck, the
green head, a white bar on the flanks, and the rich chestnut of
the sides are all conspicuous. When flying the head looks very
large , and black instead of greenish, unless the bird is very
near i -flie chestnut seldom showsT the neck appears very long? the
wing-beats are even, slow and heavy. I could discover nothing
special about the feeding habits of this Di;ck, Like the members
of the Anas group, they invariably feed in shallow water, submer¬
ging the head, neck and fore part of the body only, and never div¬
ing unless wounded. They are shy, and when shot at, rise with a
single powerful spring, precisely like the Black Duck. They decoy
very well indeed, and are taken easily in this way. 7/e found them
excellent table-birds, next in order in this respect® to the Gad-
rel and Widgeon. During the entire time I spent in this region,
although I was among these ducks almost continually, day and night,
I did not once hear any of them make any sound whatever ^ Mr.
Quarterman told me that they occasionally utter a short, quaking
note, not unlike that of the GadiwLL.

ns

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37

Birds of Toronto, Ontario.

By James H.Fleming.

Pt.I, Water Birds.

Auk, XXIII, Oct., 1906, p.444.

37. Spatula clypeata. SIioveller. — Rare migrant; spring records
are unusual; all the fall records are between September 1 and 27.

Notes from the Magdalen Islands.— Spatula clypeata. Shoveller.
— One shot at Grindstone Island by a native during the first week of Sep¬
tember, 1906. It was examined by Mr. Stanley Cobb and myself but
decomposition was too advanced to save the skin.

Ank -29. Jan 1913 0» /!%.

Exceptional Abundance of the Shoveller at Portland, Me.—
The Shoveller (Spatula cly-peata) is so rare a bird in Maine that I was
not a little surprised to find five handsome males hanging in one of our
city markets on April 18 of this year. Suspecting that the unusually
bleak weather of the season might have driven others to the vicinity, I
watched the markets closely for several days subsequent, and was rewarded
by detecting two more birds, one of them a female. Four other specimens
were received by Mr. A. Nelson, taxidermist, making a total of eleven
birds taken between April iS and 23. All of these, with the exception of
one female, which was killed in a pond on Cape Elizabeth, were said to
have been shot in Casco Bay.

Until this yeai, but three instances of the Shoveller’s occurrence in this
vicinity have come to my knowledge. In September, 1876, I examined
two specimens which were taken on Scarborough marsh, and on April 14,
1879, I received a female from one of the littoral islands of the same
township.— Nathan Clifford Brown, Portland, Me.

BttU,N.O.C. 9, July, X8Q1, p,

/rr.

t/*-j^uLcZCa. , _ A**-j ■ / ? , /

Rye Beach, N.H.1871..

Ducks of Cohasset, Mass., 1860-92
O.H.H. Boston, Mass.

8. Shoveller (142). One adult $ taken by
Hr. B. C. Clark during the fall of 1863.

0.& O.Vol.17, June,1892 p.90

General Notes.

Stray Notes from Massachusetts.

George H. Mackay.

Spatula clypeata.—Sept. 25. One immature Shoveller Duck shot
to-day.

Auk XI. Jan. 1894 p. 84

Ducks of Cohasset, Mass., 1860-92'
O.H.H. Boston, Mass.

8 . Shoveller (142). One adult $ taken by
Mr. 15. C. Clark during the fall of 1863.

0.& O. Vert. 17, Jane,1892 p.90

General Notes.

Stray- Notes from Massachusetts.

George H.Mackay.

Spatula clypeata.—Sept. 25 . One immature Shoveller Duck shot
to-day.

Ank XI. Jan. 1894 p. 84

The Ducks of Plymouth County, Massachusetts,
by Herbert K.Job.

Auk, Xlll, July, 1896, pp.197-204.
See under Anas concura .

Rare Ducks near Bridgewater, Mass.— Ornithologists may be inter¬
ested to know that Mr. Daniel B. Davis on Oct. 22, 1904, at Lake Nippi-
nickett, Bridgewater, Plymouth Co., Mass., shot a Shoveller (Spatula
clyj)eat(i)^ This bird, together with a number of others of different spe¬
cies, was about to be disposed of in ordinary ways when fortunately Mr.
Joseph E. Bassett identified and purchased it.

Other interesting captures at this lake are as follows : Two specimens
of the Ring-necked Duck (Ayt/iya collaris), by Joseph E. Bassett, Nov. 20,
1895. A King Eider ( Somateria spectabilis), Oct. 21, 1899, also by Joseph
E. Bassett. Two Gadwalls ( Chaulelasmus streperus ), Oct. 18, 1901, by
Mr. Harry P. Sturtevant.

With the exception of one of the Ringnecks the skins of the above are
in the writer’s possession. — Arthur C. Dyke, Bridge-water , Mass.

Ante, XSU. Oct., 1905 . p.**?,

fltrtuJAU•z/' —

Three Spoonbill Ducks (Spatula clypeata ) came into Wenham Lake,
Massachusetts, on October 15 , 1910 . I secured all of them. There are
only two other records of this duck at Wenham from 1899 until the present
date. All three specimens were males. — J. C. Phillips, Wenham, Mass.

Auk 28, //?,

Spatula el woeata .

The Ducks of Plymouth County, Massachusetts.

by Herbert K.Job.

Auk, Xlll, July, 1896, pp.197-204.
See under Anas obscura .

Rare Ducks near Bridgewater, Mass.— Ornithologists may be inter¬
ested to know that Mr. Daniel B. Davis on Oct. 22, 1904, at Lake Nippi-
nickett, Bridgewater, Plymouth Co., Mass., shot a Shoveller {Si>atula
clypeata This bird, together with a number of others of different spe¬
cies, was about to be disposed of in ordinary ways when fortunately Mr.
Joseph E. Bassett identified and purchased it.

Other interesting captures at this lake are as follows : Two specimens
of the Ring-necked Duck (Ay thy a collaris ), by Joseph E. Bassett, Nov. 20,
1895. A King Eider ( Somateria sf>ectabilis), Oct. 21, 1899, also by Joseph
E. Bassett. Two Gadwalls ( Chaulelasinus streperus ), Oct. 18, 1901, by
Mr. Harry P. Sturtevant.

With the exception of one of the Ringnecks the skins of the above are
in the writer’s possession. — Arthur C. Dyke, Bridgewater , Mass.

Auk, XXII, Oct., 1605, p.-yofi

Three Spoonbill Ducks (Spatula clypeata) came into Wenham Lake,
Massachusetts, on October 15 , 1910 . 1 secured all of them. There are

only two other records of this duck at Wenham from 1899 until the present
date. All three specimens were males. — J. C. Phillips, Wenham, Mass.

Auk 28, Jan -1911,9, //fc

?/

Birds of the Adirondack Region.
C.H.Merriam.

I S 6. spatula clypeata (Linn.) /ioi'e. Shoveller. Rare.

BnJJ. N .0.0, QjQct, 1881, p,234

Birds within Ten Miles of Point
de Monts, Can, Comeau&Merria

105. Bernicla brenta. Brant Goose. — Breeds, and is bj no means
rare. Arrives in April, remaining into November and sometimes De-
cember.

Bali, N.Q.Q, 7,Oot, 18Q2, p,239

Birds of N.E. coast of Labrador
by Henry B. Bigelow.

37. Branta bernicla. Brant. — Reported as very rare. One specimen
from Dr. Grenfell, Nain, October, 1899.

Auk, XIX, Jan., 1902, p.28.

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AND OOLOGIST.

149

August, 1882.]

Branting at Monomoy.

Monomoy Island lies four miles south of
the southeast corner of Cape Cod. At its
north end is a small island on which the
club have a snug and comfortable house.
The writer was the guest of L. 0. Slocum,
Esq., of the Monomoy Brant Club, from
March 25th to Apiril 1st.

The Brant, also called Brant Goose,
(Brenta bernicla,) winters on the coast of
the Southern States. They are said to be
abundant off Currituck Sound, N. C., and
very difficult to get except from batteries.
Early in March they begin to appear in the
bay formed by Martha’s Vineyard, Nan¬
tucket, Monomoy and Cape Cod. In this
large enclosure are the feeding grounds to
which they repair each year. When feed¬
ing they tip up after the manner of many
ducks, but I was not able to learn of their
diving. They feed upon the tender shoots
of a kind of grass that grows in shallow
water.

Extensive flats are uncovered at low tide
for a distance of one-half to three-fourths
of a mile to the westward, and two miles
to the northward of the island. Along
the outer edge of this flat the gunners’
boxes are sunken. They measure 6 X 4 by
3 feet deep, and will contain three men.
The boxes are occupied from the time the
water begins to cover the flats until it sub¬
sides and leaves bare ground. The rising
tide makes the Brant restless as they are
put out of reach of their feed, and greater
or less numbers visit the feeding grounds
at the north of the island. A strong
wind, particularly a sou’-wester, disturbs
the water and causes them to seek a more
quiet place, and is especially desirable. As
Brant do not fly close to the shore it is
only while the water covers the flats that
they can be intercepted by the boxes. Each
box is provided with about thirty wooden
decoys and two live Brant, so fastened as
not to impede their walking and swim¬
ming. They are held in check by a cord
running to the box. The Brant tenders

say the sham decoys are worthless, as old
Brants readily recognize the deceit, and
large flocks are rarely tolled in by them.
On the other hand, when the wild birds
come near, the tame decoys are made to
flutter by pulling the string. On a nearer
approach they readily answer their calls,
thus enticing their own species on to de¬
struction. It was my fortune to get the
best shot offered to our party. George
Bearse, a Brant tender, and myself went
to the North Bar box. The day was cold
and the wind northwest. Suddenly a flock
of about 35 Brant came from behind at a
distance of perhaps 200 yards to our left,
and swinging around into the wind they
dropped into the water, heading directly
for us. Five were quite a distance in ad¬
vance of the rest. Our two tame decoys
gave their rolling gutteral hawk in answer
to the on-coming flock. The five ahead
swam among the wooden decoys, discov¬
ered their true nature, and swam back to
the rest. All were now turning to go
away, and George said: “Beady! one,
two, fire!”

The smoke settled so we could see noth¬
ing, but both held on to the spot. In an
instant it cleared and the smoke from two
more barrels shut off our view. In another
second we saw what we had done. George
sung out, “ After the wounded ! ” and both
sprang out into the water, only knee deep
at first, but gradually growing deeper.
After a tedious chase, four of the five
wounded were secured and the nine dead,
making thirteen. While on our way to the
box with the dead in hand a single Brant
was seen coming. It lit among the wood¬
en decoys and was easily secured. Single
birds are frequently found among the life¬
less decoys, and apparently with no sense
of danger. The Brant are generally very
shy and will not permit boats within sev¬
eral hundred yards.

With every warm southerly wind new
flocks arrive and alight among the others
out in the bay, where long lines of them,
and often acres, may be seen. Occasion-

Birds of Bristol County, Mass*
F. W. Andros.

Branta bernicla (Linn.), Brant. Migrant,
tolerably common.

O.&O. XII. Sent. 1887 p.138

jYstrtcd.

Two fine specimens of tile Brant from Capt. Gould
reminds us that the Granting season is now in its

i prime.

0^0. XIV. Apr. 1889 p.63

A Few Spring Notes from Monomoy
Island, Mass., i8go.

Brant shooting at Monomoy this spring has
been good, better than for several seasons past.
The birds arrived early owing to the mild¬
ness of the winter and for the same reason
they did not linger about as long as usual, the
latter part of the migration force leaving April
j 17 tli’, fully a week or ten days earlier than
I former seasons. The weather was not violent
enough to split the flocks up but this was
offset by an influxion of young birds which
always insures good sport. April 14 th and
15 th were exceeding line days for shooting, the
wind blowing very fresh on shore, which caused
I the birds to swing in over the boxes as the

flood tide drove them from their feeding
grounds. 11 . was reported that seventeen Brant
were stopped at one discharge by a member of
the Monomoy Club. _

O.&O. - ^—X.p.M-67

Duoks of Oohasset, Maes., 1860-92
viHiS. Boston, Mass.

25 . Brant ( 173 ). Common, but hard to
secure except during heavy storms.

0«&0*Vol,17» June,1892 p .91

General Notes.

Branta bernicla.—Dec t? t&dt wi -i . ,

; ‘s-ti "■" z ::j

H—sk? tt -h

here in ordinary seasons. = lsland ' A few

Auk y , July, 1892. p. 305.
General Notea

Branta bernicla at Nantucket, Massachusetts.—I am informed by Mr.

Charles E. Snow that on Nov. 22, 1892, while shooting at the extreme
western end of Nantucket, he saw large numbers of Brant {Branta berni¬
cla') flying towards the southwest. They passed mostly through the
‘opening’ between the islands of Nantucket and Tuckernuck. Some of
the flocks contained from one to two hundred birds. He also noted
several hundred American Eider Ducks ( Somateria dresseri) well up in
the air flying in the same direction. The wind was north-northwest and
northwest.— George H. Mackay, Nantucket , Mass.

Auk Z.Jan, 1893. d.77

Stray Noteg

Gw.rai Not« B 8 . aQd >^ 88 . skeg,

Branta bernicla.—Muskeget and Tuckernuck Islands, March 26, 1893.

I estimate the number of Brant living in these waters at this date at about
six hundred. Two wing-tipped birds I have in confinement eat with
avidity the alga Ulva lactiicci . They also eat Zostera marina, preferring
the white portion farthest from the extremity of the blade. They cut this
up by chewing first on one side and then on the other of their mandibles
which cuts the grass as clean as if scissors had been used. The motion
reminds one strongly of a dog eating, the bird turning its head much in
the same way. They are fond of whole corn and common grass. These
confined birds drink after almost every mouthful from a pan of fresh water.

The wild birds living in this neighborhood have no opportunity of obtain¬
ing fresh water. Auk a.. Oct, 1893 p 370 -

Notes on Certain Water Birds in Mass.

George H. Mackay.

No Brant (Branta bernicla ) wintered around Muskeget Island
during the winter of 1893 -94- The first that were noted weie
five birds on February 15 , 1 S 94 . In less than one week the
number increased to fifty, and on March 12 there were between
four and five hundred, the larger half of which had come in
since March 8 . I noticed considerable diminution in the food
supply, many acres of the eel grass (Zostera tna7‘ina) having
been killed. There was still remaining large areas that was
(rnrul Auk XI. July. 1894 p. 224

Notes on _ Certain^WaterBirds in Mass.

George H.Mackay.

, tstrv* /f^J -sf-ty--.

There have also been about one hundred and
fifty Brant living in the harbor this spring. On May i there were
about thirty Brant in Muskeget waters.

Auk XI. July. 1894 p. 225

410. Branting at Monomoy [ Island , Mass.]. By Fred. T. Jencks.

/bid., pp. 149, 150. a AO. WkYkl

Springfield, Mass., Bird Notes. — Branta bernicla. On the nth of
April last a Brant was taken on the river near Northampton ; this bird is
rarely observed in this part of the Connecticut Valley.

O. f S |.w| A-wx./j-o .

Auk - : 0 I&r ' p. H 3 t

Seconnett, Point, R. I.
April 16-21, 1890.

Onlj/- a very few seen, the greatest number on the morning of
the 21st, when two flocks, each containing from 25 to 30 birds,
passed, going to the eastward. They flew close to the water,
in fact only about two or three yards above it, but when they
came to the line of boats rose and, sheering sharply to one aide,
passed out around. It is very seldom that one of them comes with
in shot of the Goot-shooters, for they are much shyer than the
Scoffers. Their order of flight is somewhat similar to that of th
8cofe*, but it is less regular, and they fly more in cluste s.
They can be distinguished from the other sea-fowl at a great dis¬
tance by the slower beats of their wings. They pass here during
the spring migration in considerable numbers some seasons, but
they never alight in the surrounding waters.

:Vlt.ini .~fh «.rd M lanism in North

Amerioan Birds* Buthven Dean#,

A partial want of coloration in B. bernicla is an
interesting specimen ;

Bull N.O.O. 1,April, 1876, p.23

319. Those “Brants.” — Corrections. By W. H. Collins. Ibid., VI,
0 c P- 55-—The supposed Brant’s eggs previously described in Oologist as
found at St. Clafr-Flats, Mich., proved to be eggs of the Ruddy Duck.

55S. The Hills and Streams of Southern California.
Dyke .... Chapter X. The Black Brant. Ibid. , XIX, No.
1883, pp. 226, 227.—Its habits and abundance in the bays
Diego. . ' , , , v-;,

By T. S. Van
13, March 31.
south of San

561. The Black Brant [ Bernicla nigricans ]. By W. A. P. Ibid..
XIX, No. 21, May 26, 1883, p. 419.—Its abundance on the coast of
Alaska. American Fieii&t

Branta bernlcla.

Off Monomoy Point, Mass.

Copy. 40S Washington St., Boston, Mass.

April 22, 1902.

Mr. Wm. Brow s t er,

Dear Sir,

I have just received from Wm.Avery Cary a Brant
which he shot off Monomoy Point. It is a bird of very re¬
markable plumage having a white ring straight around the
throat, and the plumage under the belly is a brownish black
way down to the feet, where it should be white.

I thought of letting you know, as it is not of ordinary
plumage and not having seen one like it before in Mass.

Yours very truly,

James T. Clark.

Birds of Toronto, Ontario.
By James E.Fleming.

Pt.I, Water Birds.

nun, xxill, uoi,.,

58 . Branta bernicla glaucogastra.

ayuo,p.445.

--White-bellied Brant:—t w „

records a male taken November 12, 1899 , and a female taken December 2
1895 ; there are no specimens in the old collections.

m

L~ IX f %(> _

86 J

Second Occurrence of the Black Brant (Bern-
icla nigricans) in Massachusetts,

Cambridge, Mass. — I have just had the pleasure of ex¬
amining a black brant which was shot by Mr. William
Avery Cary at Chatham, Mass., on April 15, 1902, and
mounted by Mr. J. T. Clark, who ascertained, by dissec¬
tion, that the bird was a male. It is a fine specimen in
fully adult and perfectly typical plumage, having the char¬
acteristic belt or collar of conspicuous white marking
almost completely encircling the neck, and the normal
amount of sooty slate on the under parts. In company
with six other brant it came within long gun range of a
shooting stand or box on the Monomoy Island Flats. As
its companions escaped capture, and hence close examina¬
tion-, it is uncertain whether or not they were of the
same kind, but the presumption is, of course, that they
belonged to our common Eastern species, for the black
brant is an exceedingly rare straggler (from the Pacific
coast of North America) to our Atlantic seaboard. It
has been taken once before, however, in Massachusetts
— “at or near Chatham,” in the spring of 1883 (Cory,
Auk. 1, 1884, 96). Mr. Cary, to whom J am indebted
for most of the above details — as well as for permission
to make them public—is, no doubt, personally known to
many readers of Forest and Stream, for he is Secretary
of the Monomoy Branting Club, and one of our most
prominent Boston sportsmen. Fie has, in his business
office, a small but choice collection of mounted birds,
chiefly waders and waterfowl, all of which have fallen to
his own gun. The black brant will be aclded to this col¬
lection as soon as it leaves the hands of the taxidermist,
Mr. Clark. William Brewster.

Brant (Branta nigricans) in Massachusetts. — As this bird is one
ry rarest in Massachusetts, and also is but a rare straggler on any
he Atlantic coast, every instance of its being taken should be
1 record. I heard of one of these Brant being killed some years
latham, and upon further investigation found the bird in the col-
Mr. W. A. Carey of Boston. It was shot on April 15 , 1902 , and
of a flock of seven Brant, and the only one killed. That spring
|3 an unusually small number of Brant at Chatham, and the party
onomoy Brant Club, the week that Mr. Carey was there, killed but
I birds. Curiously enough this was the only one that he himself
! supposed that it had been reported long ago and was much sur-
find that it had been overlooked, though a number of people knew
fstence. This is only the second record for the State, the other
le reported by C. B. Cory as killed in the spring of 1883 , also at
ji! There seem to be but very few records for the Atlantic coast,
■e shot in New Jersey on April 5 , 1877 2 ; one was shot by Augustus
in Oneida Lake, N. Y., on October 30 , 1891 , s and only three have
m reported from Long Island, all from Great South Bay. One
n in 1840, 4 one in 1889, 5 and one in 1908. 8 As far as is known these
tally three from that locality. This then makes but seven records
Atlantic coast, with a total of but eight birds. 7 —S. Pkescott Fay,
Mass.

f, C. B., Auk, Vol. I, 1884, p. 96.

(t, W. E. D„ Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, Vol. IV, 1879, p. 226.

g, Egbert, Auk, Vol. XI, 1894, p. 163.
cher, William, ibid., Vol. X, 1893, p. 271

er, William, ibid., Vol. X, 1893, p. 266.

■k N. L , ibid., Vol. XXV, 1908, p. 473.

lese should be added the type specimen of the species, taken at Great Egg
STew Jersey, in January, 1846 (cf. Lawrence, G N„ Ann. Lyc. N. H.

1846 p 171, pl. xii), and two others taken later the same winter. There
leveral later records for New Jersey in addition to those given above (cf.
rds of New Jersey, 1908 (1909), p. 96). Ed.]

Auk 27<J dy-1910 p. 337 ,

Dutcher, Kaie Long Island Birds.

Branta nigricans. Black Brant. —There is an exceptionally fine speci¬
men of this species in the collection, which was shot by Col. Pike in
Great South Bay, off Islip, Long Island, in 1840. He tells me : “I had
the skin some years before Mr. Lawrence described the Black Brant as a
new species. 1 The late Professor Baird saw it while on a visit to my
house and remarked that it was an interesting specimen ; this was in 1844
when I resided in Henry Street, Brooklyn. Some years after, but subse¬
quent to the date Mr. Lawrence separated the Black Brant, he saw my
specimen and gave me its correct name. Prior to that time I had con¬
sidered it only an exceptional Brant.”

1 1846 . Lawrence, George N. — Description of a new species of Anser. By George
N. Lawrence. Road March 16 , 1846 . Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, Vol. IV,
1847 , pp. 171 , 172 , plate xii, of Anser nigricans. Issued in Nos. 6 , 7 , August, 1846
1 . Anser nigricans, n. s., Egg Harbor, N. J., pages 171 , 172 .

Auk >1, July, 1893 p 271.

Dutcher, Long Island Birds.

Branta nigricans. Black Brant —The following letter from Mr.
George N. Lawrence, dated September 9, 1889, is of great interest: “I
send an account of a Black Brant I saw lately at Babylon. I think this is
the second specimen obtained on Long Island, the other being in the
Museum of the Long Island Historical Society. In the office of the
Watson House I saw a fine specimen which wasj killed this spring in the
Great South Bay. On inquiry I found it was shot by William Saxton, a
noted gunner and bayman. I went to see him to get any facts concerning
its acquisition that he was able to give. He said Brant were unusually
plenty in the spring, and one day while lying at his decoys he saw a flock
of about thirty individuals approaching, and as they were passing at a
long range he fired and knocked out five. On picking them up he
noticed one very black in color and of rather larger size than the others •
he at once concluded it was a Black Brant, of which he had often heard
his father speak, though he had never seen one. He sold it with other
birds to a dealer, from whom it was purchased by Mr. Stetson.”

Auk X, July , 1893 p 263.

Birds of Oneida County, New York.

Egbert Bagg.

Branta nigricans.—A fine specimen of this rare bird was killed by Mr.
Agustus Dexter of Utica at Lewis Point, Madison County (on Oneida
Lake), Oct. 30, 1891. The bird flew in from the lake and alighted on the
sand beach, where it was attacked by Crows. These birds attracted its
attention so that Mr. Dexter easily walked within range and secured the
bird.

Auk XI. April. 1894 p. 108

JZ/oricf/s 7a 7^ 7z< y

Black Brant and Marbled Godwit on Long Island, N. Y.— On March 31 ,
1908 , in a heavy southeaster, while lying in a battery for Branf in the
Great South Bay, near Babylon, L. I., a flock of seven came to the decoys.

All were seen plainly. Six were of the common variety, while the seventh
was so much darker in appearance than the rest, that I immediately shot
and secured it. The bird proved to be a remarkably fine old male Black
Brant (Branta nigricans). I think this is the first Long Island record in
a number of years.

The Great Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa), while never common on
Long Island, has become now quite rare, so I wish to record a specimen
taken by my brother, Harold E Herrick, at Lawrence on August 21 , 1907 ,
and another taken by myself at the same place July 21 , 1900 .— Newbold
L. Herrick, New York City.

Auk 25 Oct. 190ft ,p. q

77

Nelson on the. Black Brant.

T 3i

HABITS OF THE BLACK BRANT IN THE VICINITY
OF ST. MICHAELS, ALASKA.

BY E. W. NELSON.

The long reign of ice and snow begins to yield to the mild
influence of the rapidly lengthening days ; the middle of May
is reached, and the midnight sky over the northern horizon
blushes with delicate rose tints, changing to purple toward the
zenith. Fleecy clouds passing slowly across the horizon seem to
quiver and glow with lovely hues only to fade to dull leaden
again as they glide from the reach of fair Aurora. The land, so
lately snow-bound, becomes dotted with pools of water and the
constantly narrowing borders of the snow soon make room for the
Waterfowl which, with eager accord, begin to arrive in abun¬
dance, some upon lagging wings, as if from far away^ others
making the air resound with joyous notes as they recognize some
familiar pond where, for successive seasons, they have reared
their young in safety, or, perhaps, a favorite feeding ground. At
this time the White-fronted and Hutchins’s Geese take precedence
in numbers though, to be sure, they have been preceded for two
weeks by the hardy Pintail Duck, the Common Swan and, lastly,
that ornithological harlequin, the Sandhill Crane, whose loud
rolling note is heard here and there as it stalks gravely along,
dining upon the last year’s berries of Empetrum nigrum , when,
meeting a rival, or perchance one of the fair sex, he proceeds to
execute a burlesque minuet.

A few days later, upon the mirror-like bosoms of myriads
of tiny lakelets, the graceful Northern Phalaropes flit here and
there or swim about in pretty companies. At length, about the
20th of May, the first Barn Swallow arrives and then we begin
to look for the Black Brant, the “ Nimkbe” as it is called by the
Russians, the ^Luk-lug'-u-nuk” of the Norton Sound Eskimo.
Ere long the avant-courier is seen in the form of a small flock
of ten or- fifteen individuals which skim along close to the ice
heading directly across Norton Sound to the vicinity of Cape
Nome, whence their route leads along the low coast to Port
Clarence where, I am told by the natives, some stop to breed ; but
the majority press on and seek the ice bordered northern shore

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O.&O. XI. Jan. 1888.p. /£

OLOGIST

Barnacle Goose, ( Bernicla
Goose was shot November I, ’85,
and mounted by N. Viekary.

[Vol. 11-No. 1

leucopsis.) A Barnacle
at North Chatham, Mass.,

Cpimtumro salty o f MassarljusBfls

OFFICE OF

SUPERINTENDENT

FOR SUPPRESSING THE

Gypsy and Brown Tail Moths

CPEC1MENS of insects
^suspected of being either
gypsy or brown tail moths
should be packed in a
small wooden or tin box,
plainly marked with ad¬
dress of sender, and
mailed to the Superin¬
tendent for identification.
A letter giving full
particulars should ac¬
company each sending.

A. II. Kirkland

SUPERINTENDENT

G BEACON STREET

Ctdd.

September 29, 1906

Mr. Warren Freeman informed me some time in 1905 that he
recalled seeing as a lad a mounted specimen of an alleged Blue
Goose at the home of Mr. Joseph Dill, North Eastham, Mass.

On September 2, 1906, I went with Mr. Freeman to the home of
Mr. Dill, and found instead of a Blue Goose a well-mounted and
well-preserved specimen of the Barnacle Goose of Europe Branta leu cop-
sls .

The following facts were obtained from Mr. Dill by Mr. Freeman
and. myself :-

The Barnacle Goose was shot about Nov. 1, 1885,by Mr.Dill at
North Eastham, Mass. Mr. Dill who has always lived at North
Eastham and who has been a gunner there for fully fifty years,
has never seen this species on any other occasion. The specimen
which he shot was one of a flock of five of the same species which
had been seen for several days to come into a little pond in a
piece of salt marsh known as "Sunken Meadow," bordering on Cape
God Bay. He went to his blind on the shore of the pond one day
expressly to secure a specimen or more of these apparently strange
Geese. The flock came in at about dusk. He saw the white faces

-2-

of the birds and realised that they were new to him. He shot
two of the flock. The more highly-colored of these he sent to
N. Vickary of Lynn who mounted it for him; the other bird was not
preserved.

Mr. Dill recalls that he was informed at the time that
another specimen of these strange geese was shot by a Boston
gunner "up Wellfleet way".

The pond where these Barnacle Geese were shot was always
a great resort for Sheldrake and Canada Geese but no Brant ever
stopped there.

The foregoing statement seems to leave no doubt that the
Barnacle Goose shot in 1885 by Mr. Dill and preserved by him all
these years was a wild bird. The only record of the occurrence
of this species in Massachusetts appeared in The Ornithologist and
Oolcgist for 1886 (Vol. XI, Jan. p. 16), and is referred to in the
"Birds of Massachusetts" by Howe and Allen. The record is as
follows:-

"Barnacle Goose ( Berniela le ucox sis). A Barnacle Goose
was shot November 1, 1885, at North Chatham, Mass., and mounted
by N. Vickary."

This record refers undoubtedly to Mr. Dill’s bird although
through some inadvertence the locality was given as "North Chatham".

J. A. Parley.

Ithe -h'uv-Jl Vv^-e

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OFFICE OF

SUPERINTENDENT

FOR SUPPRESSING THE

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^suspected of being either
gypsy or brown tail moths
should be packed in a
small wooden or tin box,
plainly marked with ad¬
dress of sender, and
mailed to the Superin¬
tendent for identification.
A letter giving full
particulars should ac¬
company each sending.

A.. II. Kirkland

SUPERINTENDENT

6 BEACON STREET

r ^1/(5

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SUPERINTENDENT

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OFFICE OF

SUPERINTENDENT

FOR SUPPRESSING THE

Gypsy and Brown Tail Motiis

6 BEACON STREET

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^suspected of being either
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mailed to the Superin¬
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A letter giving full
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OFFICE OF

SUPERINTENDENT

FOR SUPPRESSING THE

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iWi‘?lVb ~oiThs£cfs
^suspected of being either
gypsy or brown tail moths
should be packed in a
small wooden or tin box,
plainly marked with ad¬
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mailed to the Superin¬
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A letter giving full
particulars should ac¬
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A. II. Kirkland

SUPERINTENDENT

6 BEACON STREET
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- *♦*-

OFFICE OF

SUPERINTENDENT

FOR SUPPRESSING THE

Gypsy and Brown Tail Motiis

OPECIMENS of insects
^suspected of being either
gypsy or brown tail moths
should be packed in a
small wooden or tin box,
plainly marked with ad¬
dress of sender, and
mailed to the Superin¬
tendent for identification.
A letter giving full
particulars should ac¬
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A.. H. Kirkland

SUPERINTENDENT

6 BEACON STREET

ad fo/l ,

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i^jLpCCti.

OCCURRENCE OF THE BARNACLE GOOSE (BERNIGLA LEU-
COPSIS) ON LONG ISLAND, N. Y.

BY GEO. X. LAWRENCE.

I was recently informed, by Mr. Harold Herrick, that a specimen
of this species could be seen, at the store of Mr. Conway, taxidermist,
in Carmine Street, said to have been killed on Long Island. I called
there and was shown a nicely mounted example of this Goose in
perfect plumage. Mr. Conway said that it was brought to him in
the flesh, in good condition, and was eaten by his family; he spoke
very favorably of its edible qualities.

I learned from him that its possessor was Mr. J. K. Kendall of
this city. I had an interview with this gentleman, and requested
that he would ascertain all the facts possible as to its capture, and
send me the information. I received from him the following letter
giving the result of his inquiries : —•

New York, November 29, 1876.

Dear Sir, — About October 20 I saw a specimen of the Barnacle
Goose hanging in a restaurant in this city, — bought it and had it stuffed.
I questioned the proprietor, and learned from him the place where he
bought it, — from a produce-dealer near Washington Market. After¬
wards I interviewed the marketman, and he recollected the bird well,
although he had no idea what it was. He told me he bought it from a
Long Island farmer, who brought it to the city in his wagon, and who
said that it was killed by a boy in^ Jamaica Bay. Unfortunately he did
not know the farmer, — never saw him before nor since, so I was unable
to trace the bird any farther, but I am fully satisfied the story was true.

Yours truly,

J. K. Kendall.

This is the second instance of this species having been procured
on the Atlantic coast; the first was obtained in Currituck Sound,
North Carolina, in 1870, and is recorded in Vol. V, p. 10, of the
“ American Naturalist.” *

* In Dr. Brewer’s “ Catalogue of the Birds of New England ” (from Proceed¬
ings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. XVII, March 3, 1875) he
excludes this species from our New England list, and also states that the speci¬
men recorded by Mr. Lawrence as having been taken in North Carolina was
probably one of eight specimens which escaped from the grounds of a gentleman
in Halifax in the fall of 1871 or 1872.

From Mr. Lawrence's record (Am. Naturalist, Vol V, p. 10) we find this
Goose was captured on October 31, 1870, one or two years previous to the es¬
caping of the Halifax birds.

In view of this fact may not Mr. Lawrence’s specimen still remain as the
first authentic instance of the occurrence of the Barnacle Goose in the United
States ; at all events, until we hear of a confined specimen having escaped pre¬
vious to that date ? — Kutiiven Deane.

Bull. N.O.O. 2, Jan., 1877. p.

951. Black Brant [in Washington Territory ]. By Alki. Ibid., Nov.
13, p. 304. earn. XXI,II

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Anas, boschas .

Cambridge, I,lass.

1899. I think I saw an adult male in Fresh Pond on the 24th

November, and again on the 23th but it was so far away that I could not
make sure of its identity. No such doubt is attached to a
male in full .plumage (probably the same bird seen on the 24th
and 23th) which I watched for an hour or two on the 29th and
identified beyond any question. This v/as the first male LJal-
lard in perfectly mature plumage that I have ever seen living.
At a distance its head looked black and its back very light
grayish giving it a general resemblance to a Scaup. In view
of this fact it is not impossible that two Ducks which were
swimming near the middle of the Pond on the 20th and which I
took at the time to be Scaups were really, as Lothrop (O.A.),
who was with me, insisted, Mallard Ducks.

Nov.29. In company with the Black Ducks in Fresh Pond this morn¬

ing was a male Mallard in fully adult plumage. Through the
glass I could easily make out his shining green head and
clear yellow bill but to the naked eye his head looked black
for he was at no time nearer me than three or four hundred
yards. Although I watched him for a long time I noticed
nothing of particular interest connected with his carriage or
behavior which, indeed, seemed to me to be in every way es¬
sentially the same as those of the Black Ducks by which he
was usually surrounded.

Anas boschas.

Cambridge
1399.
December.

Mass.

A fine Mallard drake, no doubt the same that was noted

among

in November, was swimming the Black Ducks during all the

A

visits but one that I made to Fresh Pond this month. The
date of his absence was the 21st when I feared that something
had befallen him, but I found him back in the pond on the 25th.
He was a wary old fellow and invariably kept at a safe dis¬
tance from shore. On the 17th a female Mallard appeared in
the pond and I saw her there again'on the 21st. On the 25th

there were two females one of which kept the drake close com¬
other

pany. The A avoided him as did the female seem on the 17th
from which I concluded that the bird was one and the same on
both occasions as well as the 21st and that the female which
was with the drake on the 25th was the newcomer. The female
seen on the 17th went ashore in company with some Black Ducks
and spent upwards of fifteen minutes walking about or stand¬
ing on the rocky pavement near the water's edge.

3 .

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Birds of Southern New Brunswick
m, Ohamberlain,

i8. Anas boscas. Mallard.— A pair in the museum of the Natural
History Society were shot near Hampton by the late Col. Otty some fifteen
years ago. The only late occurrences of this species are of one mounted
by J. H. Carnell, taxidermist, and a flock of some six or eight seen by Mr.
Henry Gilbert on the Kenebecasis River in August, 1880 , from which he
obtained a male and female.

Bull. N. 0.0, 7, April, 1882, p,108
Records from Toronto. E.E.T.Seton.

Hybrid Mallard and Dusky Duck (?).— In the rooms of
the Gun Club there is also a supposed hybrid between these two
species. Certainly it answers the description of no Duck ever
found in this region, while it combines, in a remarkable degree,
the characters of the two mentioned. It is known to the sports¬
men here as a ‘Brewer.’ It was shot in this locality. No data.

Auk, 2, Oct., 1885. p.330

Birds of Toronto, Ontario.

By J ame s K. PI eini ng.

Pt.I, Water Birds.

Auk, XXIII, Oct., 1905, p.444.

30 Anas boschas. Mallard.- Rare migrant; I have
lor JNovember, but my records are incomplete.

records only

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Hybrid Duck. E. C. Greenwood, Ipswich, Mass., reports
having bought a strange Hybrid Duck in that town, prob¬
ably a cross between a Black Duck and Mallard. It is par-
ticularly fine and interesting. q >& q X. F«b. 1885. p.. S ft.

Birds of Bristol County, Mass.

F. W. Andros.

Anas boschas Linn., Mallard. Migrant,

O.&O. XII. Sept. 1887 p.138

6,t 0. H-C tV A (j Mallard was shot at Chatham, Mass., December
, r Jo*-, 1 *'? i 4 ( by Rufus F. Nickerson.

Jft J/rfa.

A $ Mallard was shot at Chatham, Mass., December
14, by Rufus F. Nickerson.

0.7 .!*«*■ ' '

U%-

Mjrif- .

a "theHotli a fine Drake Mallard, Lct/W^v *' vc/

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Ducks of Cohaeset, Mass., 1860-92
O.H.0. Boston, Mass.

3. Mallard (132). Uncommon. Taken
yearly, but in small numbers.

0.& O.Vol.17, June,1892 p.90

"Winter Bfrds in South-eastern Mass,

Harry G. "White

18. Mallard. Toleiably common, and
occurs on tlie Cape every fall and winter. One
was seen at Wood’s IIoll on December 9tli
and three on January 3d.

0.&O.V01.17, June, 1892 P« 80

Auk, XII, July, 1896, p . 3 > °

(X^v^^A Cr o-S .

November 6 , 1894 , I shot two female Mallards (Anas bosekas ) ; they
were in company with some Black Ducks (Anas obscura ), but seemed
to feel out of place, keeping a little apart.

A\ VlA-^Aio-y , yt i"^ 1 ^ -

The Ducks

Anas ooschas .

of Plymouth County, Massachusetts,
by Herbert K.Job.

Auk, Xlll, July, 1896, pp.197-204.

Gee under Anas obscura .

Notes from Springfield, Mass.— Anas platyrhynchos. — Sixteen
years ago about a dozen Mallard Ducks were placed in Forest Park, a
public reservation in Springfield, bordering on the Connecticut river, con¬
sisting of about four hundred and sixty acres of land, and containing a
number of small ponds and streams. For the first few years after their
introduction into the park, these Mallards were kept in confinement for a
portion of the time, and wandered at pleasure only when their wings were
clipped, but during later years they or their descendants have been free to go
and come as they pleased, with unclipped wings. Many of these ducks
have bred in the park, and others have disappeared in the spring and re¬
appeared in the autumn in increasing numbers. Last winter, at one time,
the park contained between sixty and seventy of these ducks. This year
and last several nests of Mallards have been found in the vicinity of Spring-
field, but a number of miles from the park. In former years this species
of duck was not known to breed in Massachusetts, although it was a regular
migrant in the western part of the state, appearing in spring and autumn on
the waters of the Connecticut river and its tributaries in more or less num¬
bers.

Florida cserulea. — On the twenty-second day of July, of the present
year, a Little Blue Heron, in its white plumage was captured in West
Springfield.

A Few Notes from Cape Cod.

According to sportsmen informants “game”
birds have been mr.™ „ 8 e

ter than for a number “ars I
myself shot or obtained by picking them Jp
on the beach, where large numbers are some¬
times found, the following: American Mer-

Loon ei '’D T HC n G ° lde “ Eyc - ^d-throated
Loon, Dusky Duck, Mallard, Old Squaw

Amencan Eider, Horned Grebe, Puffin Guil’

emot, Little Auk, Shoveller, Razor-bill Auk

Besides these I have noticed Kittiwake Glau

cons, Great Black-backed and Herring Guils. |

9&Q,XVZ, March, iQQ lt p< */x

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Notes From Connecticut.— A pair of
Mallard Ducks, ( Anas boscas. ) male and
female, were shot in this town Oct. 30,
1882. A man saw them fly over to a little
pond near his barn, and was lucky enough
to take them both at one shot. This is the
first time that I have eyer known of this
species occurring here. 06

O.&O. Vm.Ap/l883.p.«//

Birda of the Adirondack Region.
C. H. Merriam.

154. Anas boscas, Linn. Mallard.— A rare migrant.

Bali, N. 0.0, 0*Oct, 1881, P. 234

Notes,Shelter Island,N.Y.
W. W. Worthington.

me to be mounted, whic

, a fine male Mallard was

Xl/i***T »VMI --- *- - -

brought me to be mounted, which was shot near Long
Beach.

O.&o. X. May.1885. p. VO.

Capture of a Pair of Wild Hybrid Ducks (Mallard + Muscovy) on
Long Island.—Mr. G. C. Morris, of Sag Harbor, New York, had at the
annual exhibition of the New York Fanciers’ Club, held in New York
City, February 3 to to, 1 S 86 , a pair of ‘strange Ducks’ which no one had
been able to name. My attention was directed to them by Mr. Morris,
who called upon me at the American Museum of Natural History in
relation to them. From the clear account of them he was able to give
me, I had no difficulty in deciding as to their character, and an examina¬
tion of the birds themselves the following day confirmed my identifica¬
tion of them. Unlike most previous examples that have been reported
of this interesting cross, they showed no tendency to albinism, there
being no abnormal white markings, but presented just the combination of
features one would look for in a cross between a wild Mallard and a
Muscovy unchanged by domestication. The birds, both male and female,
were in perfect plumage, exceedingly beautiful, and presented in nearly
equal degree the characteristics of the two species.

I learn from Mr. Morris that the drake was first seen about September 1 ,
1884 , m Poxibogue Pond, in the village ofBridge Hampton, on Long Island
in company with some domestic ducks owned by a Mr. Topping. This
gentleman at first tried to shoot him, but he proved to be very wary and
when approached would fly away toward the ocean, about two miles dis¬
tant. Several other persons saw him and tried unsuccessfully to capture
him. He showed a liking for the pond, and finally came regularly every
morning to feed with the tame ducks, returning to the ocean at night
One day during a severe thunder squall the tame ducks left the pond and
ran into their pen for shelter, the wild bird accompanying them. The
owner closed the door and thus captured him. He simply clipped his
wing-feathers and let him run with his flock.

OfTf he dU ^’ 0 '~. k ™ ale h ^ brid ’ aIi S hted in Otter Pond, near the upper part
of Mam Street in the village of Sag Harbor, early one morning in October,
! 88 4 She accompanied some tame ducks on shore, and several men at¬
tempted to drive her with the others into a duck pen, but she took wing
struck against a fence, fell back, and was captured before she could
recover herself. Her wing was also clipped and she remained a captive
Several persons who saw the strange birds thought they were of the
same species; so the two were brought together. They mated, and the
fema e laid two clutches of eggs and sat upon them, but they proved
infertile. They were allowed their liberty, kept together, and associated
w th a flock of tame ducks. They are no w owned, Mr. Morris informs me

M a/ ; „ T e ’ ° f Whitestone ’ Lo "g Island. — -J. A. Allen, Am.
Mus. Nat. Hist ., New Tork City. Auk, 3, April, 188Q. p.

hybrid for record. “In the male hybrid between bosckas and obscura
there is, on the whole, a fairly equal division of the characters of both
parents; the crown, hind-neck, and nape are as in bosckas; the sides of
the head, the throat, and neck resemble more those of obscura , but there
is a wash of green on the first named region, and the chin is blackish.
The lesser and median wing-coverts and tertials are similar to those of
bosckas , while the speculum is that of obscura , with the terminal border
of white more as in bosckas. The upper and lower tail-coverts resemble
those of bosckas , but the tail differs very slightly from that of obscura.
Below the ground work is nearly as in obscura , but there is a suffusion of
chestnut over the entire breast.”

Axik, April, 1889. p. t3*f

;/r

Birds of the Adirondack Region.

C. BuMerriam.

154. Anas boscas, Linn. Mallard. —A rare migrant.

Bail. N, 0 , 0 , 0 t Oct» 1881, p, 234

Notes.Shelter Island, N.Y.

W. W. Worthington.

a fine male Mallard was
1 ^o^ght me to be mounted, which was shot near Long
Beach.

C.&o. X.May. 1885.P. W-

Capture of a Pair of Wild Hybrid Ducks (Mallard + Muscovy) on
Long Island.—Mr. G. C. Morris, of Sag Harbor, New York, had at the
annual exhibition of the New York Fanciers’ Club, held in .New York
City, February 3 to 10, 1886, a pair of ‘strange Ducks’ which no one had
been able to name. My attention was directed to them by Mr. Morris,
who^ called upon me at the American Museum of Natural History in
relation to them. From the clear account of them he was able to give
me, I had no difficulty in deciding as to their character, and an examina¬
tion of the birds themselves the following day confirmed my identifica¬
tion of them. Unlike most previous examples that have been reported
of this interesting cross, they showed no tendency to albinism, there
being no abnormal white markings, but presented just the combination of
features one would look for in a cross between a wild Mallard and a
Muscovy unchanged by domestication. The birds, both male and female,
were in perfect plumage, exceedingly beautiful, and presented in nearly
equal degree the characteristics of the two species.

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William Dutcher.

4. Anas boschas + obscura. Hybrid. —March 17, 1888, Andrew Chi¬
chester, a professional South Bay gunner and bayman, sent to me from
Amityville, Suffolk Co., the above-indicated very beautiful hybrid. His
letter accompanying it I give in full : “I send you a Duck different from
anything I ever saw in my experience as a gunner. It looks to me like a
mongrel, half Mallard and half Black Duck. It was in a flock of five, I
think. They came in wide, so I only shot at the one, and I did not see
hat it was different from a common Black Duck until I picked it up, so I
cannot tell whether the remainder of the flock were similar to it or not.”
Mr. F. M. Chapman has kindly prepared the following description of this
hybrid for record. “In the male hybrid between boschas and obscura
there is, on the whole, a fairly equal division of the characters of both
parents; the crown, hind-neck, and nape areas in boschas; the sides of
the head, the throat, and neck resemble more those of obscura , but there
is a wash of green on the first named region, and the chin is blackish.
The lesser and median wing-coverts and tertials are similar to those of
boschas , while the speculum is that of obscura , with the terminal border
of white more as in boschas. The upper and lower tail-coverts resemble
those of boschas , but the tail differs very slightly from that of obscura.
Below the ground work is nearly as in obscura , but there is a suffusion of
chestnut over the entire breast.”

;/r

Auk* fX. April, 1889. p. /3*f

A Hybrid Duck. — After ten years of hunting for real wild hybrids,
the writer has finally succeeded in securing a drake which he regards as
an even mixture of Mallard and Northern Black Duck. The bird was
shot by the writer about a year ago, and he has waited some time for the
experience to be repeated — as often happens after one has once succeeded
in finding a bird or flower new to him — but I have caught no mate for
my drake.

Several thousands of ducks have been examined in the hope, not merely
of finding rare ducks in the market or in the strings of gunners, but
especially for indications of a crossed breed. Often I have found ‘ blue
bills’ which could be assigned only with great difficulty to the species
Aythya affinis or to A. marila. Especially was this true of females.
Measurements have been found quite unreliable in deciding these cases,
for it is a common thing to find a male of A. affinis which is up to the
smaller measurements of A. marila , and often the flank markings are so
indefinite, and the head iridescence also, that no one could say with pre¬
cision what the bird was. Hybrids in these races are practically indefin¬
able.

But between the Mallard and Black Duck we expected to find crosses,
and also to be able to distinguish them with certainty. While it has been
a common experience to come across Black Ducks which show traces of
Mallard blood, as was Mr. Brewster’s experience, I have been unable to
find any Mallard which could be said to bear traces of a Black Duck in¬
fusion. It is true that these latter forms would be harder to distinguish,
but the young drakes and females were carefully examined with the possi¬
bilities fully in mind.

These traces of Mallard blood we have found most common in the form
recently described by Mr. Brewster as Anas obscura rubripes — birds
which we have habitually called “Winter” or “Big” Black Ducks in this
vicinity.

The hybrid here under notice exhibits strong Black Duck characters on
the head, neck and back. The pattern and dusky shade of the Black Duck
are also shown on all portions of the plumage, even where the Mallard
affinities are strongest. Mallard blood shows strongest in the white frame
of the speculum which is about one-half the typical width of white seen
in the Mallard, in the light shade and wavy cross vermiculations of the
scapulars, flanks and belly, in the blackish upper and under tail-coverts,
and in the green of the nape and sides of the crown.

This specimen was in prime physical condition, an adult male with the ■
testes unusually well developed considering the time of year. — Elon
Howard Eaton, Rochester , N. Y.

Auk, XX, Jan., 1903, p- V-

C aJM C

Auk, XX.11, Apr,, 1906, p ,

V_ajWt/')

9]/'^va., S. -$vt , '£nA&t'<>otsi&C''

I have also killed recently a very fine Albino
Mallard drake, a light cream color throughout.

(p+te.xn. m. /m./t. /«/

About plumage of the Mallard Drake: does j
not everybody know that the “green wing- 1
patch ” is constant with both sexes in all
plumages? The Drake does not always, at
least, don his bachelor coat in May, else the
expression “breeding plumage ” is a misnomer.

I have seen the drakes in full plumage as far
south as Central Kansas, as late as the middle
of June.

The moult of the summer plumage is really
not a moult but a chromatic change, such
| as certain hares and Ptarmigans undergo.
TIence, the effect is often “patchy,” as often
in tiie case of hares. This effect is the most
noticeable on the head and neck, which are
the last parts to change. 1 have heads, pre¬
served for the study of these very conditions,
the birds being taken in Kansas as late as
November. At that date and in that locality
the proportion of perfect male plumages,

|among the male birds, was from one-tliird to
one-fourth, roughly speaking. In some heads
the green feathers are generally diffused, in
others distributed in patches, none of them
having a “budding” appearance. Of all this,
more later.

A gentleman who kept a pair of American
Goldfinches in confinement lately told me that
the color of the plumage turned, in the spring,
from drab-olive to golden yellow, in less than
a week. Perhaps these changes have much in
common; though the age of the Mallard
Drake is certainly an important factor.

°.& Q, Y Qlq7 ,Mar.l8&2 fi bf'lo ^

Albinism and Melanism in North
American Birds* Ru.th.ven Deane,

cC

npu ^ J.. boschas , ^Casi~ la ^ ^

c*^

B oil. N-O.Q. 1,April, 1876, p. 23

Melanietic Plumages. R.Deane.

2. Anas boschas. Mallard. — Naumann (Yol. II, p. 589 ) says:

A very beautiful and very rare variety is black.” He mentions a male
in high breeding plumage, in which the whole plumage is so dark/that it
appears as though one saw the usual coloration through a pretty thick
black veil. „

Bull. N.Q.O. 5, Jan. ,1880, p.30

Brief Notes.

Much discussion was evoked sometime since
by the question of the change of plumage by
the Mallard Drake. Mr. Geo. E. Boardman, a
veteran naturalist and a careful observer, on a
recent visit to our office, stated that the $ Mal¬
lard loses its green head every season about May,
and resumes it again in the fall. In the inter¬
im it does not particularly resemble the £
as it has the green wing-patch, and the curled
tail, with a sort of mottled gray plumage. Mr.
Boardman ha.s shot this bird in New England
and in the West at all seasons of the year, and
is positive whereof he speaks. It is somewhat |
curious that this fact has so long been hidden
from the ken of the run of collectors if it has
been known.

O.fe O.Vol.l7,Jan.l892 p. 12

Breeding of the Mallard in New England. —With reference to
the statement in Stearns’s “New England Bird-Life,” that the authorities
do not appear to be aware of the breeding of the Mallard in New Eng¬
land, I receive a note from Mr. Elisha Slade of Somerset, Mass., to the
effect that the bird is a regular breeder in his neighborhood.— Elliott
Codes, Washington , D. C. Bull, N.O.O, S.JtUy. 1883 , p, /<f<£

I2 l6 ‘ A Mallard Duck's Nest in a Tree. By E. O. Brauns. Ibid., No
23, June 6, p. 536—Near Tracy, Minn., a Mallard appropriates an old
lawk x nest placed twenty feet from the ground in an oak'tree twenty feet
bom the nearest water. American Field. XXII 1

1379. Plumage of the Mallard Urane. r>y x. u. uuevto. “fu.M..,

22, Dec. 22, p. 428.—In the summer the drake looses his green head
. . . and the tuft of curly feathers on the tail.” J £0Z"£ - ‘.'XQe ; QC

1382. Grouse and Mallard Plumage. By Robert Ridgway. Ibid.,

No. 24, Dec. 25, p. 463.—“Specimens [of Grouse] not unfrequently occur,'
which it would be impossible to determine the sex of without dissec¬
tion.” The male of several species of Ducks assumes the plumage of
the female in the summer. F or. 8s Stream . Yol . XXIX [

704. Notes from Connecticut. By C. M. Jones. Ibid., p. 32.—A pair
of Mallards shot at Eastford, Conn., Oct. 30, 1882. Q-, 8 s OdVoLVIII

Plumage of the M allard. By J. L. Rooney. ®QR, & Stream. Vole 30
1219. Domesticating Wild Mallards. By James P. Beach. Ibid., No.

12, Sept. 19, p. 270. s/

1S22 A Tame Wild Duck. By H. C. Newell. Ibid., Nov. 7, p. 303.

-Anas obscura. For, & Stream, Yol, 33

1241. Mallards Breeding in Confinement. By A. A. Bogen. Ibid.,

No. 3.-July 17. American XXVI

Mountain Birds, Anas boschas ' Mallard.- This was found commonly on several

of Arizona. «*, « .he, , 8£)0 p

2 lallard’s 'ige ting Place. By Burr H. Polk. Ibid.,

XVIII, No. 22, p. 427.—wii the open prairie, in eastern Colorado. ^

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Boston
1879.
J an. 24

Harbor, Mass.

We next steamed in by Hull and tHence through intricate

channels between the islands, bach towards Boston. It was

here that we saw the greatest number of Duchs and irji some

places the flats and coves fairly swarmed with them. In one

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flock. There was no mistaking their vigorous spring as they

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wings

flight the light whitish under lining of a thousand^flashed for
a moment in the sunlight. They were all of this species that

were seen during the day.

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Oct.11
to

Nov.21.

Anas ooscnra .

Mass.

Late on October and early in November Mr.Heber Jones and
his son made a number of visits to the pond hole in the mead¬
ows just below Davis's Kill and on nearly every occasion they
found Black Ducks there. They killed six or eight in all and
two or three others were shot at about the same time in Goose
Pond but although.! was constantly on the river I did [not]see
a single bird of this species until Nov.14, when I found a Si
flock of four in the little bayou at the head of Beaver Dam
Rapid. I flushed them from the same place on the evening of
the 15th and Pat's son Jimmie said that he saw them on the
18th.

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Anas obsoura.

Nest taken by William Brewster, April I9th, 1897, in the
middle of a Cat Tail swamp off Concord Ave. between the Slaughter
House and the Fitchburg R. R. tracks.

Nest 10 in. across on the outside; 6 1/3 in. across on the
inside; 5 1/2 in. deep. There were thirteen eggs in the nest.

The nest was on the top of a tussock surrounded by water a
foot deep. The tussock was slightly oblong in shape and was 2 ft.
across The nest was overshadowed by Spiraea salicifolia and Rosa
and it had a runway on one side quite clear of grass and

bushes.

The swamp is a typical Cat Tail swamp, full of tussocks of a
Carex, presumably C. stricta. Scattered over the swamp is a good
deal of Alder, wild Rose and Meadow Sweet. At this season the
water is a good foot deep over the entire swamp, and in wading
through it one sinks in a good deal more.

I was one of the party on this trip.

Walter Deane.

Anas pbscura.

Concord, Mass. Migrating.

1897 . Late in the afternoon as I was standing under a green

]

Nov.20. and white dome of pine foliage in the rear of Ball's Hill I

heard the call of a Robin. I at once stepped out into the

I

open and looked up hoping to get a sight at the bird. I saw
instead a swarm of Black Ducks flying northward. Gilbert who
was near me at the time counted them twice making the number
53. I got only one count and made it 34. Ho doubt he was right.
The birds presently returned and circled over Holden's meadow,
then passed out of our sight towards the south. Migrating
Black Ducks nearly always go directly south past here in au¬
tumn and due north in spring.

I

Anas obscura .

jCambridge, Mass.

1897.
Dec.11.

1 1899.
Nov.29,

The Ducks (seen on Fresh Pond this morning among a large
flock of Gulls ) were scarcely less interesting for although
there were only eight of them they represented no less than
three different species; viz. Anas obscura . A. bosohas , and A.

( Hettion ) carolinonsis .

There were five Black Ducks and one Mallard; the latter,
a female, looked much brighter and browner than the Black
Ducks, and showed the white on the speculum distinctly. These
six birds kept together and well within the outer ranks of the
Gulls. Conscious, no doubt, of their absolute security while
surrounded by the alert, wary Gulls, the Ducks spent most of
their time sleeping with their heads buried in the feathers
(scapulars) of their backs rising and falling on the waves and
drifting before the wind like so many pieces of floating bark
for which, indeed, they might have been easily mistaken. But
every now and then they would raise their heads, close in to¬
gether, and swim back to the point whence they had drifted.

Spent most of the forenoon at Fresh Pond watching the
water fowl assembled there. Gulls and Ducks intermingled
covered an area of at least twenty acres . W.Deane counted
770 Gulls and I 150 Ducks. - The Ducks with a sin¬

gle exception (see note on Anas boschas ) were all Black Ducks.
They have been haunting the pond constantly, I am told, since

Anas obscura .

Cambr i dg e, Ma s s.

1899. early in October, but their numbers have increased of late

Nov.29. and they are gradually getting bolder and approaching the

( 2 ). shores nearer. On the 24th I saw a dozen or more within gun¬
shot of the shore off the hemlock grove and yesterday others
had worked in equally near the Tudor shore. This morning they
were farther out and scattered everywhere among the Gulls al¬
though not at all evenly for in places there were single birds
or pairs only while in others fifteen or twenty were collected
in a close bunch. They were very active and noisy at times
swimming rapidly to and fro and quacking loudly but they did
not seem to be feeding. Sometimes two birds would meet and
go through a curious performance nodding their heads up and
down either together or alternately as if saluting one another,
keeping this up for a minute or more. Again a single bird

v

would swim very rapidly for yards with its head and neck
stretched out flat on the water and its body deeply immersed
looking loke a dark line drawn on the surface. Of course
there was much plunging, feather-preening and thrashing of
the water and not infrequently several birds would plunge
their heads and necks beneath the surface and raising them
suddenly scatter a shower of drops over their backs, at the
same time beating the water with their wings. Once six or
eight birds rose and flew up to windward diving from on wing
in rapid succession and not only disappearing beneath the

Anas obscura .

Cambridge, Llass.

1899. surface but remaining under in some instances' for nearly
Nov.29. half-a-minute then rising on wirjg and diving again, never

( 3 ). from a greater height than five or six feet.

Constantly present by day in Fresh Pond up to the time
December. its surface was completely closed by ice (the night of the
28th) in numbers usually exceeding 100 and sometimes reaching
150 to 1G0. They became tamer or more daring as the season
advanced approaching the shore to within a few yards and
sometimes swimming quite in and Inading on the rocky beach
where they would walk about or stand erect preening their
feathers and basking in the sun until startled by the ap¬
proach of a carriage, bicycle or pedestrian when they would
fly out and alight in the middle of the pond. The flock
scattered over nearly the whole pond at times but I saw no
birds in the cove where the fountain discharges the incoming
water although the whole assemblage often drifted well down
into Cambridge nook. The place often rang with their quack¬
ing when the air was still.

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Collection of Reginald Heber Howe, Jr.

* “

*■ ■ *

A.O.U.No.

133.

133.

133.

Coll.No.

733.

433.

734.

Name.

Anas obscura.

A. obscura.

A. obscura.

Locality.

Cobb's Isl.Va.

Cobbs Isl.Va.

Cobbs Isl.Va

Date.

Dec .28,1898.

Dec.31,1898.

Dec.27,1893

Sex.

Male.

Hal e.

Female.

Length.

24.54.

25.40.

22.60.

Wing.

11.70.

11.90.

10.61.

Tail.

4,50.

4.65.

4.00.

Tarsus.

1.75.

2.10.

1.75.

Bill (Culmen).

2.15.

2.30.

2.10.

Color of

Upper Mandible.

Yellow,
black tip.

Yellow.

Yellow,
black tip.

Color of

Lower Mandible.

Yellow,
black tip.

Yellow.

Yellow,
black,tip.

Color of Tarsus.

Orange.

Carmine.

Orange.

Color of Feet.

Orange.

Carmine.

Orange.

Color of Web.

Black.

Black.

Black.

Color of Iris.

Brown.

Brown.

Brown.

Contents of Stomach.

(Shells and v

emal1 shell

1 fish,eel

( Sand and
[eel .grass.

Collected by

tee! grass. (

G.C.Shat tuck
and party.

grass ax.d gravel.

G.C.Shattuck
and party.

jr.

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xXX

Birds within Ten Miles of Point
deMontS) Can, Comeau&Merriai.

107 . Anas obsoura. Black Duck. —A tolerably common summer
resident, breeding about the fresh water lakes.

Bull, N,Q.O, 7,Got, 1882 , p,239

Summer Birds of Sudbury, Out.

A, H. Alberger,

133. Black Duck. Black Mallard. Abun¬
dant^ Breeds.

O, XV, 5026,1390, P..Q7

972 . The Ducks of this Locality [ Oitatva , Canada~\. By W. P. Lett.
Trans. Ottawa Field-Naturalists'' Club , No. 4 , pp. 5 2 '^4-—following
species are treated at length : Anas obscura , A. boschas , yL# sjbonsa ,

« ^uerquedula carolinensis , discors, Dafila acuta, Fuligula fenna amer-
icana, Mergus merganser , A/, serrator , d/. cucullatus . and Clangula

glaucium. Various other species are mentioned more briefly, the paper
altogether forming an important review of the Anatidse of Ottawa.

Breeding Dates of Birds in Kings
County, N. S. Watson L. Bishop.

’ Dusky Duck, May 25, 26, 28. These were
also found on the Gaspereaux Lakes.

O.&O. xm.Mar. 1888 p.4-5

Dwight, Summer Birds of
Prince Edward Island,

Anas obscura. Black Duck. —This is the only Duck of whose
presence I have conclusive evidence. I saw a brood on a fresh water lake
near Souris, and I found dried up on the sand one day the carcass of an
adult. In several other localities I heard of nests having been found.

Auk X, Jan, 1893. P»

Birds of N.E. coast of Labrador
by Henry B. Bigelow.

27 . Anas obscura. Black Duck. — Rather rare. We saw very few
Black Ducks, ar.d of those few most were south of Hamilton Inlet. Ap¬
parently restricted to the inland ponds. Attk, XIX, Jan., 1902, p.27.

Some Winter Birds of Nova Scotia, By C. H. Morrell.

3 . Anas obscura. Black Duck. — Common along shore all winter.

Auk, XVI, July, 1899, 457-

General notes.

Notes on Cape Breton Summer Birds.
Francis H. Allen.

Anas obscura.

Auk XIX. Jan. 1895 P. 89

NewfoundlandNotes. A Trip up the
' Humber Liver, Aug. 10 - Sept. 24,1899,,

6 . Anas obscura. Black Duck. — Breeds abundantly.

Louis H, Porter, New York City.
Auk, XVII, Jan., 1900, p. 7 /

\S6

Unusual Nesting Site of the Black Duck (Anas obscura ).-During
the past two years I had the pleasure of discovering two instances of
remarkable deviation from the hitherto well known and universally
recognized nesting habits of our common Black Duck (Anas obscura).
The first instance occurred June 10, 1904, when, on a small island in the
St. Lawrence River, a pair of these ducks had taken possessioni oi an
old crow’s nest, and on the date of discovery had laid ten eggs The nest
was saddled on a limb of a large elm, forty-five feet from he ground
With the exception of a liberal supply of down furnished by the bird the

nest was in its original condition and so completely was it concealed by
the foliage that the presence of the duck in her snug retreat would never
have been suspected had she not been accidently observed flying to the
tree. The difficulty I experienced in photographing the nest adds to the
value of the excellent negative I secured.

April 29, 1905, I located the second nest; in this case, owing to the
bareness of the trees, concealment was impossible. The duck had laid
ten eggs in a last year’s nest of the Red-shouldered Hawk in a basswood
tree fifty feet up, and the appearance of this large bird sitting on her
nest among the naked branches was truly most unique. .

In the different works on American ornithology to which I have had
access, none of the writers refer in any way to this phase of the bird’s
life but in a book on English natural history entitled ‘ Lakes and Streams
by C. O. G. Napier, published in England in 1879, the writer speaks of
the Mallard (Anas boschas) as having been found nesting “in a crow’s
nest at least thirty feet from the ground.”

In the two cases I have cited the ducks successfully brought off their
broods but by what means they conveyed them to the neighboring marsh
I could not ascertain. Both nests were in trees overlooking extensive
marshes and in different parts of the county being, possibly, twenty miles
apart.— Edwin BEAUPRf), Kingston, Ont. Q

■■■ . 2 '^ ' '■

Birds of Toronto, Ontario.

By James K.Fleming.

Pt.I, Water 3irds.

Auk, XXIII, Get., 1905, p.444.

31. Anas obscura. Black Duck.— Common migrant, March and
April- the first return in August (rarely in July), plentiful in October and
November; earliest record March 15, 1899, latest December 6, 1897.

This is the breeding form in southern Ontario north at least to the
Muskoka Lakes; a female taken alive on her nest at Barnsdale, Lake
Joseph, in May, 1905, belonged to this form, and it is no doubt the breed¬
ing form much further north.

Birds of Magdalen Islands.

Dr. L.B.Biahop.

16 . Anas obscura. Black Duck. —Common summer resident, breed¬
ing in the marshes bordering the small fresh-water ponds in the close neigh¬
borhood of the saltwater.

\S7

Auk, TL April, 1889. p. i4«

v //tty O77far/o.

Another Tagged Bird heard from.— Mr. J. T. Miner of Kingsville, Ont.,
has a number of wild ducks in semi-domestication along with geese and
pheasants. Each year he has interesting experiences with wild birds,
which are attracted by the presence of their kind.

Last fall his Black Ducks attracted a wild one of the same species on
August 5, and within a few weeks the bird became so tame, that it could be
handled. Mr. Miner then put a ring around its leg, and left it at liberty
as before. About Dec. 15, it left, and the following letter from Mr. W. E.
Bray, Anderson, South Carolina, gives subsequent history.

Anderson, S. C.

On Friday evening, Jan. 14, I was hunting on Hockey River near this
city, and killed a wild duck, with a band on his leg marked Box 48 Kings¬
ville, Ont.

I supposed who ever sent him out wanted to hear from him, so I am
writing to let you know where he came to his end. He was a very fine
specimen. I must commend him for his judgment, for he came to the best
county in the best state in America.

If you will let me hear from you, I will return the band I took from his
leg. So hoping you will send me his pedigree, I will close until I hear from
you. Send me your address in full. W. E. Bray.

Mr. Miner writes that Mr. Bray has since sent him the identical ring
which was on the Duck’s leg.

Kingsville lies on the north shore of Lake Erie, about twenty-five miles
from the east end of the lake.— W. E. Saunders, London, Ontario.

Auk 2% Apr -1810 p. a z/-

15 $

Birds of upper St, John.
B&tckeider.

}h Ca. laaJL,

99 . Anas obscura Gm. Black Duck. — “Very common, breeding”
at Moulton.

BuJJ.N.0.0, 7,July,18S2. P.151

Summer Birds Tim Pond Me. by F. H. C.

Black Mallard, (Anas obscura). A small flock
remained in “Mud ” pond for about a week. This
pond is separated from Tim Pond by a beaver dam.

O.&O. XI. Feb. 1880. p. Hi'

\

59

Slfelburne, N. H^Aug. 8-29-1865. R. D. ^

1 '-^Cy^Y t^jyfiZZy <~Y_

&£*o* tA-a. ;

/fc-

Z<Zrxi yZt*. nZCt

1 720

/yU^e-^f _ Zu^-f ,/y, Rye Beach, N.H. 1866.

. 0 y * 0 /

CZu^e^i /yvH <uaS>-^ . — iw j_/ «2.V Rye Beach, N, H. 1867.

J tfi Zl.fi.

dU **IV — Ju^./v /y Rye Beach, N.H. 1868.

y\ . ^ /J~ (1

Ua^^I frv-4 c**A-o~ . - flyjJLj &0 y {Zuy.z ^ ,i0'lo t L(, f l? Ry® Beach, N.H. 1871.

—r“- /

y , f tf SL H if /

U vl&J &4<)UsXc ^,_ Jody ! Zu^.t, f t /y f /(, Rye Beach, N.H.1872.

/

/m

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t 4 ^_ tt^cf 4^0^^

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3 1 , O/Ju r h 6 E : Masa - 1880.

Princeton <& Kuti^hd, Mass.'Aig. 2-1886 rr^

J5, iteuu/y Cv. Km & .

4v. 21-23. g/. - X/ - W'OvJC. Great Ic

. Winctie^don, Mass. June, 1888,, x 4

Q*ua/) rine*u , *3 f cty

Gr ^i?; Mass - D ®c'; 18^, £* ^ *»*

■Afass. {near Concord'). 1887

Mass. (near Concord').

Mass, {near Concord').

1888

APR 5--f- -/‘Z-

AviA# &&4e**AjeL .

Mass, {near Concord').

int,

0UT.X7 3 -

I'flrt,

i'lasa ‘

C 3 O'

& V r

t

f J jd^L ./> /iW

Z* V—-

Birds of Bristol County, Mass,
F.W. Andros.

Atas obscura Gmel., Black Duck. Mi¬
grant, common. A few breed.

KOteB. on Birdsof Winchendon, Mass.

William Brewster.

Anas obscura.—Mr. Bailey sees a few Black Ducks every summer but
they are much less numerous at that season than in spring and autumn.
Early in June, 1888 , he found on the bank of a brook, the shells of several
eggs that had probably hatched a few days before.

Auk, V, Oct,, 1888, p.390

2 . Anas obscura.

. Auk, V, Oct., 1888. p.389

Ducks of Cobasset, Mass., 1860-92

O.H.E. Boston, Mass.

4. Black Duck (133). Common during the
fall migration.

0.&O.Vol.17, June,1892 p;90

Mass.

>)•

/

■- ^'1'^M. -J i'i ''.y/C t-tiJK.

D

ujztCi

S~w *$r

. . L ' ' ' c'r t?<, -

& £

T*H-vO £,

-Mf-y *£, huiyU

General Notes.

From the 13 th to the 20 th of October, 1894 , was the flight week for
Black Ducks (Anas obscura), about 300 hirds being noted passing south,
the largest flock containing over fifty, <n? '%■aoha^ff fyuuiA.,

Auk XII. Jan. 1896 p f 77

General Notes.

Summer Birds of Central Berkslure
Country, Mass. Franeia H. Allen. " ,8 “* w

i. Anas obscura. Black Duck. —One pair seen in Stockbridge.

auk- XII. oan. 1896 v» 60

Auk, XIII, April, 1896, p.. J**Z .

cT~U^ •

Anas obscura. — Ponkapog Pond, Massachusetts, October 21 , 1895 - The
first flock of migratory Black Ducks (eighteen in number) of the season
came into the pond to-day, thirteen of which were killed. — George H.
Mackay, Nantucket , Mass.

Anas o'bscura

VOL. XIII. JULY, 1896 . NO. 3 .

Auk, XIII, July, 1890, p ft/9}>-Zo</,

THE DUCKS OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY, MASSACHU¬

SETTS.

BY HERBERT K. JOB.

Whatever may be the claims of other sections of New England,
it is certain that Plymouth County, Mass., especially the southern
half, is notably a favorite resort of the Ducks. Every one of the
twenty-eight species attributed to New England has been noted
within the last ten years.

The topographical conditions are specially favorable for their
occurrence and capture. The county has an extended and varied
coast-line, with good feeding grounds. Of the latter there are
two specially notable, — Plymouth Bay on the east, and Buzzard’s
Bay on the south. Another minor feeding ground is in the south¬
west corner of Cape Cod Bay, wdrere the townships of Plymouth
and Bourne adjoin, — the South Plymouth resort. A few miles
south of Plymouth Bay is a projection called Manomet Point, one
of the finest spots for sea shooting on the whole New England
coast. Vast hordes of ducks go by here in the autumn into Cape
Cod Bay. The number is less in the spring, as the greater body,
flying north, is deflected seaward by the convex side of Cape Cod,
while in the flight south they suddenly find themselves hemmed in
by the up-curving arm of the Cape.

Southern Plymouth County is well termed the ‘ Lake Region of
Massachusetts.’ It is full of ponds, and is drained mainly by
the Taunton River and its tributaries. The largest bodies of
fresh water in the State are found here. Assowompsett Pond,
the greatest in area, is a broad oval sheet, shallow, three miles
long by two across. The next is Long Pond, close by, four miles
long by over a mile in width. These and a number of others
comprise a distinct group, known as the Lakeville Ponds. East¬
ward, in the southern part of old Plymouth town, a region of
veritable wilderness, is another large group. Then, north and
west, in Kingston, Halifax and vicinity, is still another group, the
largest being Monponsett Pond and Silver Lake, the latter a noted
spot for shooting geese. Many of the Fuligulinae daily enter
these ponds lying near the coast to obtain fresh water and to feed.

C. A. PORTER, M. D.

OFFICE HOURS:

UNTIL 9 A. M , 2 TO 3 AND 7 P. M.

254 BEACON STREET.

Telephone.

March 26, 1902.

My dear Mr. Brewster

Mr. Richie Simpkins sent
me a duck two weeks ago, which he shot
at Palmer’s Island, Currituck. I do not
know in just what condition the bird is,
but I thought I would tell you aboxit it,
and see if you would be interested to
send your man in to get it. The bird is
undoubtedly a black duck, the head, wings,
tail and feet are normal, and appe: r to
have belonged to a bird in the second
year.. The whole body and lower part of
the neck is covered with fluffy down,
which one would expect in a duckling of
a few months.

I have had Dr. Harding, a derma¬
tologist see the specimen, and he said

over

that it appeared to him to be an anomaly
of growth, so that feathers could not be
formed, and in their place only down
grew. It seemed to me that the bird

___. _ M,

might be suffering from some dermatitis
or similar skin disease.

The specimen interested me, and
I thought that it might you. Should you
care to see it, and to send in your man,

1 will leave word with the servant to
give it to you, and. I am curious to knov/
what you think about it.

Faithfully yours,

/ir, r Vw w MjUm

ft—1

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Jumm^ bAK-ccA ~Z^Atwv 5v

Dead River Region, Mo. F.E.O.

)SC „m, (Black Mallard). Common
ms ponds of the region in Septem-

* V ' i -

W^l\

(K

A*~>sJ~V ^ttaSCwa^A.
*7 ctVwN. U /'/aw

ey afford good shooting. Several
ipers were seen in June along the
,nd several farmers informed me of
the nests and eggs of this species,
jsequent attempts at hatching and
iveniles.

178

8.&0.

XI. Dec. 1886. p.

them at liberty, and together they started
on a run through Main street, continuing
foi forty rods before they turned aside, a
distance which they accomplished inside
of five minutes; for the little things could
run like squirrels. This ocuurred on the
5th of May, and implies that the eggs
must have been laid much earlier than I
supposed was customary with the species.

There was no water near and they seemed
traveling from one creek overland to
another, nearly a half ^6^17.^ As2. p. /**

hologist’s Summer in Labrador
M. Abbott Frazar.

Anas obscura, Black Luck. -Not common, ]
but a few pair found breeding on the islands; s
the nests being generally placed upon the out-
reaching branches of stunted spruces, which
seldom attain at highest, above four feet. One
nest was fully two hundred yards from the sea,
and another which contained nine eggs, was
distant at least one hundred yards from the
water. The natives say they return year aftei
year to the same nest.

O.&O. XII.Feb. 1887. p./f.

Clarlc , Old Saybrook, Conn.

The Dusk y Duck breeds sparingly. A
nest was found April 30. It was hollowed
out at the foot of an old haystack, and

extended in twenty-seven inches, being
completely hidden by a curtain of hay
hanging over the entrance. It contained
ten eggs; incubation slight. The nest
would not have been found had it not been
for the old bird hissing like a snake as I
passed by it. A farmer found a set of
thirteen eggs of this Duck and hatched
them all under a common hen, and at latest
information all were living, awaiting the
ignoble end of perishing at the block.

O.&sO. |X,0ci,1884.p. Ui~

io36 . suc^fff S' u Clark '

Ibid., No. 12 , p. 93-—J- A - A '

No. r6, April

| x f u

Lis -ssssss ’■ ““ «a **

Connecticut, June, 1893 ,

One of my neighbors,
sitting by a window, had his attention
called to a brood of young ducks running
across the street. It was an old Black-
duck and her young. He saw them enter
a cow-yard, and in one corner she called
her brood under her wings and covered
them. As he went near she flew some fif¬
teen rods and watched his movements,
quacking her displeasure as he proceeded
to capture her young ones. He secured
ten of them, all the brood but two. After
he had examined all he cared to he set
them at liberty, and together they started
on a run through Main street, continuing
foi forty rods before they turned aside, a
distance which they accomplished inside
of five minutes; for the little things could
run like squirrels. This ocuurred on the
5th of May, and implies that the eggs
must have been laid much earlier than I
supposed was customary with the species.
There was no water near and they seemed
traveling from one creek overland to

^6^17^1^882

Clark , Old Sayorook, Conn.

The Dusk y Duck breeds sparingly. A
nest was found April 30. It was hollowed
out at the foot of an old haystack, and

extended in twenty-seven inches, being
completely hidden by a curtain of hay
hanging over the entrance. It contained
ten eggs; incubation slight. The nest
would not have been found had it not been
for the old bird hissing like a snake as I
passed by it. A farmer found a set of

Birds of Dead River Region, Me. F. E. 0
| 97 Anas obxotra, (Black Mallard). Common

I in the numerous ponds of the region in Septem¬
ber, when they afford good shooting. Several
broods of flappers were seen in June along the
Dead Kiver, and several farmers informed me ot
the finding of the nests and eggs of this species,
and their subsequent attempts at hatching and
rearing the juveniles.

O.&O. XI. Deo. 1886. p. 173

An Ornithologist’s Summer in Labrador
M. Abbott Frazar.

Anas obscura , Black Duck. -Not common, i
but a few pair found breeding on the islands; i
the nests being generally placed upon the out-
reaching branches of stunted spruces, which
seldom attain at highest, above four feet. One
nest was fully two hundred yards from the sea, j
and another which contained nine eggs, was ;
distant at least one hundred yards from the
water. The natives say they return year after
year to the same nest. I

O.&O. XII. Feb.1887.p. /?.

_ 2 ; r fUt S 1

thirteen eggs of this Duck and hatched
them all under a common hen, and at latest
information all were living, awaiting the
ignoble end of perishing at the block;

'stC •fan*, fttiurt-tfbii,

frtf.

O.&O. IX,0ci.l884.p. Us-

Vol. X~|

1893 J

Allen on the Nesting of the Black Duck.

53

THE NESTING OF THE BLACK DUCK ON PLUM

ISLAND.

BY CHARLES SLOVER ALLEN.

(. Plates I and IT.')

Although having an area of but a few hundred acres, Plum
Island is so varied in its topograph}' and so rich in bird life that
it proves a most interesting little world of its own. The nar¬
row eastern portion consists of high, rocky, upland pastures,
without a tree or bush. In the miniature valleys each tiny pond
has its pair of noisy Killdeers whose nearest neighbors are the
Plovers on the hillside and the Nighthawks breeding on the
rocky ledges. The whole north shore forms a long, irregular
sand cliff of considerable height, thickly studded with huge
glacial boulders; some stranded on the beach were thirty feet
high, while others showed great rocky masses far out in the
water. Prior to 1885 , when ‘Old Jerome’ still owned the
island and his law of absolute protection was in full force, there
were but few of these boulders that were not crowned with Fish
Hawks’ nests, to which the Kingfishers paid their visits, like the
minstrels of old to the castles of the Vikings. The Swallows
had located their colonies in the lesser sand banks of the southern
shore that gradually became a broad beach with low scattered
sand hills to the westward where the island broadened out into
a great rolling sandy plain. Terns were breeding in the drift and
sedge close to the beach at South Point. As everywhere else
upon this island, Fish Hawks were nesting here by the hundred,
on the few isolated and dwarfed trees, and on the ground where-
ever there was a little sand hill or by the side of each convenient
stump, stake, or piece of stranded timber. Sandpipers, Meadow¬
larks, Sparrows and the like were fearlessly nesting within a few
yards of them. Even in the densely populated strip of fairly
heavy timber, some eight or ten acres in extent, the Fish Hawks
were on the very best of terms with all their smaller neighbors,
save only the Crows that represented the criminal element of this
community, and a large rookery of Night Herons that persisted
in occupying that swampy corner of the woods that merged into
and were in part surrounded by the great fresh water marsh in the
centre of the island. In this marsh it was that I finally found my

Ducks transporting Fresh-water Clams.-In a conversation with Mr. J.
w Freese of Cambridge in relation to birds transporting bodies in then-
claws my attention was called to an interesting observation made by Mr.
Eugene Barry of Lynn. As the observation seems an important one, touch¬
ing a possible cause of the distribution of these mollusks, I have asked Mr.
Ban-v, through the kindness of Mr. Freese, to write out his experience,
and from the letter which he has kindly sent in reply the following ab¬
stract is made. . , „ . ,.

While gunning on the Sebec River, Maine, he noticed among a flock of
Ducks on the wing, one bird which flew more heavily than the others.
This he shot, and on picking it up found a common -fresh-water clam
attached to the penultimate joint of the ‘middle toe.’ He cut off the leg
with the clam adhering to it, and noticed that the articulation to which the
mollusk had fastened itself was chafed as if the clam had clung to it for
sometime. After a day or more the leg of the Duck and the clam, which
had not yet released its hold, were put into a basin of water, when the
mollusk opened its "shell and released the imprisoned foot. Mr. Barry
afterwards learned from boys of the neighborhood that the same Duck had
been noticed flying about on several mornings and evenings previous to the
day upon which he shot it. The clam was probably clinging to the Duck’s
foot at that time, and had not released its grip even when the Duck lit
upon the water, as it must frequently have done in the intervals of time
between observation.—J. Walter Fewkes, Cambridge , Mass.

Auk, I, April, 1884. p.

n°

Ducks transporting Fresh-water Clams.—In a conversation with Mr. J.
tf. Freese of Cambridge in relation to birds transporting bodies in then-
laws, my attention was called to an interesting observation made by Mr.
iuo-ene Barry of Lynn. As the observation seems an important one, touch-
nga possible cause of the distribution of these mollusks, I have asked Mr.
3arry through the kindness of Mr. Freese, to write out his experience,
ind from the letter which he has kindly sent in reply the following ab¬
stract is made. . „ . „

While gunning on the Sebec River, Maine, he noticed among a flock of

Ducks on the wing, one bird which flew more heavily than the others.
This he shot, and on picking it up found a common -fresh-water clam
attached to the penultimate joint of the ‘middle toe.’ He cut off the leg
with the clam adhering to it, and noticed that the articulation to which the
mollusk had fastened itself was chafed as if the clam had clung to it for
sometime. After a day or more the leg of the Duck and the clam, which
had not yet released its hold, were put into a basin of water, when the
mollusk opened its shell and released the imprisoned foot. Mr. Barry
afterwards learned from boys of the neighborhood that the same Duck had
been noticed flying about on several mornings and evenings previous to the
day upon which he shot it. The clam was probably clinging to the Duck’s
foot at that time, and had not released its grip even when the Duck lit
upon the water, as it must frequently have done in the intervals of time
between observation.—J. Walter Fewkes, Cambridge, Mass.

Auk, I, April, 1884. p.

n°

C6u-as

/<($!-3jT

cS~X t i<WtAU4^ ^<-*->. £C*~ C— -7

The Black Duck Controversy Again. — During the last two years,
1911 and 1912, I have been much interested in a pair of wild Black Ducks,
apparently adult birds, that nested near a shallow pond back in the woods
at my place, Newton Centre, Mass. In 1911 they raised a brood of ten
young flappers, and while in 1912 they again nested there, I am unable to
say what became of the young, as I was forced to let the water out of the
pond before the time of their hatching. The old birds from their habits
were very apparently the same pair that returned each spring, and they
were of the so-called green-legged kind.

While at Monomoy Island, Mass., during the last two weeks of October,
1912, with a couple of friends, we shot a number of Black Duck of the red-
legged kind (there. were no green legs), among which were several that were
apparently young birds; and on October 25 there fell to one of our guns
a female, which from its size, plumage, and general characteristics, was so
evidently young that there could be no possible doubt about it. I person¬
ally skinned and sexed this specimen, which showed its immaturity in all
those ways familiar to those who handle birds. It must have been one of a
very late brood, for its' upper mandible was a steel gray, and had not yet
begun to show those shades of light olive green of the adult bird, and the
‘ nail ’ at the end of the upper mandible was hardly darker than the rest
of the bill, and nothing like the dark and glossy black of the adult bird.
The lower mandible was pinkish and still quite soft and pliable, as in the
case of very young ducks, and the bird, had red legs.

Let us hope that this is the final nail in the coffin of the Black Duck
controversy, and that it may hold so securely that even Dr. Dwight may
not again resurrect the corpse in some post-mortem or pre-cherubic plum¬
age.— F. II. Kennabd, Boston, Mass.

■ Xxx.^vt., /o6<

(Zw'v —

The Black Duck Controversy Again.— During the last two years,
1911 and 1912, I have been much interested in a pair of wild Black Ducks,
apparently adult birds, that nested near a shallow pond back in the woods
at my place, Newton Centre, Mass. In 1911 they raised a brood of ten
young flappers, and while in 1912 they again nested there, I am unable to
say what became of the young, as I was forced to let the water out of the
pond before the time of their hatching. The old birds from their habits
were very apparently the same pair that returned each spring, and they
were of the so-called green-legged kind.

While at Monomoy Island, Mass., during the last two weeks of October,
1912, with a couple of friends, we shot a number of Black Duck of the red-
legged kind (there.were no green legs), among which were several that were
apparently young birds; and on October 25 there fell to one of our guns
a female, which from its size, plumage, and general characteristics, was so
evidently young that there could be no possible doubt about it. I person¬
ally skinned and sexed this specimen, which showed its immaturity in all
those ways familiar to those who handle birds. It must have been one of a
very late brood, for its upper mandible was a steel gray, and had not yet
begun to show those shades of light olive green of the adult bird, and the
‘ nail ’ at the end of the upper mandible was hardly darker than the rest
of the bill, and nothing like the dark and glossy black of the adult bird.
The lower mandible was pinldsh and still quite soft and pliable, as in the
case of very young ducks, and the bird had red legs.

Let us hope that this is the final nail in the coffin of the Black Duck
controversy, and that it may hold so securely that even Dr. Dwight may
not again resurrect the corpse in some post-mortem or pre-cherubic plum¬
age. — F. H. Kennard, Boston, Mass.

wl, (ft 3, ft. /o6>

m

Birds observed in Naval Hospital
Grounds. BrooMyn,” G. H, Oouas

58. Anas obscura. Dusky Duck. - One specimen seen.

Bali N.O.O. 4, Jan.. 1879. p .33

Birds of the Adirondack Region.
O. H.Merriam.

155- Anas obscura, Gmelin. Black Duck.-A tolerably common
summer resident. : '' u ““ non

Bull N, 0.0, e,Oct,X881, P.234

JrWc. Ijlaaaeaa Soo« sf N«T t 88-89

Si.tf.5, I.io also exhib-

ited two nestlings of the Black Duck (Anas obscura ) and fragments of one
| of the eggs, showing the perforated line around the larger end made by
the young bird for escaping. This line is always made to the right.

i r . - 183' P /^7-

Birds TlOga Oo, N. Y. Alden Loving,

602. Black Mallard. Occasionally found in
the .spring in the ponds and standing pools
from overflows.

0 4 &0 3 XV, June, 1390, p.&B

.Winter Notes from Stephento-wn, N. Y

Ben j amin Hoag.

Flocks of Black Ducks noted as late as
Christmas.

O.&O.V 0 I.I 8 , Jan.1893 p.ll

'Vva/C;

\ V of , 1 150 * -

3 c fa

Black Mallard. Not common.

Vuji^ <5

E. A. Sterling, Brooklyn, Pa. ,

J Auk, XIX, July, 1902, p.299.

Nesting of the Black Duck in Yates County, N. Y. — May 26, 1907, I
found a nest of the Black Duck (Anas rubripes) in Potter Swamp. The
locality was a young second growth of maple, beech and ash of four to eight
inches in diameter. The ground was nearly dry and covered with a rank
growth of ferns and skunk cabbage. The female was flushed from a
bunch of six small maples growing from a mound about three feet above
the surrounding ground and there in the center of the bunch of trees were
six eggs layed on a few broken fern stems and dead leaves.

On my next visit (June 2) there were nine eggs and a nice lot of down
had been placed around and among the eggs. A farmer told Mr. C. F.
Stone of finding a nest of this duck in Potter Swamp in 1892 or 1893, but
this is the first authentic record to my knowledge.— Verdi Burtch,
Brcmchport, N. Y. Auk 27. Apt-1010 p.

/7P

t '’'/•^'t/L'tsl*' .

But the best specimen of an Albino that has
ever come to my notice, is to be seen in the
window of Mr. H. Krueger’s gun store of this
city, in the shape of an almost pure Albino
Mallard which was killed by H. Rippe on Oct.

last near this place.

The general color is a pure snow white with
the exception of a few traces of brown on the
breast, and light gray marking on the back, the
top and sides of head are the normal color of a
? Mallard, the wings show slight greenish
reflections in the proper place, the tail is also
slightly mottled with dark. I was unable to
find out the sex, but think it is a female.

O &0. XIII. Dec. 1888 p.184

Editor of O. & 0.:

Knowing yon to be well acquainted with t he
birds of this region, I am going to impose upon
your time for a few moments to ask a question
or two about the “Black Duck,” as we call
it here, the Anas obscura , and to give you an
observation which perhaps may be so well
known to you that you will think it scarcely
worth the trouble to answer.

During the first two weeks in December,
1890, I shot a good many of the above-named
ducks upon a small stream in this vicinity, and
upon two occasions, when the thermometer
was very low, I found the bills of the ducks
were a very bright orange yellow, and the feet
were much more brilliant red. Saturday, De¬
cember 13th, I shot five of these birds and
three, which were males, had these brilliant
yellow hills. The temperature on this day was

_ 5 ° at 7 a.m., and did not rise above +6° at

any time during the day. On bringing the
birds into the house and laying them on the
rug before an open fire the bills and feet be¬
came their usual color. This has occurred to
me several times this winter and only upon
very cold days.

Now I would like to ask if this is a usual
occurrence, or was it only accidental that the
cold weather and the color of the bills wore as
above stated? I never in the course of my
reading noticed any remark about the matter,
and do not suppose it of much consequence,
but never have I seen in such horny matter as
the bill so complete a change in a few moments.

I hope I have not troubled you too much,
and that you will deign to answer some time
when you have leisure.

Arthur Talbot Lincoln , M.D.

Dennysville, Me.

[A few days since the writer had occasion to
call on a party who had just received a number
of Eider Ducks. As they lay spread out on
a board the bright chrome bills of the males
were very noticeable. Two days later when
they came into our office not a trace of the
color was to be seen; all had turned to the
slaty shade. The bills of the Scoters, Wood
Ducks, etc., all lose their brilliant color in a
few hours after death.— Ed.]

O&O.XVI, March. 1 891, P.

BLACK DUCKS FROM A BATTERY

grounds, in the evening many are shot wPilo
ying up the course of the rivers to the ponds or rivpr

SHF 1

e / ‘ llwa y s , do > ™der ordinary circumstances
The suooter by lying down or hiding behind a havstack
wd get many good shots in a short time One of the
■ Peaces that I ever knew m the vicinity of New Haven
is on the Qummpiac River, just above “the brickyards ”
where there are hundreds of acres of wild oats stretching
far and wide, Where they feed every night. (It is also a
most famous place for rail shooting in the fall).

Many black ducks are shot in the winter by the shooter
covering himself with a white sheet when the snow
covers the shores, and also by lyino- on a bis- J? w

on a blanket near the channel. When the ^ide^ises the
ducks swim up the channel to feed on the roots of ti e
sedge and to dig up with their bills the small lono- cl-ims
that are found along the shores. S clams

This practice of shooting black ducks in the dead of
winter should be prohibited by law. The ducks are then
miserably poor and rank in flavor. The black duck is too

ffifithev ltS Se r aS n n ’ to be destr oyed in this way. In the
fall they are fully as good, and many think better than
the tame duck or the mallard. ’ tilan

Alluding to the extreme wariness of the black duck T

usual habite^a flock rflboutfifteen ' blac^dS were to !

lontw 6Very da f not umrethanthii^ reds from '
ongWharL nor more than fifteen rods from where the
f' i ; &JN - R - depot now stands. Although men
the dnckA Were ,?? Smg ever y few uiinutes on the wharf
in the season *** “ 0 attenti ° n *° ife This was early

Whether these ducks were reared near some farmhouse
where they saw men and teams every day, with all the
usual noises about a farmhouse, and were not disturbed
and so had more confidence and faith in mankind than
wfk < f ld S0< m af * erwal 'd, is more than I can say but it
Th^r f 16 i lk ? th ® m ° st Probable solution of the question
They fed and played about there “with such a shocking
tameness as to attract considerable notice. And I am
sorey to say (?) that I was the first one to destroy tCt

But as all men and ducks find out sooner or later that

they cannot put much faith in man. I thought it best to

utter folly. leU mmdS ° f tBat ldea at once > and to see its

th^ tlm ? 1 "p ad a battery, the same as those used on
the Chesapeake Bay. I proposed to a storekeeper on Long
Wharf, and lie was an old duck shooter, the bringffif
down to his store of my battery, and there to launch it°
and he to let his man' assist me and to pick up any ducks
that I might shoot, which he agreed to do- but hp vp_
marked that “Their man would have no ducks to pick up ”
and all that. ‘Who ever heard of black ducks being shot
on then open feeding grounds from a battery.” Well the
battery was launched and towed out to the place I selected
llie decoys, about a dozen of white-winged coot decovs
the nearest thing I had, were properly set. y ’

I lay down flat on my back with my head resting on a
sandbag, so that I could just look over the edge^of the
battery, and facing the mouth of the harbor. In less than
an hour I saw the ducks coming, a half mile away. On
they came, straight toward me, flying very high. I had
made up my mind to shoot on the first reasonable chance
As they came it seemed as though they eyed those old

bufsligldrelltionsh^ 1010111 “ y they ° 0uld cla im

1 hey flew past rather out of shooting distance, and cir¬
cled around toward Long Wharf; it looked to me as
though it was my only chance, so I let go, and down came
one. winged. The next moment I saw John, my dist¬
ant. coming m Ins sharpie to pick up the first “black duck
m er shot on their open feeding grounds from a battery "

He had a long chase as lie sailed partly on the water and
partly on the mud, but he got him.

„ J J ,r T “i ay 1 , Went again ? nd had the decoys set as

^ ^ on niy back waiting for anything

hr ^ L Uv l

JnoducI?appp e “P or comedown. I w .
f sdtthi° f bhck due

I Wdthe r r,fff ight up, affiafi^

7’“ .came one, dead , Y me
The wind being fYf,Y n< ' st ™ck with
secured him. 8 ° labIe > he drifted wit]

twift P Cn3 Ind sf tt T y ’ y ^-i«‘fln^th.
, f.lSVweU afte! 6ft K

I the right from n de IV J1 , J “.V first practice a

[ a 'Ud the decoy went^ove^^of^

B. F. a