Wild-Fowl of Wild-Fowl 



had a nest with seven eggs of her own and one of 

 a Ruddy Duck. No further away was another Can- 

 vasback with eleven eggs that were about to hatch. 

 For a wonder, 





^.^^ 





ANUTHEK CAiNVAsBACK. HAD A NHSf WITH SEVEN 

 EGGS OF HER OWN AND ONE OF A RUDDY DUCK" 



these eggs were 

 all hers. Though 

 I imagine that 

 this tribe are all 

 busy bodies, I 

 consider the odd 

 little Ruddy as 

 the gre ate s t 

 adept at poking 

 her blue nose in- 

 to other duck- 

 people's busi- 

 ness. I saw a Canvasback on June lo swimming 

 in this slough with five young. Whether the blood 

 of any of these was "Ruddy" I could not tell, 

 though probably the eggs were laid early enough 

 to outwit that semi-parasite. 



The breeding dates of these various Ducks 

 varies considerably with the earliness or tardiness 

 of the particular season. On my first trip I found 

 the season very backward. Many of the Ducks had 

 not finished laying by the first of June — the majority 

 not even then. But last spring they were very much 

 earlier, as the season opened warm and pleasant, and 

 the various species arrived at an early date. While 

 there is no exact time at which each species lays — 

 for individuals are very erratic — there is an average 

 date at which one can expect to find the bulk of a 

 species thus employed. The little calendar that I 



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