CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS, 95 



On the Magdalen islands in June, 1897, I met with this species 

 at East Cape, Grosse isle, breeding, and secured its eggs. A few 

 pairs breed on the small, boggy islands in the large ponds, not far 

 from the sand-banks that separate these ponds from the sea. The 

 eggs are about the size of those of the merganser, but are more of a 

 buff colour, and their peculiar shape, which is almost invariable, best 

 distinguishes them. They are not laid until late in June. A cor- 

 respondent wrote me about two nests he found in July, after I left 

 the islands, as follows: — "I found a blue-bill's nest in a strange place, 

 after you left me. It was in a bunch of rushes at the head of the 

 bay, growing in water that took me up to my middle to reach them. 

 There were two nests, one with two and the other with five eggs. 

 The two were fresh and the others badly incubated." (Rev. C. J. 

 Young.) A nest with nine eggs was discovered on a small island in 

 "the Great pond," Magdalen islands. It was a bed of down in the 

 grass. (H. K. Job.) A very common migrant. A few pairs breed 

 at St. Clair flats. (W. Saunders.) Both the greater and lesser 

 scaups breed at Crane lake and in and near the adjoining marshes. 

 On June 15th, 1894, the writer found a nest of the species, contain- 

 ing ten eggs, it was in a hole in the ground and lined with feathers 

 and grass. Three days later another nest of eleven eggs was taken 

 under the same conditions. In a marsh on the 14th a large nest 

 containing eleven eggs was found among rushes (Scirpus lacustris) ; 

 nine of these belonged to the scaup, and the two larger and quite 

 blue eggs were referred to the canvas-back. Passing out of the 

 rushes I flushed another scaup out of the grass and found a nest 

 made of dried grass and lined on the sides with down. This nest 

 contained twelve eggs, and still another had twenty-one fresh eggs, 

 evidently of three species— lesser scaup, redhead and ruddy duck. 



Breeds throughout northwestern Canada, but is rarer than most 

 other ducks; breeding more commonly further north. On June 

 loth, 1891, at Rush lake, Saskatchewan, I found a nest containing 

 nine eggs, built on the ground amongst grass, near water. The 

 eggs are distinguished by their large size and drab tint. (Raine.) 



At St. Michael and the Yukon delta this species arrives about 

 the 8th or loth May. The nesting sites chosen are such as the 

 pintail and most other ducks choose — a dry, grassy tussock or 

 knoll close to some pond ; the only difference being that this species 

 appears to desire a position nearer to the water, and the nest is 



