102 BULLETIN 126, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



from the cavity is mixed with it and the breast feathers found in it 

 are pure white. 



Eggs. — Tlie wood duck raises but one brood in a season in any 

 part of its wide range. The set usually consists of from 10 to 15 

 eggs, but sometimes only 6 or 8 eggs are laid and occasionally much 

 larger sets have been found, ranging from 18 to 29 eggs. Mr. George 

 D. Peck (1911) mentions a remarkable set that he found in Iowa, 

 containing 31 eggs of the wood duck and 5 eggs of the hooded mer- 

 ganser. There are other cases on record where these two species 

 have contended for the use of the same hole or have occupied it 

 jointly, as mentioned under the latter species. The eggs are nearly 

 oval in shape, with a slight tendency toward ovate. The shell is 

 smooth, hard, and somewhat glossy. The color is dull white or 

 creamy white, perhaps pale buffy white in some cases or a color 

 resembling old ivory white. 



The measurements of 99 eggs in various collections average 61.1 

 by 38.8 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 

 55.5 by 41, 53.5 by 43, 48 by 38.5 and 50.5 by 37.3 millimeters. 



Young. — ^The period of incubation is from 28 to 30 days. This 

 duty is performed wholly by the female, but the male is more or less 

 in attendance on her during this period and returns to help her care 

 for the young. The young are provided with sharp claw^s which 

 they use in climbing from the nest up to the entrance of the cavity, 

 a distance of often 3 to 4 feet and sometimes as much as 6 or 8 feet. 

 Much has been written about how the female conveys the young 

 from the nest to the water in her bill, between her feet or even on 

 her back, and several writers claim to have seen the first method 

 employed. I am inclined to think that this method of conveyance 

 is used only when circumstances make it necessary; if the nest cav- 

 ity is not too high, or if it overhangs the water, or if there is soft 

 open ground below it, I ])elieve that the young are usually coaxed 

 or urged to jump or flutter down and are then led by the old bird 

 to the nearest water; certainly such is often the case. 



Mr. J. H. Langille (1884) describes it very well as follows: 



When the young are about 24 liours old, ii the limb contaiiiin<r the nest be ovei 

 the water, they may find their way severally to the edge, and dropping into theii 

 favorite element, begin life's perilous career. If the nest be a little distant from 

 the water, as is generally the case, the mother may seize them by the wing or neck, 

 and convey them to it, or, landing them thus on the ground, may lead ihem thither 

 in a flock. More commonly, however, the mother having thoroughly recounoitered 

 the place for some time, and now uttering her soft cooing call at the doorway, the 

 little one * scramble up from the n st with the aid of their sharp toenailp. and huddle 

 around the mother a few minutes. The mother, now descending to the ground, calls 

 again to the young, and they drop one by one on to the soft mose or dried leaves, 

 their tiny bodies so enveloped in long down, falling scarcely harder than a leaf or a 

 feather. Again thcv huddle around the mother bird: and. as the distance of the neat 



