LITE HISTORIEvS OF NORTH AMERICAlSr WILD FOWL. 193 



joung in captivity, in connection with Mr. Herbert K. Job's exten- 

 sive experiments in liatchm^^ and rearing young ducks. On June 5 

 we examined seven nests of this species scattered over a wide area of 

 marshy prairie; five of these nests contained 8 eggs each, one held 9 

 and one held 10 eggs, in various stages of incubation, but mostly 

 well advanced. Most of the nests were in typical situations, more 

 or less well concealed in thick clumps of bulrushes (Sdrpus lacustris) 

 or flags {Typha latifolia), but several were located in open places 

 among short sedges (Scirpus campestris) where they were in plain 

 sight. As we approached a small pond hole surrounded by a wide 

 border of these sedges, the brown dead growth of the previous 

 season, our guide pointed out a nest, about halfway from the shore 

 to the open water, on which we could plainly see the duck sitting, 

 only slightly concealed by the low scanty vegetation. The nest was 

 one of the handsomest I have ever seen, a large, well-built structure 

 of dead reeds, flags, and sedges, placed in shallow water and built 

 up 9 inches above it; it measured 18 inches in outside diameter with 

 an inner cavity 4 inches deep and 8 inches in diameter; it was pro- 

 fusely lined with the characteristic gray down which covered the 

 whole interior and upper part of the nest, as if more warmth were 

 necessary in such an exposed situation. In this, and in other 

 similar cases, where incubation was advanced the ducks sat very 

 closely and allowed us to walk up to within a few feet before leaving 

 the nest. 



All of the slough-nesting ducks seem to be very careless about 

 laying their eggs in the nests of other species, which may be due to 

 inability to find, or lack of time to reach, their own nests. Occasion- 

 ally nests are found which are used as common dumping places for 

 several species, where eggs are deposited and perhaps never incu- 

 bated; we found such a nest at Crane Lake, Saskatchewan, on June 

 7, 1905, which contained 19 eggs, of at least three different species — 

 canvasback, redhead, and mallard, and possibly others; the nest 

 was partially broken down on one side and some of the eggs had 

 rolled out into the water; it was originally a canvasback's nest, but 

 had apparently been deserted. 



The down in the canvasback's nest is large and soft in texture, 

 but not so fluffy as in the surface-feeding ducks. It varies in color 

 from "hair brown" to "drab." The breast feathers in the nest are 

 whitish, but not pure white. 



Eggs.— The canvasback usually lays from seven to nine eggs, but 

 the set is often increased, if not usually so, by the addition of 

 several eggs of the redhead, ruddy duck, or other species. The eggs 

 v/lien fresh can be readily distinguished by their color, which is a 

 rich grayish olive or greenish drab of a darker shade than that 

 usually seen in the eggs of other species. They vary in shape from 



