220 BULLETIN 126, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



hatcliing in the incubators. Mr. Hersey's notes describe their methods 

 as follows : 



A brood of lesser scaup found on a small pond acted very differently from young 

 golden-eyes. Instead of separating they drew close together and swam back and 

 forth a few feet. The Indians plunge into the pond, clothes and all and drive the 

 brood toward our end. They swim along quietly and as they near the end of the 

 pond the Indians close in until they are within a few feet of the birds. Then sud- 

 denly the birds begin to dive, each one swimming under water past the men and 

 coming up well out toward the middle of the pond. If the water ia clear the Indians 

 will watch the young bird swimming and catch them under water, but if muddy, 

 they all get safely by and then the whole performance is repeated. 



It often happens when a brood dives in this way, that one or more birds get sepa- 

 rated from the rest. The single birds are picked out and captured first, while the 

 rest of the brood wait at the other end of the pond. It is no easy matter to catch 

 one of these youngsters. When he realizes he is being chased he makes every effort 

 to get back to his brothers and sisters, pattering along the surface much faster than 

 a man can move through the water. However, they usually head him off and he 

 then returns to diving. After a while he gets tired and diving once more swims 

 under water until close to the shore when he crawls into the grass. Once on land 

 he loses no time but pushes his way rapidly through the grass. Unless his pursuer 

 is quick he will yet make his escape, but the Indians aware of this habit watch the 

 tops of the grass closely, following his movements by the slight waving and soon 

 overtake him. 



Plumages. — The downy young is darkly and richly colored. The 

 upper parts are dark, lustrous "mummy brown" or "sepia," shaded 

 with " brownish olive " ; these colors are darkest and most lustrous on 

 the posterior half of the back and lightest on the shoulders; the dark 

 colors cover the upper half of the head and neck, the back and the 

 flanks, fading off gradually into a dusky band around the lower 

 neck and encroaching on the ventral region posteriorly. The color 

 of the under parts, which covers the lower half of the head, throat, 

 breast, and belly, varies in different individuals; in some it runs from 

 "olive ocher" to "primrose yellow," but in most specimens from 

 "chamois" to "cream buff"; these colors are brightest and richest 

 on the cheeks and on the breast. The markings on the head are 

 usually indistinct, but a superciliary buff stripe, a loral dusky stripe 

 and a postocular dusky stripe are discernible in the majority of a 

 series of 11 specimens in my collection. There is also an indistinct 

 yellowish spot on each scapular region, but none on the rump. 

 The colors become duller and lighter as the duckling grows older. 



So far as I can judge from the study of available material, the 

 sequence of plumages to maturitj'^ and the seasonal molts of adults 

 are practically the same as in the greater scaup duck. Young birds 

 do not breed during their first spring and become practically adult 

 in plumage after their first complete summer molt, or when from 14 

 to 16 months old. The eclipse plumage of the adult male is only 

 partial and not conspicuous. The adult female seems to have a dis- 



