820 Till'. Rll)l)\' DITK. 



<m hea<l ami iicck. was llic lirilliam culiall line nf liis liill. It was nut 

 merely lihic. l)iil a glnwin^L; liliie. He <lii\e repciti-cllx and emerged each 

 time radiaiii willi beaded moislure. And as he warilv ]Kissed uui" bows, 

 he paused now and again to make gestures whose significance, whether 

 of fear or defiance, i could not well determine, allho I suspect the latter. 

 He first reared his head and tail to the utmost, straight up and parallel 

 to eacli other: then let his head subside by spasmodic jerks, as tluj he 

 were a bag ot wind and somebody were deflating him bv successive raps 

 upon the head. I'.acb subsidence was accomi)anied b\' a little grunt, and 

 to conclude the wliok- lie thrust bis head suddenl}- forward with a grunt 

 louder than all: thus: chut - cliiil - chut - chut - chclub. It was a proper 

 ritliculous performance from a human standpoint, but 1 suppose if 1 had 

 been a drake Ruddy. 1 should have flmvn into a prett\- jiassion and given 

 him a drubbing for his impudence. This ])articular bird was a fat ras- 

 cal, for when he tired of issuing \ain challenges, he took to wing, and 

 as he ilid so. altho aided 1)v a light breeze, he found it necessar\' to i)at- 

 ter upon the surface of the water for at least a htmilred feet liefore he 

 cleared. 



RudiK 1 )ucks nest in small nnmliers ui)on some of our interior lakes. 

 During the nesting season the female is e.\cessi\'el\- timid and ma\' not 

 often be seen — never in the \-icinity of her nest. The male, on the con- 

 trary, spends much of his time in the open water hobnoltbing with grebes 

 and Redheads, and seems to ba\e al)ont as nupoitant business as the a\er;ige 

 politician. The nest is hidden in the reeds (.)f some low island or marshy 

 brink. The birds are said to occu])y old Coot's nests at times and at others 

 to build up \er\' handsome structures of their own, raising the eggs a foot 

 or so abo\-e the surface of the water: but the nest here figured was placed 

 upon the wet muck of a swampy island in Moses Lake. 



No greater surprise could be dexised in oological duckdotn than the egg 

 of a Ruddy Duck. With surface rough and chalky where others are oil- 

 finished, dead white where others are tinted, it is still the extraordinary 

 size which proxukes astonishment. The bird is notal)ly small as ducks 

 go, altho of a compact and stocky build, but the egg is easily the largest 

 of inland duck eggs, not excepting those of the Canvasback. On this ac- 

 count it might readih' be belie\ed that six should constitute a set, as in this 

 instance: l)ut we are told that lhe\- sometimes deposit as high as ele\en and 

 even fourteen. 



As might be exjiected the }oung are \ery large when fir>i hatched, anil, 

 according to .Allan Brooks, at once begin di\ing for their food, unlike all 

 otiier voung ducks, wdiich glean from the surface for several weeks. 



