BIRDS OF MARSHALL COUNTY 139 



15. Spatula clypeata. Shoveller. A tolerably common spring 

 migrant from March 14 to May 11. This was one of the later 

 migrants and was most common from April 25 to May 4. In 

 the fall only scattered individuals or pairs were noted from 

 September 5 to November 1. Mr. Clay gave the writer a female 

 shoveller which was taken on Iowa river above Marshalltown, 

 April 4, 1913. Others were collected May 3 and October 4, 1913,. 



16. Dafila acuta. Pintail. The pintail was the earliest and 

 one of the most abundant spring migrants. It appeared from 

 February 14 to April 4. In 1914 a few individuals remained 



•until May 11 when a single bird was noted. This duck regularly 

 arrived immediately after the breaking up of ice in the river. 

 A heavy freshet on February 12, 1915, drove the ice out of the 

 river and two days later the first pintails arrived. They were 

 seen until February 27 when cold weather set in, and they were 

 not noted again until March 28, when they appeared in great 

 numbers. They were common until April 1, and no more were 

 seen after that date. This was about two weeks later than 

 the height of the migration in 1913 and 1914. The writer 

 has no fall records for this region. Pintails were taken March 

 15, 1913, and March 21, 1914. 



17. Aix sponsa. Wood Duck. The writer's only record is 

 of a flock of six seen September 5, 1915, at the Goose ponds. 

 He walked up behind a clump of willows within twenty yards 

 of this flock and watched them for some time before they flew. 

 This duck undoubtedly nested in the county in the past and Mr. 

 ^Metcalf of Albion stated that he frequently saw them below 

 Tama on Iowa river. 



18. Marila americana. Redhead. On March 21, 1914, three 

 redheads were flushed from Iowa river and one was Aving- 

 tipped. This bird fell on the opposite bank of the river, ran off 

 into .the weeds and was lost. On March 29, 1915, a flock of 

 thirty redheads was observed on the Goose ponds, and later in 

 the day four were seen with a flock of scaups. On March 31, 

 two more were noted on the ponds. These are the only records 

 the writer has for the region. It was probably a regular and 

 not uncommon migrant in the spring. 



19. Marila valisineria. Canvas-back, This duck was re- 

 ported occasionally by -hunters, but the writer's only record is 



