BIRDS OF THE CAMBRIDGE REGION. I17 



has also sent me a letter written on June 4, 1902, by our mutual friend, Mr. 

 William H. Slocum, who says : " The Scaup Ducks' regular visits to Jamaica 

 Pond started a few years ago with a small number one autumn, which stayed, I 

 think, till driven out by the ice. Each autumn since, the number has been 

 larger and the birds have fed nearer to the shore. Not being disturbed, they 

 have become tamer, or the larger number has made the search for food keener. 

 The spring visits have been more irregular, shorter in time and less in numbers. 

 Last spring very few were seen." 



I am not aware that the Greater Scaup Duck has ever been found in the 

 Cambridge Region although I have seen it at Concord in spring as well as 

 autumn. 



31. Aythya coUaris '(Donov.). 

 Ring-necked Duck. Ring— neck. 



Very rare transient visitor in autumn. 



Shortly after sunrise on the morning of November 26, 1867, I noticed a 

 solitary Duck in Smith's Pond, diving for food near the eastern shore. By 

 advancing quickly when it was under water, and flattening myself on the open, 

 marshy ground just before it came to the surface, I approached within easy 

 gun-range and killed the bird, which proved to be a young male Ring-neck. 

 The specimen is still preserved in my collection. 



On the afternoon of November 30, 1903, Mr. Walter Deane and I found 

 two Ducks, which I am positive were Ring-necks, in Fresh Pond. Accom- 

 panied by a female Canvas-back and si.x Coots {Fulica), they were feeding close 

 to shore in a shallow cove where we had a good view of them in a strong light 

 at a distance not exceeding one hundred yards. They were diving continually 

 and with remarkable vigor and agility, springing quite clear of the water just 

 before they disappeared beneath its surface. Both were plain brown birds and 

 apparently females. As they rose in the water to flap their wings, the bluish 

 gray speculum, which distinguishes the Ring-neck from all our other Ducks 

 except the Redhead, showed distinctly. The female Redhead not only pos- 

 sesses this marking but is, in certain other respects, colored very nearly like a 

 female Ring-neck. The two species differ materially in size, however, and 

 these particular birds, as I fortunately was able to satisfy myself by comparing 

 them with the Canvas-back and with the Coots, were not larger than Lesser 

 Scaups, and hence much too small for Redheads. 



