134 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. 9 



703. MimiiK poli/'jlottos, 



704. Galeoncopleii caroUnciiais, 

 703. Ilarporhi/nchus rufus, 



721. Troglodytes ledon, 



722. Troglodytes hieinalis, 



724. Cistothorus stellaris, 

 72.5. Cistothorus palustris. 



726. Certhia familiaris ainericana, 



727. Sltta carolinennis, 



725. SMa canadensis, 

 731. Pants bicolor, 

 735. Parus atricapilliis, 

 74S. Regulus satrxpn. 



749. Regulus calendula, 

 150. Polioptila cwrulea, 

 7-5.5. Turdus mustelinus, 



750. Turdus fuscescens, 

 757. Turdus alicice, 



758n. Tardus ustulatus swainsonii, 



75!)^. Turdus auualaschkw pallasii, 



701. Me.rula migratoria, 



700. Sialia sialia. 



Mookiiinliii'd, 

 Oatbird, 



Brown 'I'Ina.slier, 

 Houso Wren, 

 Winter Wren, 

 .Sliort-liilled Marsh Wren, 

 Long-l)illed Marsli Wren, 

 Hrown Creeper, 

 White-licdlied Xutliatcli, 

 Ked-liellied Xuthateli, 

 Tufted Titmouse, 

 Blaok-eapped Cliiekadee, 

 Goldeii-erowned Kinglet, 

 Kuby-erowned Kinglet, 

 Blue-yray Gnatcatcher, 

 Wood Tlirusli, 

 Wilson's Tlirush, 

 Alice's T'hrnsb, 

 Olive-bai'ked Tlirusli, 

 Hermit Thrush, 

 IJobin, 

 Bluebird, 



* Has been taken several times by I'rof. H. \V. Parker. 

 Iowa College Museum, Grinnell, la. 



Carl Kelseij. 



The Wood Duck. 



In this section of eountry wlierc the axeman 

 has done but little as yet in felling the vast 

 forests of pine and hemlock, the sportsman 

 m.ay still pursue the wild deer and turkey and 

 the naturalist may wander to his heart's con- 

 tent thron<;h the forest and never see a human 

 being or a cultivated tield if he chooses. Here 

 in almost every little pond or lake tlie Wood 

 Duck is constantly met with. Behold him 

 and his mate swimming around in that little 

 clear place in yon leedy pond. As you emerge 

 from the wood and your thirsty horse comes 

 down the slope to drink, see them pause a 

 moment and then spring up in the air, making 

 the little dale resound with the whistling 

 sound produced by their wings as they dash 

 off through the forest to some other lake, or, 

 as they will often do, circle round and round 

 until you liave passed on and then settle down 

 again to their old feeding ground. 



When thus taking wing, as far as I have ever 

 been able to observe, tUe female always leads, 

 the male following close behind; often, how- 

 ever, after getting fairly under way they dash 

 along side by side. Anyone living near a 

 body of water is quite familiar in spring with 

 the sight of a pair of Wood Ducks Hying 

 across the field every morning and evening to 

 the woods beyond, or sometimes pausing in a 

 tree near by a nest, tfliey usually begin these 

 trips to the forest early in March, and after a 

 great deal of fuss and flutter, the location at 



I length being settled upon, the eggs .are soon 

 after deposited. .Inst how early they begin 

 to lay I could not say. The earliest I ever 

 found was on April 13th; it contained thirteen 

 fresh eggs. The nest was in a hollow stump 

 thirty feet from the ground. The entrance 

 had been made by a Yellow-shaftcil Flicker, 

 and it really seemed im])ossible for a duck to 

 pass in and out of <a hole of such small size. 



The female was on the nest at the time and 

 remained there until 1 tore the hole open and 

 took her out with my hand. The nest was 

 lined with a thick layer of downy feathers 

 from the breast of the old bird. I have never 

 been .able to find a nest of the second laying, 

 it indeed a second brood is raised. 



The latest date I have found them breeding 

 was May 4th, when after a climb of forty feet I 

 was rewarded by a nice set of eleven eggs; 

 these had just begun to show signs of incuba- 

 tion. The stump was hollow and the entrance 

 was at the top. Both of the above nests were 

 from one-half to three-fourths of a mile from 

 any lake. I have seen nests not over three 

 hundred yards from water, and again it would 

 be a mile and a half distant. 



One nest w.as in a cultivated field; the other 

 so close to the highway that the wagon wheels 

 would often strike the stump in passing. 



The Wood Duck does not confine itself to 

 the fresh water ponds and lakes alone, but is 

 also found along the coast. In May I noticed 

 them quite common near the month of Iho 

 .Suw.aniiee River, and the "Bellc-of-the- 



