120 



THE OOLOGIS'l, 



i-agged, but she looked to be in very 

 good shape. In a little while, they 

 quieted down and withdrew so Spen- 

 cer started up the maple. As he as- 

 cended I watched the old ones, and 

 when one started for him I called and 

 he prepared for trouble. Several 

 times the old female came within an 

 ace of hitting him and a vigorous use 

 of a stick was necessary to fight her 

 off. 



A photo of the two young in the nest 

 was secured; then by means of a long 

 pole they were poked out of the nest 

 and as they came down they fell into 

 my clutches. We photoed them on the 

 ground; then took them home and 

 shipped them to Mr. Jackson at West 

 Chester, where they arrived safely, 

 and at last accounts were doing nice- 

 ly. 



The birds certainly showed great 

 perseverance in laying three sets in 

 one season and refusing to leave the 

 vicinity. 



About the ground at the nest tree 

 we found many remains of victims 

 but could find no signs of grouse or 

 rabbits. The birds seemed to be liv- 

 ing almost entirely on the red or pine 

 squirrel which is numerous. There 

 were also a few skulls of chipmunks, 

 but I could find no trace of game. On 

 our way out we had hardly got- 

 ten out of sight of the nest un- 

 til we came upon an old grouse 

 and her brood of large young. So it 

 does not appear that this pair of Gos- 

 hawks at least, are the destroyers of 

 game that they are said to be. 



In the region inhabited by these 

 hawks there are a good lot of grouse. 

 In the slashings nearby are plenty of 

 rabbits and a goodly number of hares 

 (varying hares) yet I could not find 

 a bone of any of these about the nest. 

 R. B. SIMPSON, 



Warren, Pa. 



THE MALLARD. 



This duck (Anas boschas) A. O. U. 

 No. 132, is, in the mind of the writer, 

 the noblest of all the duck tribe. It 

 is found substantially all over the 

 Northern half of the Northern Hemis- 

 phere, in some places far more plenti- 

 ful than others, and in some places 

 congregating in vast flocks and droves 

 containing thousands. It is a bird 

 that arrives from the South early and 

 passes North with the first of the 

 the ducks. 



Its breeding ground covers practi- 

 cally the Northern half of its entire 

 range. Usually it nests in the vicinity 

 of a grassy prairie slough or pond; oc- 

 casionally along a river or on an is- 

 land. The nest is typical of most of 

 the duck tribe, built on the ground and 

 containing from eight to fourteen 

 eggs, made of grass and lined and 

 surrounded with down pulled by the 

 duck from her breast. 



In the Northern part of its range, 

 this duck is known as the Stock Duck, 

 from the fact that it is supposed to be 

 the original stock from which the do- 

 mestic duck descended, and it is no 

 uncommon thing now to see Mallards 

 of various stages of blood mixture in 

 confinement with tame ducks, all in a 

 domesticated or semi-domesticated 

 condition. 



In many places it is known as the 

 Green Head, taking the name from the 

 brilliantly colored head of the drake. 



As a rule the Mallard nests in sin- 

 gle pairs scattered throughout its 

 range, seldom if ever, so far as we 

 have observed or know, congregating 

 in colonies as do many other species 

 of duck. The eggs are a dark green- 

 ish-drab and are not uncommon in col- 

 lections. 



With this issue, we present a plate 

 made from a photo of a nest of this 



