JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOCtICAI. .SOCIETY. II 



which is characteristic of these birds. Suddenly they would with 

 one accord pitch headlong into the grass as if to feed and rest, only 

 the next moment to rise with a great whirr and fly to some other 

 part of the bay. On Septembe'r i6th, just at dusk, a flock came 

 suddenly out of the sky and flew past my float that must have num- 

 bered at least three hundred birds. . I had never seen such a bunch 

 of Teal in Maine waters, though I once witnessed a similar sight 

 in the Grand L,ake region in New Brunswick. 



From September 15th to the 25th, Blue-winged Teal were every- 

 where in evidence in flocks of five to twenty-five. A few of those 

 charming little Bantam Ducks, the Green-wing Teal, would be found 

 from day to day, but only a few, — no large flocks — and their path 

 of migration was evidently not across Merrymeeting Bay. 



Black Ducks. — Pintails were still more common about the 

 25th, and the Black Duck, that grand old stand-by, was seemingly 

 everywhere — scarcely a moment l)Ut what pairs or flocks of ten to 

 fifty could be seen in the air in some quarter. 



It must be liorne in mind that tlie vision, aided ])y good glasses, 

 covered a feeding and flying territory of some five miles north and 

 south by nearly two miles east and west, a large expanse of country. 



Thp: Mallard. — From October ist to loth, the diving fowl or 

 sea Ducks began to appear in greater numbers, and with the advent 

 of cold nights a few of those grand birds, the Mallards, were seen, 

 usually alone, but sometimes trying to be social with the Black 

 Ducks. A little later, and good-sized flocks appeared upon the 

 scene, and the numbers observed was one of the greatest surprises 

 experienced by the writer. At first flocks of five or ten would unex- 

 pectedl}^ be found hidden awa}^ in the thick grass or wild rice. 

 These would gradually unite, I presume, and with fresh arrivals 

 from some unknown quarter form flocks of as many as twenty-five 

 or thirty birds. In some instances it would seem as if the beautiful 

 green-headed Drakes constituted almost the entire flock, and a 

 pretty picture they made when on the wing in the bright sunlight. 

 With their delicately marked under parts, dazzling green heads and 



