Vol. XIX 

 190 



I Bent, Ne^fi/ii^- Habits of Aiuitidir in N. Dakota. 



The eight eggs which it contained proved to be heavily incubated. 

 The eggs are fairly typical of the species, and measure as fol- 

 lows : length, 2.36 to 2.13; breadth, 1.57 to 1.49; average, 2.28 



by I.53- 



The bird was quite demonstrative and solicitous, which seems 

 to be characteristic of the species. 



Aythya americana (Eyt.). Redhead. 



We now come to the subfamily of sea ducks, three species of 

 which, the Redhead, the Canvasback, and the Ruddy Duck, are 

 exclusively slough breeders. The Redhead is by far the com- 

 monest of these three species, and probably far outnumbers any 

 other species of this subfamily in North Dakota. 



It is very common in all the larger sloughs, but was not found 

 by us m any of the smaller sloughs, and was not, as far as I can 

 remember, seen in any of the larger lakes, where it certainly does 

 not breed. 



We first met with it on June 3 in a large slough in Nelson 

 County, where the water was not over knee deep, except in a few 

 scattered open spaces, and where the reeds and flags were some- 

 what scattered and open, A pair of Canada Geese nested in this 

 slough and two pairs of Marsh Hawks, but it was chiefly tenanted 

 by Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Coots, and Long-billed Marsh Wrens. 

 The Blackbirds fairly swarmed in this slough, and the constant 

 din of their voices was almost bewildering, especially whenever 

 one of the Marsh Hawks sailed out over the slough, which sent 

 them all up into the air at once, cackling and squeaking, hovering 

 and circling about for a few moments, and then settling down into 

 the reeds again. Redheads were flying back and forth across the 

 slough, Killdeers, Willets, and Wilson Phalaropes were flying about 

 the shores, and Long-billed Marsh Wrens were singing among the 

 flags on all sides. While wading along a shallow ditch through a 

 small patch of last year's flags, a big brown duck sprang into the 

 air from a clump of tall reeds, and, after a short search, I found 

 my first nest of the Redhead, well concealed among the reeds. 

 It was a handsome nest, well made of dead reeds, deeply hollowed 

 and lined with broken pieces of the reeds mingled with consider- 



