Vol. XIX 

 1902 



I Bext, Nesting- Habits of AiiatidiV in N. Dakota. I 7 I 



admirably concealed from view in thick clumps of small bushes, 

 almost invariably wild rose bushes, which at this time are in full 

 bloom. It is no easy matter hunting for the nests among these 

 stout, thorny bushes, and as the eggs are generally buried under 

 the down, and a mass of rubbish scraped over them, we undoubtedly 

 overlooked a number of them. 



The Scoters are very late breeders, the latest of all the ducks, 

 very few of their eggs being laid before June 15, and the majority 

 of them not before the last week in June. We visited two of the 

 islands where they breed on May 31, but did not find a single egg. 

 On June 15 we again explored the same islands quite carefully, 

 finding only one incomplete set of 5 eggs, cold and fresh. This 

 nest was in the centre of a small patch of rose bushes, where a 

 hollow had been scraped in the ground and the eggs buried under 

 a lot of dry leaves, sticks, soil and rubbish, so as to be completely 

 concealed from view; no attempt had been made to line the nest 

 with down which is generally added after the set is complete. 

 The scattered clumps of rose bushes on these islands, particularly 

 on the smaller islands where they grow tall and thick among a 

 mass of large boulders, form excellent nesting sites for the Scoters 

 and doubtless concealed several nests. One nest we certainly 

 overlooked, which on June 22 was found to contain 12 eggs. 



Mr. Job visited these islands on June 27, 1898, and found eight 

 nests of the White-winged Scoter containing " 14, 13, 10, 10, 7, 6, 

 I and o eggs respectively" (see Auk, April, 1899, p. 163), which 

 proves conclusively that these birds are late breeders, as all of 

 these eggs were fresh. 



The eggs of the White- winged Scoter are much larger than those 

 of the other ducks in this region, and are entirely different in color, 

 which is a pale salmon buff or flesh color. 



The measurements of my five eggs are as follows: length, 2.71 

 to 2.58; breadth, 1.94 to 1.89 ; average, 2.65 by 1.90. 



The eggs of the Scoters are occasionally found in other ducks' 

 nests ; we found one in a Baldpate's nest, two in a Lesser Scaup's 

 nest, and one in another Baldpate's nest. 



