164 Job, The Anatid<e of North Dakota. \_\$\\ 



weeds or grass. Six were under wild rose bushes, two under a 

 common bush, of which I do not know the scientific name. The 

 females found on the nests sat very close. 



On these islands the same day I found about twenty nests each 

 of the Baldpate and Lesser Scaup, built in clumps of grass or 

 weeds, but not one under bushes. I shot several of the Scaups, 

 but they were all affinis. Full sets of each varied from six to 

 twelve, those of nine and ten being the commonest. The Bald- 

 pates' eggs were nearly all perfectly fresh, some sets incomplete. 

 Most of the Scaup sets were moderately incubated, some of them 

 considerably, though some, too, were fresh. 



The American Golden-eye {Clangula clangula americand) is 

 found breeding in small colonics in various patches of timber in 

 the region of Devil's Lake. I also saw a few males in the Turtle 

 Mountains, but did not find any nests. Sets of this species were 

 completed from about May 20 to the first of June this year. In 

 one colony most of the sets hatched from June 20 to 25. It was 

 a beautiful sight to peer into a hollow tree and see a female with 

 her newly hatched black and white ducklings. The little things 

 were not afraid, but would patter about in the hollow, picking at 

 something, or climb up on the back of their frightened parent, 

 who would not attempt to fly out, but lie over on her side, look 

 up, and hiss at the intruder. The next day the whole family 

 would be gone. 



The Ruddy Duck {Erismatura jamaicensis) and Canvas-back 

 (Aythya vallisnerid) were rather sparingly distributed, a few 

 pairs to a slough or lake here and there. Where one was seen, 

 the other was likely to be found. In one slough which I visited 

 on May 2 1 I noticed numerous Ruddies in pairs swimming among 

 the reeds, and out in the middle in open lanes of water I counted 

 eleven pairs of Canvas-back, scattered here and there, and one 

 lone male, whose partner had evidently begun her long vigil. I 

 found eggs of the latter species slightly incubated on May 18 and 

 June x8, and on June 28 saw a female with a brood of small 

 young. 



In regard to nesting dates of the different species, while there 

 is, of course, a general average time at which each tends to breed, 

 individuals are more or less erratic. Some Mallards, for example, 



