°i8^ 9 J J OB ' T/le Ana tid(E of North Dakota. 16c 



begin incubation early in May, but many wait until early or even 

 middle June. I found nearly fresh sets of the Red-head in the 

 first clays of June, and two large fresh sets, on which incubation 

 had not commenced, on the 28th of that month. My season's 

 experience would indicate that the Mallard, Pintail, and Gadwall 

 are, on the whole, the earliest breeders, a fair proportion, at least, 

 beginning incubation by May 20. The Golden-eye, too, belongs 

 among the early breeders. Most of the other species are fairly 

 at work during the first week or ten days of June. The Scaups 

 follow about June 15 to 20, the procession ending with the Bald- 

 pates and Scoters the last of June and first of July. This estimate 

 is based solely on my observations of the season of 1898, and 

 may not represent other years. The weather was very cold and 

 wet all through. It seemed as though many of the Ducks of all 

 species would never settle down to breeding. Hundreds and 

 hundreds of all kinds remained paired up to the middle of June. 



The laying of different species in each others' nests was inter- 

 esting. I found Red-head's eggs in a Canvas-back's nest, 

 Ruddy's eggs twice in Red-head's, Lesser Scaup's in. a Shoveller's 

 and what I took to be Shoveller's eggs in the nest of a Baldpate. 



I did not notice any special localization of the species in the 

 regions visited, except of Scoters and Golden-eyes, which has 

 already been described. The other species were found every- 

 where in the same comparative abundance wherever the condi- 

 tions as to water were suited to their habits. All Ducks were 

 scarce in the older settled country in the extreme eastern part of 

 the State, at least in those parts of it I visited. Few also were 

 found along the rivers, as compared with the prairie lakes and 

 sloughs. Despite glowing accounts of the abundance of Ducks 

 in the Turtle Mountain lakes, I found them almost entirely 

 absent, meeting only scattered individuals. The country is all 

 timbered, and the stony shores of the lakes offer few good nest- 

 ing sites. The collector will find the typical species there to be 

 the Loon, Holboell's Grebe, Bittern, Red-tailed Hawk, Sapsucker, 

 Purple Martin, and various interesting, as well as rare, small 

 birds. 



