Vol. XXXVIII 



1920 



Hollister, Abundance oj Wild Ducks. obi/ 



Since these cottage records give us comparable figures only for 

 the deep-water and so-called sea-ducks, I have carefully gone 

 over my daily bird journals for the same eight years — 1892-1899 — 

 and listed all ducks mentioned, additional to those listed at the 

 lake cottage. These include ducks shot by myself and com- 

 panions, if I was in company, and such others as were brought to 

 me by sportsmen friends to add to my collection of local birds. 

 These ducks, totalling in number 466, added to the records of 

 the cottage at the lake, give us a fair average for all species and 

 all sorts and conditions of shooting — lakes, marshes, prairie, 

 creeks, and woodland ponds. The total figures, including 1167 

 ducks, may, I think, be taken as fairly representative of the place 

 at that time. In my own journals I have usually discriminated 

 between the Scaups and the Ring-neck, and in the following totals 

 I have divided the 'Blue-bills' listed in the cottage gun records 

 according to my above estimates as to their relative abundance, 

 on the average, over the eight years period. 



Below is a combined list of the 1167 ducks, arranged in the 

 order of numbers handled, with the relative approximate abun- 

 dance on basis of 100, following the method used by Mr. Aldo 

 Leopold for the ducks of the Rio Grande Valley, 1 in the second 

 column of figures. 



Record of 1167 Wild Ducks Killed Near Delavan, Wisconsin, 

 from 1892 to 1899. 



Relative 

 Species Number Abundance 



recorded per 100 



Lesser Scaup Duck (Marila affinis) 182 15.6 



Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) . . 156 13.4 



Ring-necked Duck {Marila collaris) Ill 9.6 



Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 101 8.7 



Buffle-head (Charitonetta albeola) 96 8.2 



Golden-eye (Clangula clangula americana) ... 70 6.0 



Green-winged Teal (Nettion carolinense) 68 5.8 



Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 61 5.3 



Blue-winged Teal (Querquedula discors) 49 4.2 



Shoveller (Spatula clypeata) 36 3.1 



» Condor, vol. 21, p, 122. May, 1919. 



