Vol isv! n ] J OB > Ducks of Plymouth Co., Mass. 203 



off outside the Cape. At Chatham it is abundant. Early in 

 April thousands can be seen well off shore, flying north in long 

 lines, or double lines. 



The rare King Eider (S. spectabilis) has recently occurred at 

 Manomet Point. Mr. W. H. Cleveland, of the Manomet Life- 

 Saving Station, a careful and conscientious student of birds, 

 is the authority. A single specimen was shot while flying 

 past the Point, Nov. 15, 1895. Thick fog prevailed, and the 

 day is remembered by many for the unusual number of Brant 

 then taken. Another specimen was taken in the autumn of 

 1888, swimming alone in the cove south of the Point, thought 

 perhaps to have been crippled while flying past the line of boats. 

 This specimen, mounted, is at present in the possession of Mr. 

 Cleveland's brother. Both of the above were males in full 

 plumage. Still another specimen, said by the Station men to 

 be of this species, was taken some years before this last, but 

 Mr. C. cannot vouch for its identity. 



Bare mention may be made, in passing, of the three Scoters, 

 Oidemia americana being the least abundant of the three. They 

 all occur in the ponds, though the one just mentioned is not so 

 often seen there. 



The tame little Ruddy Duck {Erismatura rubida), though 

 sadly slaughtered, is not yet exterminated. I should call it far 

 from uncommon, some years occurring in considerable numbers 

 in some of the ponds. Flocks of as many as two dozen occasion- 

 ally appear in October. Sometimes there is an irruption of them 

 for a few days, and then all suddenly disappear. The past season 

 they were scarcer than usual, only a few scattering ones being 

 taken in Nippenickett. But in the previous autumn they were 

 taken a number of times. About the middle of October a flock 

 of twenty or more came into the pond, and not one got out alive. 



The list closes with the Mergansers. The Red-breasted (Mer- 

 ganser serrator) is much the commonest, being the one usually 

 taken on the coast, though common in the ponds. The Goosan- 

 der (M. merganser) is popularly known as the ' Pond Sheldrake,' 

 a term which describes its predilection for fresh water. The 

 Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes eneullatiis) is not common, but 

 occurs regularly in the ponds, singly or in small flocks. 



