86 



NE8T8 AND EGGS OF 



near water. The nest is mad in the hollow of decayed trees, often at the depth 

 of four to six feet It is composed of twigs, weeds or grass, warmly lined with the 

 down from breast of the bird. What is remarkable about the entrance to the 

 nest is, that it is often so small that it would seem almost impossible for the bird 

 to pass in and out. The tree in which the nest is made is frequently situated a 

 'considerable distance from water in some retired place. The young are carried to 

 water in the bill of the parent bird. The eggs number from eight to twelve, and I 

 have seen several sets of fourteen; they are of a pale buff color, averaging in size 

 about 2.00 by 1.50, but there is a great variation in this respect when a large series 

 of specimens from different parts of the country are examined. When robbed of its 

 eggs the bird will often lay a second set 



145. RUFOUS-CHESTED DUCK. Xetta Ruflna (Pall.) Geog. Dist Eastern 

 Hemisphere; accidental in the United States. 



The claim of this species to a place in the North American fauna rests on a 

 single specimen obtained in Pulton Market, New York City, February 2d, 1872. 

 It is supposed to have been shot on Long Island Sound. The bird is found in South- 

 ern and Eastern Europe, and in portions of Africa and Asia. The eggs are described 

 as being of a pale olive-buff and measure 2.32x1.68; not distinguishable from those 

 of the next species. 



146. REDHEAD. Aythya americana (Eyt.) Geog. Dist. North America, 



breeding from California and Maine northward. 



The Redhead or Poachard, so frequently confounded with 

 the Canvas-back, is a common duck throughout North America, 

 It breeds in all parts of the Fur Countries and is 

 very abundant in the marshes of Manitoba throughout 

 the summer months. It nests in suitable localities of various 

 northern states, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and 

 Dakota. The Redhead also breeds in the marshes of California. 

 Mr. Shields mentions it nesting in a swamp near Los Angeles 

 about the middle of June.* The nest is built on the ground in 

 thick grass or weeds and is composed of aquatic plant stems 

 and grasses, lined with the down and feathers from the breast 

 of the bird. The nest is often constructed in a mass of reeds 

 over water after the manner of a Coot's. Mr. Shields found the 

 nests to contain from seven to fourteen eggs. Eight or ten are 

 more commonly laid further north. They are creamy-white, 



elliptical, and average 2.40 by 1.70, with slight variation. 



140. REDHEAD. 



147. CANVAS-BACK. Aytl\ v a rallimeria, (Wils.) Geog. Dist Nearly all of 

 North Ann : 



Tho celebrated Canvas-back Duck is an exclusively North American species, 

 found in tho intrrior and on both coasts as far north as the Arctic Ocean and south- 

 ward to Central America. Breeds on the interior marshes, rivers and lakes frcm 



Young 1 Oologist. a magazine devoted to the study of birds, their nests tnd eggs, pub- 

 Itehfd by Frank TT. Lnttln, Albion. N. V.. Vol. I, p. 90. 



