64 Bird-NestiiKj 



The wood duck breeds at Whitewater Lake, at the foot -of 

 Turtle Mountain, in Southern Manitoba. A clutch of ten eggs 

 taken from a hole in a tree fifteen feet from the ground, 

 on June 1st, 1890, are like eggs of the American widgeon, both 

 in size and colour, being pale buff, and averaging in size 

 2.00x1.50. The wood or summer duck is a handsome bird, and 

 is well named bridal duck, on account of the beautiful colours 

 and lustre of its plumage. 



The hooded merganser is another species of duck that lays its 

 eggs in holes in trees. A clutch of nine eggs in my collection 

 were taken at Pelican Lake, Manitoba, May 28th, 1889. The nest 

 of down and feathers was made inside a decayed tree, ten feet 

 from the ground and some distance from the water. The eggs 

 are a delicate pearly white, and average 2.10x1.70. The male 

 bird can easily he recognized by its striking black and white 

 colours, and also by its crest. 



We carefully packed the eggs of the buffle-head, and John 

 tried to shoot the birds, but they were such expert divers, they 

 were soon out of range of his gun. We returned to the place 

 where we had left our companion with his dogs and horses, 

 and, packing up our lunch-baskets and specimens, we hitched 

 the horses to the buckboard and drove round the north end of 

 the lake. Here we flushed a willet off its nest and four eggs, 

 and several Bartram's sandpipers were nesting, but the dogs 

 disturbed the birds before we reached the place where they 

 evidently had their nests. The dogs proved a great trouble, 

 as they ran along in front of us, frightening the birds away, 

 and the only way to find the nests of plovers and other birds, 

 which make their nests on the ground, is to come upon them 

 unexpectedly and flush them off their nests, just a short dis- 

 tance in front ; it is then an easy matter to search the spot 

 where the bird flies or runs from. We crossed over the prairie 

 to the lake where we had left the avosets' eggs the day previ- 

 ous, and after a ride of four miles we reached the north end of 

 the lake, where the skeleton of the buffalo lay. Our com- 

 panion informed us that it was evidently an old buffalo by its 

 teeth, and it had no doubt got left behind by the herd, and had 



