1923] POPE, HUNTING WISCONSIN RATTLESNAKES 13 



tographs for backgrounds of a different type, as the nature of the 

 country offered opportunities not to be had along the bay shore. The 

 top of the box of our Ford proved to be a very convenient place from 

 which to take pictures for backgrounds of groups to represent height 

 from the ground, as a picture taken from the ground level would in 

 that case convey the wrong impression. Therefore, when the oppor- 

 tunity presented itself, we would take advantage of bridges and other 

 high places where we could stop our car. This type of background is 

 shown in figure 5. 



As we were always on the lookout for new material, it was with 

 great joy that we received the news from Mr. E. C. Peterman that an 

 hour or so previous, while crossing over a bridge, he had observed an 

 adult Hooded Merganser with a large brood leisurely floating a hundred 

 feet away, and that they had paid no heed to the passing machine. 

 He lost no time in getting us back there, and as we slowly proceeded 

 over the bridge we caught a glimpse of them as they passed from view 

 around the first curve. 



We immediatel}^ dismounted, and proceeded cautiously through 

 the undergrowth along the creek bank, but the old bird caught a 

 glimpse of us and like a flash the entire family vanished under water. 



We searched for a mile either way and tried again the next day but 

 without success. It was just one of those disappointments that a 

 field naturalist must experience on his expeditions. 



By the first of Jul^--, although the nesting season was still at its 

 height, we decided that enough material had been gathered to keep us 

 busy in the laboratory for the remainder of the year, and feeling well 

 repaid for our efforts, packed our outfit for the return trip back to 

 Milwaukee. 



HUNTING WISCONSIN RATTLESNAKES 



By T. E. B. Pope'- 



Of the many species of snakes that are found in the state of Wis- 

 consin, the only ones that have been reported as poisonous are the 

 Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) and the Banded, Timber or 

 Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). They both belong to the Rattle- 

 snake family (Crotalidae), which in this country includes the thick- 

 bodied poisonous serpents known as "Pit Vipers," so called on account 

 of a deep pit situated between the eye and the nostril. The members 

 of this family all possess a flat, triangular head, very distinct from the 



^Curator of Lower Zoology, Milwaukee Public Museum. 



