February, 1922. J 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



29 



but I was unable to find a nest. This species is 

 uncommon in British Columbia and these were 

 the first I had seen in the flesh. 



Redhead: Marila americana. Redheads 

 were in small flocks performing their courtship 

 antics on May 15th, 1915. On June 8th, the 

 majority were paired, but one band of seven 

 drakes and five ducks were still in the courtship 

 stage. The mating period is probably of longer 

 duration with this species than with any other 

 duck. I have seen them courting and actually 

 copulating as early as February 28th, and it is 

 doubtful if eggs are ever laid earlier than the 

 first week in June. 



Only one nest was found on June 8th and this 

 contained four fresh eggs. The nest, a deep 

 hollow on the side of an old muskrat house, was 

 well lined with dry tules, and screened from, view 

 on all sides by a rank growth of tules. While I 

 was examining the contents the parent birds, 

 flying close together, passed overhead within a 

 few feet. 



On June 22nd, 1918, three nests were found and 

 all the birds seen were in pairs. The first nest, 

 containing two eggs, was a slightly concave 

 platform of mixed dry and green rushes, measur- 

 ing twelve inches in diameter and placed at the 

 base of an isolated clump of bog rush. The top 

 surface of the nest was eight inches above the 

 water and perfectly dry. The second nest was 

 in the thick patch of tules and from the nest to 

 the open water twenty yards distant led a well 

 trampled trail. This nest was a flat platform of 

 dry rushes, sixteen inches in diameter, resting on 

 a springy mass of dead vegetation which raised 

 it well above the surface of the water. It had 

 been deserted for some reason; possibly the fe- 

 male had been killed on the nest by a muskrat. 

 The nine eggs were scattered over the nest, two 

 had rolled out and two others were broken. It 

 was found, on preparing them, that four contained 

 dead embryos; two were fresh (that is, they had 

 not been incubated) and one was infertile. Pos- 

 sibly the two fresh eggs had been laid by a second 

 female. A third nest, containing eight eggs, was 

 discovered twenty yards farther on in the thick 

 tules. This was evidently a second laying as the 

 nest was a very flimsy affair. The slight plat- 

 form of rushes was not thick enough to prevent 

 the marsh water from seeping in and several of 

 the eggs were lying in the water. No down had 

 been added to any of the three nests. One brood 

 of six downy young was seen on the same date. 

 The female led them from the protecting tules 

 and half swam, half flew along the surface of the 

 lagoon and out to the open water. 



Ruddy Duck: Ensmatura jamaicensis. On 



June 8th a band of ten Ruddy Ducks was seen in 

 a small pond in the tules. The six drakes, with 

 burnished copper backs and broad pale blue 

 bills were conspicuous objects on the black water. 

 Resting placidly on the surface of the pond they 

 appeared as if submerged lower than other diving 

 ducks; heads were carried well back between th6 

 shoulders with no neck showing and tails were 

 stiffly erected at right angles to the body. I 

 watched for half an hour in the hope of seeing 

 an exhibition of their courtship display, but the 

 drakes remained utterly indifferent, occasionally 

 dabbling their bills in the water or preening their 

 feathers. 



Two fresh eggs, undoubtedly belonging to this 

 species, were discovered buried in the decomposed 

 vegetation on the side of a muskrat house. There 

 was no sign of a nest, the parents were not seen 

 and I am at a loss to explain their peculiar situa- 

 tion. 



American Coot: Fulica americana. Next 

 to the Red-winged Blackbird, this was the com- 

 monest bird at the lake in 1916 and it was estimat- 

 ed that two hundred pairs were present. The 

 nests were made of dry, flat tules, securely based 

 in a clump of tules or bog rush and high enough 

 above the water to insure dryness on the upper 

 surface. They varied considerably in size, but 

 the average nest measured twelve inches in dia- 

 meter and was sufficiently concave to prevent the 

 eggs from rolling out. The number of eggs in a 

 clutch varied from six to eleven. Several of the 

 eggs were pipped in one nest and the scarlet bills 

 of the chicks could be seen through the openings. 

 On June 8th, two broods were seen, little flame- 

 colored balls swimming in close formation after 

 their mothers. 



The sitting females showed little fear if dis- 

 turbed from their nests, swimming to the open 

 water in their leisurely fashion with head swinging 

 back and forth to an accompaniment of unmusical 

 clucks and gurgles and, as soon as the coast was 

 clear, they would swim back to their nests. 

 Evidently, they live in the closest harmony with 

 the Holboell's Grebe, as it was usual to find the 

 two species nesting within ten or fifteen feet of 

 each other. 



Yellow-headed Blackbird: Xanthocephalus 

 xanthocephaliiK. Until the first trip to Swan 

 Lake, my acquaintance with this handsome 

 Blackbird was only a casual one; I had seen 

 wandering couples in the summer and occasional 

 migrants in the spring. On July 28th, 1914. a 

 flock of perhaps forty, nearly all adult males, 

 alighted in a bunch of rushes on the shore of 

 Okanagan Lake and clung for one exciting moment 

 to the slender stalks which bent beneath their 



