September, 1881, 



AND OOLOGIST. 



55 



in the last five years hoping to find Albinos, 

 hut without success. On the 20th day of 

 August, ho\vc\er, on Fort Hill, in the town 

 of Groton, I saw a cinnamon-colored crow 

 in a company of the normal plumage, and 

 whether on the ground or flying, or perch-d 

 on a iree, his strange dress made him con- 

 sjiicuous among his fellows. — J. M. W . 



♦♦♦ 



Those "Brants." — Corrections. 



I promised to write you again in case I 

 learned anything farther this season in re- 

 gard to the Brant eggs found by me last 

 year at St. Clair Flats. I found the same 

 eggs this year but failed to see any birds 

 that could be mistaken for the Brant. On 

 June 29th, while going through the marsh 

 of North Ridge of middle channel, I found 

 a nest of the same eggs as those of last year, 

 and which I supposed to be the Brant 

 {Bernicld brciita) from the fact of seeing 

 a pair of birds about the size and color of 

 the Brant in the vicinity. I have since 

 learned that they were not Brant's eggs. 



June 29th, 1 found four nests containing 

 eight and ten eggs each The nest was 

 built in fine grass growing in water from 

 ten to eighteen inches in depth. The nest 

 was composed of fine grass and raised about 

 six inches above the water in a tuft of green 

 grass, the tops of the grass being woven 

 together over the nest, forming an arch. 

 The nest contained ten eggs, varying in 

 shape and size, — the largest being 2 5-8X 

 I 14-16 inches, the smallest being 2 7-16X 

 I 13-16 inches — color, a greenish white; the 

 shell rough like a goose egg. I marked the 

 nest and worked in the vicinity all day, but 

 did not get a glimpse of the bird Several 

 times I saw Ruddy Ducks [Erisinatura 

 rubidd) near by but paid no attention to 

 them, as the eggs were so large and the 

 ducks so small that I did not think it likely 

 to be the Ruddy's nest. I was puzzled. 

 I approached the nest from time to time, 

 each time watching to see the bird leave 

 the nest, but was each time disappointed. 

 The eggs were warm and the nest appeared 



to have just been left by the bird. While 

 hunting around I fc/und other nests of the 

 same kind and built in the same way. As 

 I could not see the bird I began examining 

 the nest Among the down in the lining I 

 found three feathers, very small, but show- 

 ing the color of the feathers on the breast 

 of the bird. Now I Jiad something to help 

 me and I took the eggs and returned to 

 I Detroit 



I I examined feathers of Brant, Velvet 

 I Duck, Surf Duck and all other Ducks I 

 I thought likely to lay an egg of that size, and 

 was disappointed to find a difference in 

 them. At last I went for a female Ruddy, 

 and pulled out several feathers. On com- 

 paring them under a glass I found them to 

 be the same, only the fresh feathers being 

 a little brighter than the ones taken from 

 the bird mounted four years ago. I made 

 i this discovery July first, in the morning; in 

 the evening I started again for the flats. I 

 found a nest of eight and watched it. 

 While going to the nest through clear water, 

 I (as I was tired of pushing my boat through 

 ! the grass) I saw something- drop out of the 

 j nest into the water and sink. I hurried for- 

 ward and saw a female Ruddy Duck swim- 

 ming under water for a clump of rushes a 

 j couple of rods away. It was all very plain 

 now. The bird, instead of flying off the 

 nest, would simply dive and swim under 

 water to a safe distance. The fact of the 

 eggs being so large and with a rough shell, 

 led me to look for a large bird and some- 

 thing of the Goose order. 



I am well satisfied that it is nothing 

 , but the Ruddy Duck, and will willingly 

 take back any of the eggs sold last year by 

 me supposing they were the Brant. From 

 not seeing the Brant — or the bird I sup- 

 posed was the Brant — this year, I came to 

 the conclusion that I was either mistaken, 

 or the birds were there accidentally. I now 

 am quite certain that I was mistaken in the 

 eggs, and that they belonged to a different 

 bird from the ones I saw at the time of 

 finding the nest last year. I secured a few 

 sets of Red Head Duck, {Aythega ameri- 

 cana) and Forster's Tern {Sterna forsteri.) 

 — W. H. Collins, Detroit. 



