W BIRDS 



quented woods near the water. Favorite nesting places are 

 hollow branches of trees, an ol ' woodpecker's hole, or hol- 

 low stump, preferring holes that overhang the water or are 

 near it. They will, however, often accept sites away from 

 the water, in which case the parent removes the young in 

 her bill to the water as soon as they are hatched, but the 

 young do not return to the nest. The writer has eight 

 eggs taken at Long Lake, Minnesota, May 21, 1903. The 

 hollow tree in which the eggs were laid was profusely lined 

 with down and feathers. 



REDHEAD 



The Redhead looks like a canvas-back, and is often mis- 

 taken for it; the difference is shown principally in shape of 

 bill and upper head. 



The redhead, or porchard, is one of our gamiest ducks, 

 occurring throughout temperate North America, chiefly 

 from the Great Lakes region westward. These ducks 

 arrive from the south early in March, on the way to Dakota 

 and Manitoba, where they are comparatively abundant. 



The redhead decoys easilj% but frequently feeds in large 

 expanses of open water where the hunter is afforded no 

 opportunity to approach within gunshot. The writer quotes 

 the following from his article on " The Nesting of the Red- 

 head Duck " : 



" They are very aquatic in their nesting habits, more so 

 than any others of their familj% except the canvas-back or 

 ruddy duck, in whose company they are often seen during 

 the breeding season. I discovered fifteen nests during one 



