3S 



THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



In the following fall, when the flocks of 

 Geese began to arrive, the identical pet 

 Goose one day came to the ranch and 

 wanted to be fed as usual. It had remem- 

 bered the place all the time it had been in 

 its northern home. It stayed at the ranch 

 some months, when it disappeared with 

 the flocks and was seen no more. 



NESTING OF THE MALLARD DUCK. 



BY C. BARLOW. 



As nearly every one knows, the Mallard 

 is a cousin of our common domestic Duck 

 in a wild state, and it is one of the most 

 abundant species in 

 California. I have 

 never had the oppor- 

 tunity to observe their 

 habits, and will simply 

 relate my experience 

 as to their nesting. 



On May i of this 

 year, having the after- 

 noon to myself, I de- 

 cided to visit a small 

 marsh near this city 

 in quest of water- 

 birds' eggs in general. 

 I accordingly arrayed 

 myself in a suitable 

 costume, packed up 

 my camera (which I 

 find indispensable on 

 such a trip), and, tak- 

 ing a large basket nest and eggs 

 filled with cotton, I 



mounted my wheel and was off. After a 

 warm ride I reached a long lane which led 

 to the marsh. 



The road was wide enough for one wag- 

 on with perhaps a foot or two to spare, 

 with a ditch on either .side, and when half 

 way down it I met a funeral procession 

 fully half a mile in length. Arrayed as I 

 was, with the basket on my back and the 

 camera suspended on one handle, I had to 

 run the gauntlet on a narrow strip of road. 



Arriving at the marsh, which was sinii)ly 

 a number of fields cox-ered with water, out 

 of which tules, marsh gra.ss and clover had 

 grown, I was confronted on all sides with 

 signs such as "Trespassers will be Prose- 

 cuted," "Keep Out," etc., but I made bold 

 to enter one field which had a promising 

 look. I waded about for some time, but 



the network of tracks told of the success of 

 some former collector, and, with the ex- 

 ception of a few Coots, Yellow-headed and 

 Bicolored Blackbirds, no water birds were 

 seen. 



In returning to the road, I took a new 

 course through a field of marsh grass and 

 clover where the water had dried up, leav- 

 ing the ground but slightly damp. Sud- 

 denly a Duck arose from a patch of clover 

 with a solitary ' 'quack, ' ' and flew wildly 

 away. By the size of the bird, the pre- 

 dominating white and bright green mark- 

 ings, I identified it as a Mallard. About 

 three feet ahead I found the nest, which 

 was some eighteen inches in diameter. A 

 handsome set of eleven eggs lay nicely 

 arranged in it, and I at once made the 

 photograph which ac- 

 companies this article. 

 The nest was lined 

 with down and feath- 

 ers from the adult 

 bird, and was com- 

 posed of grasses inter- 

 woven with the clover 

 and marsh grass. The 

 eggs were a light 

 olive, slightly stained 

 by the damp grass on 

 which they had lain. 

 Ten of the eggs were 

 almost of the same 

 size, while the elev- 

 enth was a third 

 smaller, and would 

 hardly be taken as be- 

 longing to the same 

 OF THE MALLARD. sct. As the sct is at 



present in Chicago, 

 forming a part of the exhibit there, I am 

 unable to give the dimensions. 



During my stay in the field the bird did 

 not appear, but doubtless returned later, to 

 find her treasures gone. On the 5th of May 

 a friend and I again visited the mar.sh to 

 endeavor to collect another set. We dragged 

 the grass with a long rope, but to no avail. 

 The Mallard was the most numerous Duck 

 about the marshes both before and after the 

 taking of my set, but not another nest was 

 discovered during the season. It may be 

 that they only nest here occasionally. I 

 value the set chiefly because of the number 

 of eggs it contains. 



In this same marsh Coots, Pied-billed 

 Grebes, Florida Gallinules, Blackbirds and 

 Rail breed in numbers. 

 SiDi Jose, Cal. 



