THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



the Cinnamon Teal. 



Along the shore in many places, where 

 the water is very shallow or the ground 

 merely damp, coarse marsh grass grows, 

 and along the edges of this thick clusters 

 of clover thrive, which offer favorable sites 

 for Ducks' nests. In this part of the 

 swamp four sets out of five I secured were 

 located. The ground here is covered with 

 water about an inch deep. 



On April 29, of the present year, a 

 friend and I traversed this half acre spot 

 with a hundred foot rope between us. The 

 rope passing over the grass soon frightened 

 a Duck which I was obliged to shoot as it 

 rose. It proved to be a male Cinnamon 

 Teal and the nest was found shortly after 

 in the identical spot from whence the duck 

 flew.* 



The nest was very neatly constructed an 

 inch or two above the water and firmly 

 fastened to the round marsh grass, which 

 grew about thirty inches high and almost 

 concealed the nest from view. It contained 

 eight fresh eggs. 



From descriptions I had read of their 

 nests I had an idea that they were loose 

 and very shallow affairs, but m}^ experi- 

 ence has shown them in a very different 

 light. They are well constructed and suffi- 

 ciently deep to hold a large set of eggs with 

 no possible risk of their rolling out. 



The nest in question was made entirely 

 of marsh grass, and lined profusely with 

 grey down, especially around the edges. 

 By cutting off the grass which supported 

 the nest it could easily have been removed 

 without danger of its falling apart. 



About a rod from this nest another duck 

 was flushed — a female — not, however, until 

 the rope had passed over her for several 

 yards. The nest was soon discovered and 

 found to contain eleven eggs. It was much 



*(I did not suppose the male assisted iu in- 

 cubating the eggs nor does Mr. A. M. Shields, 

 whom I questioned on this point, but this incident 

 tends to alter my opinion, although, of course, it 

 is quite possible the Duck was merely close by the 

 nest. The female was not in sight.) 



easier to see than the other set, being not 

 so well shaded by surrounding vegetation. 

 It was also lined with grey down (I pre- 

 sume from the breast of the female) and 

 placed a couple of inches above the shallow 

 water. 



While engaged in packing this set an- 

 other Teal flew from the grass some dis- 

 tance from us, but we could not mark the 

 precise spot, so we failed to find the nest. 



I was quite sure it had flown from its 

 nest, however, so on May 13th I made an- 

 other search and succeeded in finding a 

 nest which I am convinced belonged to the 

 Ducks noted two weeks before, as it was in 

 the immediate vicinity of the spot from 

 whence the Duck had flown. Furthermore 

 the nest was somewhat disarranged, the 

 down being scattered over the eggs. A 

 colony of ants had taken possession of it 

 and I attribute this as the cause of its 

 desertion. 



This nest was like the preceding ones, 

 excepting it was more in the tules and 

 marsh grass, and was on the damp, boggy 

 ground where water had but recentty stood. 

 Like the others, it was composed of marsh 

 grass, lined with down, and contained 

 eleven eggs. The color is a creamy shade 

 throughout, and the average measurement 

 of this set is 1.93 x 1.38 inches. The nest, 

 which is the subject of the illustration, and 

 is the last one I found, measures outside 

 II inches in diameter by 5 inches in 

 height, depth inside 2% inches. 



The third nest was discovered (April 29) 

 in a bunch of dry rushes about a foot above 

 water. It was secreted very well and 

 would not have been noticed had not the 

 female left the nest just beside me. 



It was composed of dry rushes, fastened 

 to the rushes and lined in the same manner 

 as the preceding. The complement of eggs 

 was eleven. 



The fourth nest was the prettiest of all, 

 but less compact. It was in a bunch of 

 thick ^clover just a foot or two from the 

 water. 



We had ceased dragging the rope and I 



