33 



IOWA ORNITHOLOGIST. 



The order Anseres has thirty 

 species which have been taken in 

 Iowa. The fish-eating ducks 

 have three representatives, the 

 American, Red - breasted, and 

 Hooded Mergansers, all of which 

 I have seen in Franklin county. 

 The American Merganser winters 

 south and nests north, passing 

 through Iowa as a migrant, one 

 of the earliest. The Red-breast- 

 ed Merganser is said to be an oc- 

 casional winter resident in favor- 

 ed portions of the state, but is 

 more common as a migrant. The 

 Hooded Merganser is a hardier 

 species than the former, winter- 

 ing further north, though not fre- 

 quently in Iowa, owing to the 

 freezing of almost all the water 

 courses. 



The Mallard is an early and 

 abundant migrant. The Black 

 Duck is chiefly an eastern species, 

 seldom found west of the Missis- 

 sippi River, but according to the 

 Report on Bird Migration it has 

 been known to breed in Iowa. 

 The Gadwall migrates in great 

 numbers to congregate on the 

 gulf coast, but is said to winter 

 in some parts of Illinois and pos- 

 sibly in Iowa. The Baldpate 

 ranges all over North America, 

 wintering far south. The Green- 

 winged Teal breeds chiefly above 

 the United States border, but is 



a common migrant. The Blue- 

 winged Teal nests further south, 

 sometimes in this state. The 

 Shoveller breeds from Minneso- 

 ta northward, migrating com- 

 monly through Iowa. 



The Pintail, the subject of our 

 frontispiece, is an early migrant, 

 but unlike the greater number of 

 the ducks which migrate first it 

 does not nest exclusively in the 

 far northwest. It is a common 

 breeder at Heron Lake, Minn., 

 and at Spirit Lake, Iowa, and 

 has been known to nest in por- 

 tions of Illinois. The Wood Duck 

 is a summer resident throughout 

 the Mississippi Valley. The Red- 

 head is a common migrant, its 

 range being almost identical with 

 that of the Pintail. The Can- 

 vass-back is known to breed at 

 Heron Kake, but I have seen no 

 Iowa record. The Blue-bill and 

 Lesser Blue-bill, or Scaup, ducks 

 occur chiefly as migrants, but 

 are summer residents in the 

 northern part of Iowa, -there be- 

 ing several records of nesting at 

 Clear Lake, in Cerro Gordo 

 county. The Ring-neck also has 

 been found breeding there, tfiis 

 being the most southern record 

 of its nesting. It is, of course, 

 chiefly a migrant. The Golden- 

 eye breeds north of Iowa, our 

 only notes on the species classing 



