BIRDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
291 
they bid adieu to these essential guides, and betake themselves inland, 
where by the grassy margins of lakes, ponds and small streams, in retired 
and unfrequented localities, in the declining days of May, or dawn of 
laughing June, they select their partners, and enter upon the duties of 
housekeeping. Around the bayous of the Ohio, on our Northwestern 
Lakes, by the borders of Hudson’s Bay, and on the River St. Peters, 
they delighted to raise their numerous families in the happy days of 
Audubon, and there they still find suitable quarters, almost undisturbed 
by man and his minions. In our own beloved country they breed less 
abundantly, and only, as far as can be ascertained, in the regions, noted 
above, adjacent to British America. 
In the holes of tall dead trees, or on the tops of stubs, twenty, thirty 
and forty feet from the ground, seldom higher, the female places her nest, 
giving it a warm and cosy lining of soft grasses and feathers. She has 
everything her own way, the male seemingly manifesting little or no 
interest. Here she deposits her treasures, and relieved of her mate, who 
dwells by himself in some remote and secluded locality, instantly repairs 
to its precincts, and for nearly three weeks remains a very assiduous and 
persevering sitter. Like the Wood Duck, when about to leave the nest 
for food, she is careful to cover her eggs with some of the materials of 
the nest, to prevent them from becoming cold. Though not often con- 
strained to leave them, but when she does, she is apt to remain away for 
a considerable time, but not long enough to endanger the developing life 
within. 
The eggs are thick -shelled, somewhat sj^herical, more so than any 
other species of Duck, and a trifie more pointed at one extremity than the 
other. They are of a clean-white color, but in some instances are made 
to appear somewhat yellowish on the surface, which is to be attributed to 
stains produced by moisture from the feet of the sitting-bird. From the 
other Sheldrakes they may be readily distinguished by color and size, but 
should these fail, which is not likely to jjrove the case, their identity may 
be recognized by a peculiar noise which is made when two of these eggs 
