NESTING OF THE REDHEAD DUCK. 



It is the mother bird of this species, 

 and her habits, during the breeding sea- 

 son, that will be described in the follow- 

 ing lines, hoping that new information 

 regarding this interesting duck may be 

 furnished to our readers. 



To many people the Redhead is known 

 only in a commercial way, as they ap- 

 pear semi-annually in our markets, to- 

 gether with strings of other ducks, which 

 have met with a similar fate. In fact, 

 few sportsmen know them "but to shoot 

 them," and. little is known regarding the 

 nesting habits of this water fowl except 

 by those who have had an opportunity to 

 visit our northern marshes, where the 

 thousands of water birds congregate 

 yearly, to lay their eggs and rear their 

 young. In their summer haunts our 

 ducks assume a different aspect. They 

 cease to be the wary creatures they were 

 when migrating! through the states from 

 their winter abodes. Those that ran the 

 gauntlet and escaped the hunter's bullet 

 now find peace and comfort in their s'jr- 

 roun dings where only the most enthusi- 

 astic bird-lo'vers and naturalists ven- 

 ture. Anyone making such a trip will 

 surely find himself abundantly repaid 

 and his research will reveal many traits 

 in the lives of these water fowls which 

 they do not betray during their brief 

 stay with us in their spring and fall mi- 

 grations. 



The female Redheads lack the con- 

 spicuous red or rufous of the head and 

 throat, also the black of the upper breast 

 and back, which the male possesses. She 

 is grayish brown above, darkest on the 

 rump and lightest on the head, the 

 throat being white. The under sides are 

 gray, tinged with buff ; the belly is 

 white. 



Redheads, or American Pochards, as 

 they are frequentlv called, belong to the 

 genus Aythya, of which there are five 

 American species. These are classed as 

 seaducks, and althoiieh the Pochard is 

 found in great numbers on the sea 



coasts, especially the Atlantic, from Oc- 

 tober to May, they can not be regarded 

 as our true sea ducks. 



Redheads enjoy waddling about in 

 shallow wtater and frequenxly feed by 

 "dipping," both habits being character- 

 istic of our river du.cks, namely, the 

 mallard, pintail and teal. 



The flight of the Pochard is said to 

 be about equal to that of the canvasback 

 or mallard, which is estimated at forty- 

 five miles an hour. 



From Maine to California the Red- 

 head has been known to breed, but their 

 principal nesting localities, in this coun- 

 try, extend ' from northern Michigan 

 westward through Wisconsin, Minneso- 

 ta, Dakota and Montana. It also breeds 

 abundantly in some sections of Canada, 

 especially in Manitoba. 



During a trip to North Dakota in the 

 spring of 1900 I found the Redhead an 

 abundant summer resident throughout 

 the northern part of the state. 



They are very aquatic in their nest- 

 ing habits ; more so than any others of 

 their family except the canvasback and 

 ruddy duck, in whose company they are' 

 often foimd during the breeding season. 



I discovered fifteen nests during the 

 month of June, all of which were situ- 

 ated in tail grass or reeds growing in 

 water froni one-half to twO' and one- 

 half feet deep. In no instance was the 

 nest placed on the ground. Usually the 

 nests were built , in clumps of green 

 grass at the base of Avhich was an accu- 

 mulation- of dead vegetation. The dry 

 grass is massed together, forming a 

 foundation upon which the nest proper, 

 of the same material, but finer quality, 

 is placed. This is securely woven to 

 the living vegetation which surrounds 

 it. Frequently the birds construct a 

 floating nest, and it is a beautiful sight 

 to observe the female slide from her 

 eggs into the water, uttering a subdued 

 quack as she paddles out of sight 

 among the tall grass. 



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