NESTING OF THE GADWALL. 



The Gadwall is more southerly in its 

 breeding range than most ducks of its 

 genus. Although the}^ nest commonly in 

 Alberta, Assiniboia and Manitoba, a large 

 percentage of Gadwalls breed south of the 

 Canadian border. Near Los Angeles, 

 California, the Gadwall has been known 

 to lay her eggs as early as the first of 

 April. 



Among the small lakes of North and 

 South Dakota and Minnesota it is one of 

 the commonest of ducks during the nest- 

 ing season. Northern Wisconsin and 

 Michigan are the summer homes of the 

 Gadwall, but it becomes scarcer west of 

 the Missisippi River. In the above men- 

 tioned states this duck arrives from the 

 South in the latter part of March or in 

 April. During the month of October it 

 departs from its breeding grounds, grad- 

 ually wending its way southward as the 

 cold weatlier approaches. 



The Gadwall is usually a bird of the 

 open country, such as the prairie regions 

 of the northwest. It nests at Shoal Lake 

 and Lake Manitoba, Canada. About Dev- 

 ils Lake, North Dakota, the Gadwall com- 

 mences to lay her eggs about the first of 

 June, sometimes earlier, and fresh "sets" 

 are not uncommon up to the first of July. 



The nest is placed near water, prefera- 

 bly on high ground, and generally con- 

 cealed by tall weeds or brush. The parent 

 bird sometimes selects a tuft of grass or 

 clump of rushes in an open place, which 

 would seem to ofTer very little protection 

 were it not for the dull colored female 

 who so closely harmonizes with her sur- 

 roundings that she allows herself to be 

 almost stepped upon before leaving her 

 eggs. One writer refers to the Gadwall as 

 sometimes nesting in trees, but I can find 

 no records that verify his statement. 

 Let her leave the nest voluntarilv and so 



deftly will she conceal her eggs by cover- 

 ing them with down and grass that even 

 the trained eye of the naturalist is often 

 bafifled while searching for the hidden 

 treasures. 



The eggs average two and five-hun- 

 dredths inches long by one and fifty-hun- 

 dredths inches wide and range from 

 seven to twelve in number. Their color 

 is creamy buflf, elliptical in shape and 

 with a moderately polished surface. Gad- 

 wall's eggs have a richer, warmer hue 

 than those of the baldpate with which 

 they are often confused, but those of the 

 latter are a paler bufif, approaching 

 white. 



In certain localities where the Gad- 

 wall is known to breed, they show a 

 decided preference for islands in small 

 lakes, or a slight elevation in a bayou or 

 lagoon. In such situations several nests 

 of the Gadwall may be found within a 

 radius of a few rods and frequently the 

 baldpates take up their abodes in close 

 proxirhity to their near relatives. 



Among the many wet depressions, pot- 

 holes and ponds of North Dakota, few, if 

 any, appear complete without the charac- 

 teristic muskrat houses. I have passed 

 such places on the hottest days of June 

 and have seen the rat house literally cov- 

 ered with ducks, mostly drakes, and 

 among them were a goodly number of 

 Gadwalls, all dozing in the sunshine and 

 expressing no fear whatever at my in- 

 trusion. 



The nest and nine eggs shown in the 

 illustration were taken on the fifteenth of 

 June, 1900, near Graham's Island, Devils 

 Lake, North Dakota. The eggs rested 

 in a slight hollow in the earth, which was 

 snugly lined with down and sheltered by 

 the weeds and grass which covered the 

 island upon which the nest was located. 



Ger.\rd Alan Abbott. 



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