THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 23 



plantings were only partially successful, due probably to the large num- 

 bers oi carp that infest not only the river proper, but also the sloughs and 

 ponds. 



The following observations on the abundance of the ducks in the 

 region are based upon two official trips made for the Biological Survey, 

 to the Sanganois Club, near Browning, Illinois, for the purpose of trap- 

 ping ducks for banding. The first trip covered the period from February 

 28 to March 25, 1922, and the second from September 27 to December 

 15, 1922. 



Merganser {Mergus americanus). — Reported as numerous at times 

 but seen by me on only one occasion, November 21, 1922, when one 

 drake and two hens were observed. 



Hooded Merganser {Lophodytes cucullatus). — As Mr. Bent has ob- 

 served, this bird "is one of the handsomest of our ducks, a fit companion 

 for the gaudy wood duck with which it is often associated in the watery 

 woodlands." Several pairs and solitary birds were seen during March, 

 usually in the wider portions of the sloughs. Early in November small 

 flocks were noted daily, but they were almost all gone by the last of 

 that month. 



Mallard {Anas platyrhynchd). — The mallard outnumbers all other 

 ducks of this area by 100 to 1. When I arrived on the marsh early in 

 the spring the timberland was overflowed, so that it was possible to go 

 anywhere in a boat; in fact, it was impossible to go anywhere without 

 one. The mallards were feeding in the shallow water on the pin-oak 

 ridges, gleaning acorns and nut grass. A blow from a paddle on the side 

 of the cutter would be met with a roar of wings, and in an instant the 

 trees would seem to be literally alive with ducks. The water started to 

 rise on March 12, and three days later had reached such a depth that 

 the shoal-water feeders were forced out. On that date (March 15) not 

 over 2$ ducks of all kinds were seen. 



The fall migration in 1922 was unusually late, due to an open season, 

 and it was the middle of November before the flight was at its height. 

 This was preceded by an infiltration of birds that probably represented 

 the breeding grounds of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Dur- 

 ing the latter part of November mallards were present in very large 

 numbers, every "bait hole" supporting literally thousands of birds. 

 The freeze-up began about the 30th and the ducks left rapidly there- 

 after, the long lines flying toward the South being seen daily. 



Black Duck {Anas rubripes tristis). — Not uncommon. In the spring 

 I trapped several beautiful hybrids between this species and the mal- 

 lard. Most of the black ducks seen in the fall were observed during the 

 earlier part of the season, indicating that they arrive from breeding 

 grounds considerably south of the regions used by the great bulk of the 

 mallards. 



Baldpate {Mareca americand). — Not seen during the spring, and it is 



