48 THE CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



afiinis). Mr. J. Grafton Parker, Jr., informs me that he has 

 seen and taken the Ruddy Duck on Wolf Lake, Indiana, as late 

 as the thirthieth of May. It may breed at the present time within 

 our limits. Mr. E. W. Nelson says :* "The middle of Septem- 

 ber, 1875, my friend Mr. T. H. Douglas, of Waukegan, found 

 a pair with eight or ten full grown young in a small lake 

 near that place, and obtained several specimens. As the fall 

 migration of this species does notxommence until some weeks 

 later than this, I think it very probable these birds were hatched 

 in the vicinity. This supposition is rendered still more reason- 

 able by the following observations. The 12th of June, 1875, 

 while walking through the dense grass close to the shore of 

 Calumet Lake, looking for sharp-tailed finches, a female ruddy 

 duck started from the grass a few yards in advance and flew 

 heavily away and alighted in the reeds a short distance out from 

 shore. Being well acquainted with the species, I at once recog- 

 nized the bird by unmistakable peculiarities of form and flight, 

 as well as coloration, so I did not shoot it as I could easily have 

 done, but instead, made a thorough search for the nest, which 

 I was certain must be near. The dense grass, about three feet 

 high, proved an effectual shield, however, and I was compelled 

 to depart without the coveted eggs." 



The breeding range of the Ruddy Duck is nearly coincident 

 with its geographical range, which includes the whole of North 

 America south to Guatemala, and it is also found in Cuba and 

 other West India islands. 



Genus CHEN Bole, 1822. 



Chen hyperborea (Pall.). Lesser Snow Goose. 



Anas hyperlorea Pali,., Spicil. ZooL, VI, 1769, 25. 

 Chen hyperborea BoiE, Isis, 1822, 563. 

 Anser hyperioreus var. albatus Cass., of some authors. 

 Popular synonyms : White Bkant. Sko'w Goose. 



A common migrant. Though rarely taken within our limits, 

 many are seen passing over. They usually arrive on their north- 

 ward passage from the last of January to April, and return from 

 the north in October. 



The Lesser Snow Goose breeds in Alaska and during its fall 

 migrations passes as far south as southern Illinois and southern 

 California. 



•Birds of Nortlieastem Illinois. Bull, of the Essex Institute, Vol. Vm, 1876, 143. 



