Il8 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



Alaska and northern British Columbia. No females were seen 

 though they were undoubtedly nesting in the vicinity of Lake 

 Lebarge. 



Breeding Notes. — ^This species breeds commonly on the marshes 

 along the Yukon, even above Fort Yukon. The main breeding 

 ground of this species remains unknown to me, for although females 

 and young were not rare in summer, yet they were not numerous 

 enough to account for the vast number of males to be found. From 

 the fact that immense flocks of the males are constantly seen off the 

 coast in summer it is evident that the females assume the duty of 

 incubating the eggs and rearing the young. (Nelson.) The remarks 

 made under O. deglandi happen to be, in almost every respect, 

 equally appUcable to the present species — the only difEerence noted 

 being that generally less hay and feathers were observed in the com- 

 position of its nest. (Macfarlane.) Audubon observed this species 

 breeding in Labrador. He found a nest in a fresh-water marsh, 

 among the tall grass and weeds. It was composed entirely of 

 withered weeds, lined with the down of the bird, and contained 

 five eggs of a pale-yeUowish or cream colour. (Mcllwraith.) I have 

 a set of eight eggs taken at the delta of the Mackenzie river, June 

 26th, 1901. The nest was made on the bank of the river amongst 

 drift wood. (Raine.) 



LXIV. ERISMATURA Bonaparte. 1832. 

 167. Ruddy Duck. 



Erismatura jamaicensis (Gmel.) Salvad. 1896. 



A rare and uncertain visitor on the Atlantic coast, though reported 

 from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. More com- 

 mon in Quebec, and according to Mcllwraith, generally distributed 

 in Ontario. 



Abundant migrant near London. A few pairs breed in the 

 marshes at St. Clair fiats. {Saunders & Morden.) In eastern On- 

 tario this is a rare duck. It is occasionally met with in the autumn 

 at Big bay, Wolfe island near Kingston, Ont. (Rev. C. J. Young.) 



This is a common summer resident in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 

 breeding on all the deep and reedy ponds. Stragglers have been taken 

 on Hudson bay, and Richardson says it breeds as far north as lat. 58° ; 



