WATER BIRDS. 89 
are said to breed still on the inland lakes in Oakland county. I have 
seen two or three near Waterford in August. At the Flats it is occasionally: 
taken in April and October, and also in the marshes near Monroe and 
Pt. Mouille.” P. A. Taverner, Macomb county ‘(Once common, now 
rare; one bird, male, taken this fall on the Flats.’”? Boies, Neebish Island, 
1891-93, ‘People on the island tell me that they have found their nests 
often during the summer, but I saw neither. They were plenty in the fall, 
however.” Purdy, Plymouth, 1904, ‘““Formerly quite common, but now 
very rare. It used to breed here, but now rarely visits our ponds and 
streams.”” Dunham, Kalkaska county, 1904, ‘‘Rather rare; a few breed 
along the Manistee River.’’ Swales, St. Clair county, 1904, ‘Very rare 
now; once a common summer resident.”” Wan Winkle, Delta county, 
1905, ‘‘Quite common, breeds. 
It reaches the southern counties during the latter part of March, and 
moves southward again during September and October, the latest dates 
being about November first. 
Fig. 20. Wood Duck.—Male. 
From photograph of mounted bird. (Original.) 
The nest is always placed in the natural hollow of a tree, which may be 
living or dead, and the entrance is often forty or fifty feet above the ground. 
Mr. Covert states that 19 eggs were taken from a nest at Bass Lake, Wash- 
tenaw county, April 30, 1897, by Dean C. Worcester and F. G. Bournes. 
This species seems to be an early nester and it is probable that the above 
date represents about the average time for the completion of the set. 
The number of eggs, however, seems abnormal, the usual number being 
from eight to fifteen. The nest often contains much down, and the eggs 
are white or buffy white and average 2.08 by 1.58 inches. 
This duck is a general feeder, but is particularly fond of acorns, and 
spends much of its time in October along wooded streams and about 
the margins of ponds where these can be had. While sometimes found 
in the open lake and in large ponds it is far more frequently seen along 
the smaller streams which wind slowly between heavily wooded banks, 
especially if there is much oak timber in the vicinity. It does not, however, 
disdain the ordinary food of other ducks, and is frequently found in the 
