86 NE8TS AND EGGS OF ^ 



near water. The nest is made in the hollow of decayed trees, often at the depth 

 of four to six feet. It is composed of twigs, weeds or griss, warmly lined with the 

 down from breast of the bird. What is remarkable about the entrance to the 

 nest is, that it is often so small that it would seem almost impossible for the bird 

 to pass in and out. The tree in which the nest is made is frequently situated a 

 considerable distance froin water in some retired place. The young are carried to 

 water in the bill of the parent bird. The eggs number from eight to twelve, and I 

 have seen several sets of fourteen; they are of a pale bufC color, averaging in size 

 about 2.00 by 1.50, but there is a great variation in this respect when a large series 

 of specimens from different parts of the country are examined. When robbed of its 

 eggs the bird will often lay a second set. 



145. RUPOTTS-CRESTED DTJCK. Netta Buflna (Pall.) Geog. Dist.— Eastern 

 Hemisphere; accidental in the United States. 



The claim of this species to a place in the North American fauna, rests on a 

 single specimen obtained in Pulton Market, New York City, February 2d, 1872. 

 It is supposed to have been shot on Long Island Sound. The biri is found in South- 

 ern and i^astern Europe, and in portions of Africa and Asia. The eggs are described 

 as being of a pale olive-bufE and measure 2.32x1.68; not distinguishable from those 

 of the next species. 



146. KEDHEAD. Ayfhya americana (Eyt.) Geog. Dist. — ^North America, 

 breeding from California and Maine northward. 



The Redhead or Poachard, so frequently confounded with 



the Canvas-back, is a common duck throughout North America. 



jT ^"^^ ^^ breeds in all parts of the Fur Countries and is 



I ^^ i ^^rf^ ^ very abundant In the marshes of Manitoba, throughout 



V m the summer months. It nests in suitable localities of various 



^ ^ northern states, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and 



Dakota. The Redhead also breeds in the marshes of California. 



Mr. Shields mentions it nesting in a swamp near Los Angeles 



about the middle of June.* The nest is built on the ground in 



thick grass or weeds and is composed of aquatic plant stems 



and grasses, lined with the down and feathers from the breast 



of the bird. The nest is often constructed in a mass of reeds 



over water after the manner of a Coot's. Mr. Shields found the 



46. EDHEAD. nests to contain from seven to fourteen eggs. Eight or ten are 



more commonly laid further north. They are creamy-white, 



elliptical, and average 2,40 by 1.70, with slight variation. 



147. CANVAS-BACK. Aythya mllisneria (Wils.) Geog. Dist.— Nearly all of 

 North America. 



The celebrated Canvas-back Duck is an exclusively North American species, 

 found in the interior and on both coasts as far north as the Arctic Ocean and south- 

 ward to Central America. Breeds on the interior marshes, rivers and lakes from 



• Young Oologlst, a magazine devoted to the study of birds, their nests end eggs, pub- 

 Itehed by Frank H. Lattin, Albion, N. J., Vol. I, p. 90. 



