CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 99 



the Anderson River. Turner, Nelson and Murdoch say that this 

 is a common duck from the mouth of the Mackenzie westward 

 all around the whole coast of Alaska. It winters along the 

 entire Aleutian chain and down the Pacific coast of British Col- 

 umbia, where Fannin says it is frequent in winter. 



Breeding Notes. — This bird is a sea-duck, breeding northerly. 

 A clutch of seven eggs in my collection was taken at the mouth 

 of Mackenzie River June 20th, 1894. The nest was built on the 

 ground under a small willow. {Raine. 



From the Yukon Delta along the coast, in each direction, their 

 nests are almost invariably placed in close proximity to a pond 

 or tide-creek — the sloping grassy bank of the ponds being a 

 favorite situation. The earliest set of eggs secured by me num- 

 bered five and was taken on May i8th at St. Michael. From 

 that date until the end of June, fresh eggs may be taken, but the 

 majority of the young are out by the last of that month. The 

 parents always keep in the immediate neighbourhood of the nest 

 and swim about in the nearest pond when the nest is approached. 

 An unusual amount of dry grass-stems, and down plucked from 

 the parent's breast, compose the nest, and if the eggs are left they 

 are carefully hidden in the loose material. (Nelson.) During the 

 breeding season, at Point Barrow, each pair seems to adopt a 

 pool of its own, and drives out all intruders. They breed in con- 

 siderable numbers all over the tundra, but the nests are scattered 

 and not easy to find. The nest is always lined with down 

 and generally near a pool. {Murdoch.) This species breeds in 

 great numbers in the neighbourhood of Fort Anderson, along the 

 Anderson River, on the Barren Grounds and the shores of the 

 Arctic Sea. Considerably over one hundred nests were taken, 

 and the eggs varied from five to seven, the latter being the 

 maximum number recorded in any one instance. In its make the 

 nest is very similar to that of Dafila acuta. From personal ob- 

 servation, also, I have come to the conclusion that the usual 

 quantity of down taken from the duck's breast depends on the 

 number of eggs in the set. {Macfarlane.) Several pairs breed 

 each year on St. Paul Island, Behring Sea. One nest was found 

 in 1897 beside a path leading to a well which was visited many 

 times during the day. The female seldom left the nest when 

 people passed along the path ; indeed, no one else knew of the 

 nest when I took five eggs from it. Unless the bird were looked 



