146 THE WOOD DUCK. 



placed sometimes six or ten feet in, and in cavities in the 

 bodies of trees. The nest is made of various dried vege- 

 table matter, and is lined with feathers and down. The eggs, 

 anywhere from a half-dozen to fifteen, are smooth, about 

 1.95 X 1.50, nearly elliptical, of a light yellowish-white, some- 

 times tinged with green. 



When the female begins to sit the male leaves her, after 

 the usual manner of the Ducks, and joins other males. 



When the young are about twenty-four hours old, if the 

 limb containing' the nest be over the water, they may find 

 their way severally to the edge, and dropping into their 

 favorite element, begin life's perilous career. If the nest be 

 a little distant from the water, as is generally the case, the 

 mother may seize them by the wing or neck, and con- 

 vey them to it, or, landing them thus on the ground, may 

 lead them thither in a flock. More commonly, however, 

 the mother having thoroughly reconnoitered the place for 

 some time, and now uttering her soft cooing call at the 

 door- way, the little ones scramble up from the nest with the 

 aid of their sharp toe-nails, and huddle around the mother 

 a few minutes. The mother, now descending to the ground, 

 calls again to the young, and they drop one by one on to 

 the soft moss or dried leaves, their tiny bodies so enveloped 

 in long down, falling scarcely harder than a leaf or a 

 feather. Again they huddle around the mother-bird; and, 

 the distance of the nest from the water being sometimes as 

 much as sixty or seventy rods, and generally more or less 

 on an elevation, they need the maternal guidance to their 

 favorite element. 



Here, on such shallow ponds and edges of creeks and 

 lakes as abound in tender vegetable growths, amidst many 

 perils, she watches over them most assiduously, aiding them 

 in procuring their food of aquatic insects, tender shoots of 



