144 NYROCA VALISINERIA 



judging by the experiences of Mr. Job in Manitoba and Mr. A. Wolfe at Edmonton, 

 Alberta. 



I have recently heard that a male Canvas-back reared by Mr. Wolfe mated with a 

 female Mallard the first spring and the union resulted in young. It is not certainly 

 known whether or not the bulk of wild individuals nest when only one year old, but 

 I assume that this is the case. 



Hybrids. Hybrids between this and other ducks must be extremely rare. A 

 wild hybrid between the Canvas-back and the Lesser Scaup (Nyroca affinis) is re- 

 ported in the British Museum Catalogue (Salvadori, 1895). 



In confinement this species has been mated with a female Mallard in the hands of 

 a gentleman at Port Perry, Ontario, the union resulting in nine eggs which produced 

 seven ducklings (A. Wolfe, in litt.). I do not know whether or not these were ever 

 reared to maturity. The race of ducks described by Dr. T. M. Brewer (1874) from a 

 farmyard in Pennsylvania was probably not the result of crossing Mallards with 

 Canvas-backs as he supposed, for there is little likelihood that such a combination 

 would produce fertile offspring. 



