RED-HEAD 173 



quite so rapidly as in the Golden-eye, but the bill is thrown so far back that it actually 

 seems to stick out beyond the tail ! Often the throw-back movements are not seen and 

 the males swim about with the neck held rather stiffly and erect, preparatory to utter- 

 ing the extraordinary cat-call. A very marked swelling begins on the lower cheeks and 

 throat, extending rapidly downward at the same instant that the meow call becomes 

 audible. This call may immediately follow the throw-back of the head, but is heard 

 more often without the full display. I have seen a captive male in spring going 

 through other motions difficult to interpret. He began suddenly to dart his head 

 forward in quick jerks, about one to the second, the bill snapping to and fro about an 

 inch each way. Sometimes this movement was repeated even more rapidly, accom- 

 panied by a sharp cough, only audible up to about twenty-five yards. This per- 

 formance was entirely separate from the regular display. 



Under natural conditions a small group of males is often actively engaged in court- 

 ing a single female. Wetmore (1920) describes the female as also displaying, ap- 

 proaching one of the males, her head held high, "sometimes jerking it up and down 

 and again holding it erect, and at times calling quek que-e-ek, the last a peculiar rat- 

 tling note." The male chosen extended his neck, holding head erect, frequently whirl- 

 ing about to show the female his back, or again sank down with his head drawn in 

 while the female bowed. Sometimes the female opened her mouth or bit gently at 

 the male or sprang quickly in front of him. There was a good deal of jealousy and 

 transferring of attention from one mated pair to the other and the males made fre- 

 quent rushes at one another. The calling of the males continued after the birds were 

 permanently mated. 



Mr. Allan Brooks tells me that he has noticed still another antic in the display of 

 the Red-head. This consists of a quick lift forward and is not associated with the 

 ordinary 7 attitudes described above. 



The nesting season, like that of the Pochard, is rather late; late, that is, compared 

 with that of the Mallard and the Pintail, but much earlier than that of the White- 

 winged Scoter. For most of the breeding area late May to early June is the normal 

 laying period in an average season. Many nests are found in California in late May 

 and early June and there is an exceptional record of a nest found in Alameda County 

 on April 23 (Grinnell, Bryant and Storer, 1918). In other southerly localities, like 

 New Mexico and Utah, the nesting season is in early June. The earliest nest noted in 

 Colorado was found on May 31, and many more were taken in June, even late in the 

 month (Rockwell, 1911). In North Dakota and Saskatchewan the season is very 

 nearly the same as farther south. 



The ordinary Red-head's nest is a large loose structure of dead flags built among 

 standing rushes over shallow water or mud. At other times it is built on the ground 

 in thick sedge or weeds and is constructed of the same material. It is usually well 

 hidden from overhead observation but can sometimes be discovered by the down 



