Cambridge, Mass.
1909
March 16
(No 4)
from them to hear notes which they may have uttered.
Their behavior was in some respects not unlike that
of the Whistler drakes which I watched on February 27th.
In numbers varying from three or four to ten or a dozen
they would collect about one or two females or follow
the latter from place to place in single file never
interfering with one another in any obvious way or
indulging in gestures which indicated animosity or
sexual jealousy. But while thus engaged they were
far more active and animated than the Whistler drakes,
swimming fast at all times and occasionally with 
amazing rapidity. Indeed I doubt if ever before I have seen birds of any kind swim so swiftly.
The combined movements of such
a group were often too sudden and bewildering
to ne easily followed or interpreted. But the general
plan of action seemed to consist of a sort of dress
parade so ordered as to give the rival drakes an
Courtship of Gooseanders