Mar., 191 6 
CHARACTERISTIC BIRDS OF THE DAKOTA PRAIRIES 
55 
plainly in her puffy brown head. As she swam slowly up and down the shore 
feeding, she passed two Killdeer walking on the beach. In feeding under 
water she would dive and re-appear, throwing up her head to swallow. When 
she swam away, two white spots, one each side the tail, stood out like signal 
lanterns on the back of a car. She is surely a well marked bird. When the 
farmer pointed out hollow trees where these “Wood Ducks”, as they are 
called locally, had nested in former years, his sister told of having seen the 
parents fly down from their knot-holes with young on their backs. Another 
observer added that the young steady themselves by taking hold of their 
mother’s feathers with their bills. 
Another Duck that nested in the region, one of the Scaups, was seen on 
the lake at different times but never near enough to determine the species. A 
group of three, two of the handsome black-fronted drakes and one of the 
brown ducks, were seen swimming around close together the 21st of June in 
what seemed to he courtship rivalry, late though it was. After swimming 
along peacefully together for a few moments, one of the drakes would sud- 
denly start after the other and dog his steps, swimming at his heels around and 
around as if trying to drive him off. The duck, meanwhile, holding her brown 
head high, apparently kept as far as possible from one of the rivals, though 
it was hard to tell which, the three swam within such a small circle. This 
droll performance was repeated a week later ; but this time when two drakes 
and one duck were swimming around together a third drake happened along 
and seeing the group swam in rapidly as if to present his suit to the haughty 
lady. In any case, one suitor, presumably he, swam close to her ear. As before 
she held her disdainful head high and soon there were but two suitors, and at 
last but one. Down the lake could be seen five or six other Scaups, so let us 
hope that all the rivals were happily mated at last. 
Another hint of anserine rivalry was given by two of the large black 
White-winged Scoters, those interesting Sea Ducks of the far north, here 
reaching the southern limit of their breeding range. It was the merest hint, 
but as I watched, two of the red-billed drakes suddenly stood up on the lake 
and raising their wings till the white patches showed, dashed through the 
water at each other so furiously that, I stood breathless, prepared for what 
might come. Around they turned and — one swam off to a female spectator 
on the right and one to a female spectator on the left — and that was appar- 
ently the conclusion of the whole matter ! 
This occurred on the 28th of June, but the Scoters are said to be late 
breeders. Previous to this exhibition of rivalry during the two weeks that I 
had been watching them the Scoters seen on the lake had almost invariably 
been in pairs, a black and a brown one, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, often widely separated 
but in sight from one short strip of beach. A party of eight were found to- 
gether in a bay one day making sociable duck-like noises, but on discovering 
me they separated out into pairs again. If that were previous to their breed- 
ing season did it indicate that they remain paired throughout the year? 
Phlegmatic, inadequately describes these great Sea Ducks. Decoys they 
might well be, you think aggrievedly as you watch them. Surely such rare 
visitors might do something to at least hold the attention ! After sitting like 
chunks of wood for a long time one of the males might perhaps turn to lie 
on its side and plume itself with its red bill, tipping up a white-patched wing 
or pulling a gleaming red foot out of the water. And of course in feeding. 
