220 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVI 
a bit of open water in a large pond. As soon as the young were securely hid- 
den in a growth of sedge the mother flew over towards us and attempted to 
distract our attention. Although we searched the patch of sedge carefully we 
were not able to locate any of the young. Another brood of downy young was 
reported to us. All of the evidence obtained points to the conclusion that, 
even so early as the middle of May, many Mallards were already through nest- 
ing. The downy young are much like those of the Cinnamon Teal, but can be 
distinguished by the presence of more yellow on the sides of the head and by 
the broader bill. 
Dafila acuta. Pintail. Four nests of the Pintail were examined. One 
found on a small islet had been destroyed by some animal, for the broken egg 
shells were found scattered about. Another nest found had been trampled by 
cattle. On May 22 a Pintail was seen to flush from her nest as an automobile 
passed by. The nest was situated about twenty yards from the nearest w'ater 
and but forty feet from the main county road. It was but poorly concealed, 
being surrounded by salt grass only about six inches high. The nest, contain- 
Fig. 63. Downy young of Pintail {Dafila acuta) ; Los Banos, May 21, 1914. 
ing seven fresh eggs, was constructed of short grass stems and sparsely lined 
with dark-colored down. On returning to this nest on the morning of the 24th 
we found that some animal had been there before us. Only four whole eggs 
remained, while broken and empty shells were scattered about (see fig. 70). 
The fourth nest was reported to us as containing eight fresh eggs on May 23, 
and as being located in salt grass within fifty feet of the margin of a large 
pond. 
In all, three broods of the Pintail were found in this locality. The first 
brood was discovered along with the mother in some shallow water near a tule- 
grown slough. The downy young all at once started for the shelter of the 
tules, while the mother flopped into the water not more than ten feet away 
from me and did her best to lead me in another direction. The brood num- 
bered seven or eight individuals about nine inches long though there was con- 
siderable variation in size. On May 21 a Pintail with ten downy young was 
discovered on the bank of a pond. When first disturbed she was brooding her 
young on dry ground about ten feet from the water. The moment she flew 
the downy young assumed rigidly the same poses they had variously held be- 
