OapeOod, Maas ,1890. CUS, Miller &UK,VJII,Jan, 1891. p . fn-tf. 
Erismatura rubida. — On August it I found four young accompanied by 
the female parent on a large shallow pond which lies between the towns 
of Truro and Provincetown. At the approach of my boat the old bird left 
her young and joined five other adults which were resting upon the water 
half a mile away ; the young ones, however, were too young to fly, and so 
attempted to escape by swimming and diving to the shelter of a cat-tail 
island near which they happened to be when surprised. Two of them 
reached this place of safety, but the others were secured after a trouble- 
some chase. They were very expert divers, remaining beneath the sur- 
face for a considerable length of time, and on appearing again exposing 
the upper part of the head only, and that for but a few seconds. As the 
water just here happened to be filled with pond weed ( Potamogeton pecti- 
natus and P. ferfoliatus) it was not difficult to trace the motions of the 
birds, when beneath the surface, by the commotion which they made in 
passing through the thick masses of vegetation. The flock of old birds 
contained at least two adult males, which were very conspicuous among 
their dull-colored companions. They were all very shy, so that it was 
impossible to approach to within less than one hundred yards of them. 
The adults, as well as the two remaining young, were seen afterwards on 
several visits to the pond. 
The two taken are males. The head and greater part of the body is 
covered with down, but the remiges, rectrices, and scapulars are beginning 
to appear, as are also the true feathers along the sides of the body. No. 
5056 measures: length 305, extent 254, wing 53; no. 5057: length 324, 
extent, 279, wing 50 mm. 
In the ‘American Naturalist’ Vol. VII, July, 1874, Mr. Ruthven Deane 
writes: “On the 10th Sept., 1873, I was greatly surprised at finding two 
immature specimens of Erismatura rubida hanging up with a bunch of 
Winter and Summer Yellowlegs in a game stall in Quincy Market, Bos- 
ton. They had been sent from Cape Cod, Mass., the day v"' 1 - 
where thev were said to have been shot. They were apparently not more 
than six weeks old, and as their wings were not fledged enough to fly a 
rod, they undoubtedly must have been hatched in that locality. ... I 
obtained one of the above specimens which is now in my cabinet and I 
have no doubt that these birds were taken on Cape Cod. I have seen 
specimens taken as far east as Niagara Falls in May; these were in high 
breeding plumage, though I did not learn that any nests had ever been 
found in that locality.” This appears to be the only record of the breed- 
ing of the Ruddy Duck in Massachusetts, hence the following instances 
of the presence of adult birds during the breeding season in southern New 
England may be of interest, as they tend to show that the species may 
breed here more commonly than is at present supposed. In Mr. William 
Brewster’s collection there is an adult female in worn breeding plumage 
taken at Rye Beach, N. IT. , August 22, 1879. This bird ma y have been 
a migrant, but taken in connection with the date at which I found young 
birds still accompanied by their parent on Cape Cod it does not seem 
likely that it had come from any great distance. Mr. J. M. Southwick of 
Providence writes me under date of October 25, 1890: “Two Ruddy 
Ducks at hand this past season. They were males in full plumage, re- 
ceived July 7 and 14 respectively. Each had been killed a tew days (say 
one or two) previous at Seaconnet, R. I. I have another of same quality 
taken at same place early in July, 1889. In 1887 Dr. II. F. Marshall 
killed a pair, $ in full plumage, $ not so perfect. They were together, 
and he found no more of them. Mv friend Mr. Newton Dexter, who 
killed the last arrivals, is out of town, so I cannot substantiate my opin- 
ion, but I am quite sure that in 1889 he shot both $ and 5 at about the 
same season.” So many birds being taken in this one locality during 
the breeding season and in successive years, would seem to indicate that 
there is something more than mere accident in the occurrence, and as I 
understand that there is favorable breeding ground for them at Seaconnet, I 
have little doubt that when proper search is made, nests or young will 
be found there. Mr. M. Abbott Frazar informs me that he has had 
recently pass through his hands two adults taken during the breeding 
season, on the Charles River and at Wakefield, Mass., respectively. 
