Anas obscura. 
Lake Umbagog. 
1895. 
September 10. 
( 2 ) 
.... As I was creeping up to these Wood Ducks (seen after 
I had seen the sleeping Black Duck) I saw the Black Duck stretch 
up his neck and then with closed wings drop plump into the water, 
making as much noise as a big stone would have done. 
• • • • • • 
1897, Lake Umbagog. 
May 15. Southern end of lake. 
I believe that with the Black Duck also the female al¬ 
ways precedes the male when the pair are flying together at least 
at this season. Certainly this has been the case with all the 
pairs that I have seen here this season, including two birds that 
passed our house boat this morning (started, as I afterwards 
learned, by Watrous near one of the floating islands near Upton). 
The sexes can be easily and certainly distinguished by the dif¬ 
ference of size, the male being much larger than the female. 
• • • • • 
May 19. Lake Umbagog. 
Sargent's Cove. 
(I found) a fine adult Bald Eagle, next a pair of Black 
Ducks which started well in among the flooded forest (the lake is 
exceptionally high even for this season) and were forced to mount 
nearly straight upward to a height of 40 or 50 feet before they 
could get clear of the trees (striking their wings loudly against 
more than one dead branch during the ascent). 
