Clangula cl annuls americana . 
Lake Umbagog, Maine, 
1897. The water in Bottle Brook Pond (where we cams this raorn- 
June 2. ing)is now about six feet above its usual autumn level and the 
« 
shores in many places are submerged. We paddled about at 
will among the fine old maples at the western end of the pond 
next the bank of the river. It would be difficult to find a 
more favorable place for arboreal nesting Ducks than this an¬ 
cient forest for many of the trees are dead or dying and they 
furnish holes and crevices of all sorts of shapes and sizes. 
Some of the largest trees afe three or four feet in diameter 
at the base and eighty or ninety feet tall. 
Watrous soon found two Whistlers' nests, both in natural 
cavities in maples about eight feet above the water. One was 
evidently a last year's nest the down being matted and disar¬ 
ranged. There were no eggs or egg shells. The other nest 
contained seven eggs. They were badly stained and coated 
over with small fragments of rotten wood which had dried firm¬ 
ly on the shells. There was no down under or around them and 
the spiders had spun a close netting of web just above them. 
Ho bird was seen near the tree. These facts satisfied us 
that the nest was deserted and although I did not care for so 
poor and disfigured a set we thought it a pity to leave them. 
We were greatly surprised, on blowing theitjnext day, to find 
that- six of them were perfectly fresh . The seventh was slight- 
