185 
Aix sponsa. 
Middlesex County, Mass. 
1867. 
Oet. 26. Shot a drake in perfect plumage in one of the pond- 
holes in tho Brickyard Swamp, Cambridge. 
1868. 
Apr. 13, A female shot from a flock of seven in the Fresh 
Pond swamps. 
• 18. Shot a fine male this morning; he alighted in a 
flooded maple swamp at the foot of tho ridge bordering 
the Pine Sv;arap, and sailed over the vmter very gracefully 
every novr and then uttering a very loud oe-oek . His 
stomach contained a quantity of pure v/hite sand, and a 
hazel nut. The Wood Ducks at the Fresh Pond Hotel 
have stood the v^inter lend well, although kept in an ex¬ 
posed pen made of slats; they are nov/ quite tamo, 
“ 27, Saw a pair on a small flooded meadow; As I approach¬ 
ed they walked into a clump of trees on the edge of tho 
water v/here X shot the female. 
May 2, A male vms shot; but as its tail was worn down al¬ 
most to a stub and the plumage very imperfect I suspect 
that it had recently escaped from confinefiient, 
“5. A female was shot to-day, 
July 25. Shot a young male in the Brickyard Swamp. His 
body was v/ell feathered but his v/ings had only pin feath¬ 
ers and he was unable to fly; he must have been bred 
in the vicinity. His crop was distended by the seeds of 
various water grasses. 
Sept,19, They have been abundant here this autumn ais several 
broods were raised in the swamps. For several weeks 
past they have regularly loft the Brickyard Sv/amp in small 
flocks just as the day was dawning, and again at sunset, 
taking flights of a mile or more in a southerly direction, 
then returning and pitching down again into their fast¬ 
nesses. These consist of a number of broad ditches, 
over-grovm with bushes and joined together by narrow 
strips of v/^ater, Here they may be found at almost any 
time of the day, although they visit the larger ponds 
under cover of the darkness. While watching some Teal 
in ^^out Pond to—day I noticed a movement in the bushes, 
and a superb Wood drake sailed out closely followed by 
another drake and two females. They joined the little 
Teal which with feet kicking in the air and heads under 
water v/ere feeding on the bottom, and tho flock closing 
together began swimming along the margin of the pond, 
iThe Wood Ducks then landed and after dressing their feath 
iers and shaking their tails sideways, precisely like tan© 
