Bedhead. 
Domestic ties in the redhead family are as loose perhaps as 
among aay of the North American ducks. Several females nay use one 
nest for their eggs* and when duckling appear they are self-reliant 
4 
little chaps that as often as not start off on adventurous esplorations 
of their own with no regard for the movements of their mother. She 
parent may forsake her charges when they are less than half gram, and 
it is the rule for the© to be left to their own devices at an early age. 
Though like certain other children in their lack of respect fir parental 
guidance and opinion, young redheads are gregarious and seek others of 
the season's hatching so that they ordinarily travel in company. These 
inexperienced birds as they passed the duck pens where birds convalescent 
from the duck sickness wore confined came over in search of oorapany, and 
clambered out on shore in an attempt to Join the ducks in the cages. 
Trapping the© when still unable to fly was an easy matter, so that in 
1915 and 1916 may were captured, and 239 were banded and released. 
i?ifty-one of these have been reported by hunters (see Table 6). More 
ton half, 28 to be exact, were taken in the Bear River marshes, all 
during the fall of their release. 
The birds were marked in August and September. Two of the returns 
came during the month of Septentoer, on® from a bird found dead from the 
duck sickness, and on® from an individual drowned aoci dentally at the duOk 
pens. Twenty-two were killed during October, a number potted by hunters 
as they passed In boats up or down the river, others shot at points on the 
bays in the delta of the stream or near the river below Corinne. Two were 
secured on November 5 and two on November 12. 
