cf those alighting in the pond are taken. The corrected 
status would be perhaps nearer thirty per cent. 
Flocks of Black Ducks comprising more than fifteen or 
twenty are very rarely seen here, the usual number coming 
to decoys ranging from three to eight. Single stragglers 
are very common. Larger flocks are occasionally seen 
going by in a general northeast to southwest direction, 
strung out in the typical “wavering line” formation, charac¬ 
teristic of most ducks while actually on migration. During 
heavy northeast storms in late November a few always 
come in from the seacoast during a very high tide, but 
these birds are far wilder than those taken during the flight 
and they seldom give one a shot. 
The actual proportion of the two races as they appear 
in birds taken at Wenham has not been determined. 
Extreme types of A. rubripes rubripes certainly do not 
comprise more than ten per cent of the total. Old male 
specimens of Black Ducks are rather rare before October 
10th or 15th, the early flight birds being apparently com¬ 
posed for the most part of females and young. The total 
number of these ducks observed has not been added up. 
In the year 1904, three hundred and sixty-three were seen, 
besides one hundred and thirty-two that were shot. 
CHAULELASMUS STREPERUS . 
The Gadwall is one of the very rarest of all ducks at 
Wenham, and the only record is for one taken on October 
29th, 1904. There were other records for Essex County 
that same year mentioned by Dr. Townsend in his first 
edition of the Birds of Essex County. 
MARECA PENELOPE . 
The European Widgeon is now represented among the 
Wenham ducks by twelve specimens, taken as follows: 
two in 1903, two in 1904, one in 1912, two in 1914, three 
in 1916, one in 1920, (Auk 1911 p. 192 and 1920, p. 288). 
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