Aix sponsa. Aix sponsa 1889. Maine. L. Umbagog. Unusual abundance Very numerous during September and up to the 5th of October when they disappeared, their numbers not lessening gradually, but all apparently leaving at once. October 16th, however, I shot a sing- ale male in full plumage, but apparently a young bird. On Septem- ber 22d I saw two males which appeared to be in perfect adult plu- mage in company with eighteen or twenty gray birds. On September Habits 26th Mr. Chadbourne met with four adult males in a flock of about twenty females and young. He killed two males which were in real- ly perfect plumage, quite as fine in fact as any specimens that I have ever seen. Most of the males that were killed during Sep- tember, however, were in a plumage intermediate between that of the young and the adult, the change evidently progressing rapidly tow- ards the end of the month. I saw several flocks of Wood Ducks this season which must have contained fully twenty individuals each As a rule, however, it was unusual to find more than eight or ten together. They frequented very much the same feeding ground as the Black Ducks and an examination of their crops showed that they Food were eating the same food, namely, the seeds of a species of scir- pus. Perhaps the abundance of this seed attracted them more into the open marshes than usual. At all events we found more of them in such places than on the rivers and small woodland ponds. Like the Black Ducks they flew to the Moose Point marsh every night to roost. They are very much tamer than Black Ducks and will often allow an open boat if carefully paddled to approach within fair gun-shot without any concealment whatever. It is a very easy mat- ter to stalk them, provided one can approach without making much noise, for their sight is far from quick, and even when they catch a glimpse of the hunters they are not at all apt to fly and quickly become reassured, if he will only remain perfectly still for a minute or two. Their hearing, however, is very keen and it seemed to me quite as much so as that of the Black Duck, for the snap of a stick or a decided rustling of the leaves puts them instantly on the quiver. They are fond of sunning on floating logs, and on several occasions I saw eight or ten sitting in a row along a log , all with their breasts turned towards the sun. They not infre- quently go fast asleep, squatting on a log with their heads buried in the feathers of the back. On one occasion I saw five strung along on a long slender dead snag which projected out from the shore of the pond over the water. The end bird was fully ten feet above the water. All were sound asleep and although I had a good 78