Part 3

The white crown-patch of the male Baldpate not only has given this bird its name but also furnishes an excellent field-mark. The pinkish brown breast and sides are somewhat diagnostic also, though this color is not usually seen to good advantage in the field. The call-note is said to be “a sort of _whew, whew, whew_.” Baldpates are, as a rule, shallow-water feeders.

The European Widgeon (_Mareca penelope_) should be looked for in Pennsylvania. The male has a buffy crown. The under wing-coverts of the female are barred, whereas in the female Baldpate the greater under wing-coverts are white.

GREEN-WINGED TEAL _Nettion carolinense_ (Gmelin)

Other Name.—Mud Teal.

Description.—Small for a Duck, being about half as large as a domestic Duck. _Male_: Head, with flowing crest, chestnut, an area around and back of eye to nape glossy green, bordered below with a thin whitish line; chin black; upperparts gray, finely barred with black; speculum green, bordered with black and buffy; middle under tail-coverts black, lateral ones creamy; breast and sides pinkish brown, finely barred with black, a white bar on side of breast; belly white or buffy, spotted, sometimes irregularly, with blackish. _Female_: Top of head blackish, feathers edged with rufous; sides of head and neck white, heavily streaked with black; upperparts blackish, all feathers margined with buffy; green speculum on wing, as in male; underparts considerably mottled—not barred as in male. _Length_: 14½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A migrant from March 20 to April 20 and from September 25 to November 10, often found along smaller streams. Locally, as at Conneaut Lake and at Erie, it is common during the height of migration.

The Teals are our smallest ducks. Their size and remarkably swift flight make them comparatively easy to identify, save in foggy weather when the apparent size of birds in the field is apt to be misleading. The Green-wing feeds like the Mallard and Black Duck, by “tipping” in shallow water and plucking food from the bottom.

BLUE-WINGED TEAL _Querquedula discors_ (Linnæus)

Description.—Size small, as in Green-wing. _Male_: Head dark blue-gray with violet reflections; crown dark brown; chin and sides of base of bill blackish; a crescent-shaped patch of white in front of eye; back brown, barred and mottled with black; breast white, buffy, or rusty, heavily spotted with black; lesser and middle wing-coverts gray-blue, forming a conspicuous color-area, particularly in flight; speculum glossy green. _Female and immature_: Crown dark brown, irregularly streaked with grayish; sides of head and neck grayish, streaked with black; throat whitish; breast and belly usually whitish spotted and margined with blackish; speculum glossy green. _Length_: 16 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A migrant from April 15 to May 15 and from September 1 to October 15, sometimes quite common. It may nest occasionally in marshy situations.

The blue lesser wing-coverts of this species are fairly easy to recognize, even at a considerable distance. It is relatively silent while it is passing through Pennsylvania; the Green-wing is more voluble. At Wildwood Lake, near Harrisburg, Blue-winged Teals occur with some regularity along a marshy neck of land which protrudes into the lake at the mouth of an inflowing stream. Here the birds rest quietly, feeding in early morning and toward evening, and flying about only when they are disturbed. They are usually mated by the time they reach this latitude in the spring.

SHOVELER _Spatula clypeata_ (Linnæus)

Other Name.—Spoonbill Duck.

Description.—Comparatively small, but larger than the Teals. Bill very large and broad, noticeably so even at considerable distance in the field. _Male_: Head and neck rich black, glossed with green and violet; line down back of neck and back dark brown; belly and sides rich chestnut; lesser wing-coverts gray-blue, as in the Blue-winged Teal, the greater coverts brownish, tipped with white; speculum green; upper and under tail-coverts black; eyes yellow; feet pink. _Female_: Head and neck streaked with black and buffy bars; throat buffy; underparts buffy, feathers margined and spotted with dark brown and buffy; feet orange-pink, paler than in male; eyes brown; bill greenish yellow, blotched with brownish. _Immature birds_ are intermediate in appearance between the adult male and adult female. The immature female’s speculum is noticeably grayish, with little green. _Length_: 20 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Rather rare migrant from March 1 to April 15 and from September 15 to November 1. Not usually seen in large flocks.

The huge bill of this species will distinguish it in any plumage. Its blue wing-coverts have much the appearance of those of the Blue-winged Teal.

PINTAIL _Dafila acuta tzitzihoa_ (Vieillot)

Other Names.—Sprig; Sprig-tail; Spike-tail.

Description.—Neck long and slender in both sexes. _Male in mating plumage, which is characteristic of the winter months_: Head warm brown, glossed faintly on cheeks with violet; back of neck blackish, bordered by white stripes which run down sides of neck to breast; back brownish gray; shoulders black, margined with white or buffy; wing brownish gray, the greater coverts tipped with cinnamon; speculum green, bordered narrowly with white; central tail-feathers very long and narrow, black; underparts white; sides heavily marked with fine lines of black. _Female_: Crown blackish, irregularly marked with rich brown; throat white; sides of head and neck considerably streaked; breast buffy, spotted with blackish; feathers of sides margined and barred with dark brown and white; under wing-coverts dark brown, bordered with whitish. The male in summer breeding dress resembles the female. _Length_: Male, 28 inches, in full, long-tailed plumage; female, 22 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly common and regular migrant from March 1 to April 15 and from September 20 to December 15. It has even been known to winter in the northern part of the Commonwealth.

The female, while not strikingly marked, may be recognized by the long neck, the sharply pointed middle tail-feathers, and by the dark under wing-coverts. Pintails are swift fliers, and have the ability of rising straight into the air from a pond or from the ground.

WOOD DUCK _Aix sponsa_ (Linnæus)

Description.—Smaller than Mallard; both sexes with crest, smaller in female than in male. _Male_: Head and crest rich glossy green, with violet and blue reflections; a line from bill over eye, a line along side of crest, and other lines in flowing feathers of crest, white; throat, a band from it up cheeks, and a wide band at nape, white; breast and an area at either side of base of tail, chestnut, the breast spotted with white; band on breast in front of wing, white; sides buffy, finely barred with black, the long flank-feathers tipped with striking bands of black and white; back greenish brown; scapulars blackish, glossed with steel-blue and greenish; speculum steel-blue tipped with white; primaries tipped with greenish blue; tail blue-black; eyes red; bill dusky, white, and red; feet yellowish. _Female_: Area below and back of eye, and throat, white; crown brown, glossed with purplish; sides of head ashy brown; breast and sides grayish, streaked and mottled with brownish; belly white; back olive-brown, glossed with greenish; the inner primaries tipped with greenish blue. The immature resembles the adult female. The male in eclipse plumage, which he assumes during late summer, is similar to the female. _Length_: 18½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Fairly common as a migrant and summer resident throughout, arriving in early April and remaining until November 1. Commoner than most species of this family along the smaller streams.

Nest.—In a cavity in a tree. _Eggs_: 7 to 15, buffy white.

The male Wood Duck, thought by many to be the most beautiful American bird, is a gorgeous creature. It is little wonder that an Indian legend tells us that a little gray duck, while on a search for happiness, swam into the end of the rainbow and came forth the brilliant creature we now call the Wood Duck.

Agile almost as a perching bird, these ducks run about on the ground, snapping up insects, or swim buoyantly in quiet pools near the woodland they have selected as their summer home. In a cavity in a tree, sometimes at considerable distance from the water and at quite a height from the ground, the down-lined nest is built.

The young birds, it is said, clamber out of the nest and fall to the ground as best they can, without being helped by either parent. Surely, young birds which survive such an ordeal are prepared for the later battles of life!

Wood Ducks are fond of acorns and of the seeds of many aquatic plants. The young birds, like the adults, are amazingly agile and run about like young chickens, bright-eyed, attractive, and so small as to be fairly ludicrous as they race into the water for a swim!

REDHEAD _Nyroca americana_ (Eyton)

Description.—Head high, rising abruptly from bill; both sexes with tendency toward fluffy, round crest. _Male_: Entire head bright rufous, glossed with purplish; lower neck, all around, breast, and upper back, blackish; rest of back and scapulars finely barred with wavy black and white lines of equal width; wing-coverts brownish gray; wings gray, without a noticeable speculum; upper and under tail-coverts black; belly white, lower belly more or less barred like back; sides barred as in back; eyes yellow; bill blue-gray. _Female_: Upperparts dark grayish brown, darker on wings, all feathers more or less margined with buffy or ashy; neck buffy, somewhat mottled; breast and sides gray-brown, washed or margined with buffy; belly and under tail-coverts somewhat suffused with buffy; eyes brown; bill blackish, with blue-gray band at end. _Length_: 19 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Fairly common as a migrant, noticeably along the larger waterways, from March 1 to April 25 and from October 10 to November 15. Sometimes occurs in great flocks.

The high head and yellow eyes distinguish the male Redhead from the male Canvasback, which is otherwise similar in appearance.

CANVASBACK _Aristonetta valisineria_ (Wilson)

Description.—Bill long and gradually sloping up to the head which is long and low, different markedly in this respect from that of the Redhead. _Male_: Head and neck rufous; chin and crown blackish; lower neck, breast, and upper back, black; back and wing-coverts barred with black and white, the white lines so much wider as to appear, even at some distance, whiter than in the Redhead; belly white, sides finely barred; upper and under tail-coverts and tail, black; eyes reddish brown; bill blackish. _Female_: Head, neck, breast, and upper back, light rufous; throat pale, the frontparts of head somewhat brighter; back, grayish brown, feathers washed with wavy white lines which the female Redhead does not have; belly white; sides grayish brown, sometimes marked like back. _Length_: 21 inches. The female is a little smaller than the male.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly common and regular migrant, principally along the larger waterways, usually from March 10 to April 20 and from October 1 to December 15, sometimes abundant; irregular in winter.

The white back of the male Canvasback is noticeable at a distance. The female, which is rather similar to the female Redhead, may always be recognized by the long, rather thin bill and low head.

SCAUP _Fulix marila nearctica_ (Stejneger)

Other Names.—Blue-bill; Black-head; Raft Duck; Greater Scaup; American Scaup.

Description.—_Adult male_: Head, neck, breast, and upper back, black, head with greenish reflections; back and scapulars barred with black and white; speculum white; upper and under tail-coverts black; belly white, lower belly and sides finely barred with black; bill blue-gray; eyes yellow. _Female_: Area about base of bill white; head, neck, upper back, and breast, dark brown, margined with buffy on breast; rest of upperparts somewhat lighter brown; sides brown, marked with wavy white lines; belly and speculum white. _Length_: 18½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Fairly common as a migrant from March 10 to April 25 and from October 1 to December 10. The Scaups are among the species of this family most commonly recorded at reservoirs and along large waterways.

The two Scaups are not easy to distinguish in the field, and certain identification depends upon the males, for the females are very much alike. The male Scaup’s head shows _greenish_ reflections; the Lesser Scaup’s head is glossed with purplish.

LESSER SCAUP _Fulix affinis_ (Eyton)

Other Names.—Blue-bill; Black-head; Raft Duck.

Description.—Decidedly similar, in both sexes, to the preceding species, but smaller, and the male’s head with purplish, rather than greenish reflections. The barring of the sides of the Lesser Scaup is stronger than in the Scaup. The females of the two species are practically indistinguishable in the field. _Length_: 16½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Commoner throughout than the preceding species, although some of our field records may be open to question in view of the similarity of the two. The white speculum, dark head, and _blue-gray_ bill are good field characters to remember.

RINGED-NECKED DUCK _Perissonetta collaris_ (Donovan)

Other Names.—Blue-bill; Black-head; Raft Duck.

Description.—Both sexes similar to the Scaup and Lesser Scaup in general appearance, differing in the following respects: in the male Ring-neck the chin is white; the head, which has a somewhat higher crest than in either Scaup, is richly glossed with purplish blue; there is a rich brown collar about the neck (not easily noted in the field); the _back is blackish_, and the _speculum is gray_, not white; the female Ring-neck may be distinguished from the female Scaups by the gray speculum; the head and neck of the female Ring-neck often has a mottled or spotted appearance. In both sexes the blackish bill, which is crossed near the tip with a whitish band, is an excellent field-mark. If the sun is bright, this band may give the impression that the bird is holding some small shining object in its bill. _Length_: 16½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—While our records tend to indicate that this species is less common than the Scaup or Lesser Scaup, it is probably fairly regular and common as a migrant, occurring at about the same time as the Lesser Scaup.

GOLDENEYE _Glaucionetta clangula americana_ (Bonaparte)

Other Names.—Cuphead; Whistler.

Description.—Both sexes with short, stubby bills and high heads. _Male_: Head black, glossed with green; a white spot below and in front of eye; neck, exposed part of wing-coverts, speculum and part of scapulars, and underparts, white; rest of plumage black; eyes yellow. _Female_: Head brown, neck paler; breast, back, and sides gray; speculum and underparts white; eyes yellow. _Length_: 20 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A migrant which sometimes occurs in winter when there is open water, but is not often common. It is to be found from March 1 to April 15 and from October 10 to November 30.

Goldeneyes will sometimes be seen resting on a floating piece of ice. The musical, whistling sound of their beating wings has been responsible for their common name, “Whistler.”

The large head and ludicrously short bill are fairly good field-marks for this species, even at a considerable distance. The strongly contrasting black and white plumage of the male is not easily to be confused with that of any other species.

The Barrow’s Goldeneye (_Glaucionetta islandica_) is much rarer in Pennsylvania than the Goldeneye. The male has a purplish head and a somewhat crescent-shaped patch in front of and below the eye. His scapulars are marked with white areas along the shafts. Records of this species are very desirable.

BUFFLEHEAD _Charitonetta albeola_ (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Butterball; Dipper Duck.

Description.—About half as large as a Mallard; both sexes with short bills and high, rounded crests, more or less as in the Goldeneye. _Male_: Head black, glossed handsomely with greenish, purplish, bluish, and fiery orange; a large white band across back of head from eye to eye; lower neck, wing-coverts, speculum, outer scapulars, and underparts, white; back and wings black; lower back and tail grayish; eyes dark brown. _Female_: Head and upper breast dull brown, patch on either side of head, speculum, and breast and belly, white. _Length_: 15 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Common, sometimes abundant, as a migrant, from March 15 to April 15 and from October 1 to November 10. It is often seen along the smaller, swifter streams and at small lakes. Mated pairs are usually noted in spring.

The male, like the Wood Duck, is a creature of great beauty. The Bufflehead is a good diver, and can disappear at the wink of an eye with the agility of a grebe. It eats much animal matter, including small fish which it captures while diving. These ducks are often exceedingly fat, and this tendency, as well as the plump roundness of their body, has given them the common name, “Butterball.”

OLD SQUAW _Clangula hiemalis_ (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Old Wife; Sou’ Southerly; Long-tailed Duck.

Description.—Male with very long, narrow, middle tail-feathers, longer than in the Pintail; female without long tail-feathers. _Male in winter_: Sides of head washed with grayish brown; sides of back of head and upper neck black, more or less margined with buffy; rest of head, neck, upper back, scapulars, and lower belly, white; back and wings, breast, and upper belly, black; bill black with yellowish orange band across end; eyes pale brown. _Female_: Upper parts dark brown; scapulars and back more or less margined with grayish; sides of head and neck white or whitish; breast gray; belly white. The male in summer has the sides and front of head white; the rest of the plumage is chiefly black, save the belly, which is white. _Length_: male, 21 inches; female, 16 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A migrant from February 20 to April 10 and from November 1 to December 20, sometimes occurring in winter, and irregularly very abundant. Tremendous flocks have been noted at Conneaut Lake and at Lake Erie.

The Old Squaw is a handsome and noisy species and demands attention wherever it is found. It usually feeds in deep water, and therefore is found but rarely in smaller ponds or along streams. The under wing-coverts are dark, and there is no speculum in the wing. Its rapid flight carries it along, a few feet above the water, at from 35 to 60 miles an hour, perhaps faster, and it alights with a swish. It is an expert diver.

THE SCOTERS

Three species of scoter occur in Pennsylvania. They are diving ducks and are usually to be found only on the larger bodies of water. As a rule, they are not common; they are fond of salt water, and are commonly found in the bays along the Atlantic coast. The adult males all have grotesque and highly colored bills. All scoters are commonly called “Black Ducks” in the interior; along the coast they are called also “Sea Coots.” Scoters will, as a rule, be found in large, raft-like flocks.

AMERICAN SCOTER _Oidemia americana_ Swainson

Description.—_Male_: Black, with rich purplish reflections; ridges among feathers of neck, bill black, with knob at base of upper mandible _peach-yellow_; feet brownish red; eyes dark brown. _Female and young_: Gray-brown in general appearance, with cheek region whitish, sharply defined from crown; underparts whitish, irregularly barred and mottled with dusky. _Length_: 19 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Rare migrant and winter visitant from November until early April, commonest, perhaps, at Lake Erie and Conneaut Lake.

This is probably the rarest of the scoters in Pennsylvania; further data are desirable.

WHITE-WINGED SCOTER _Oidemia deglandi_ Bonaparte

Description.—Size large, noticeably larger than a Mallard. _Male_: Black, with white spot below and at rear of eye, and white speculum; belly and sides rich deep brown; bill orange, with long knob, black at base, feathers reaching forward on it far beyond corners of mouth; feet red; _eyes white_. _Female and immature_: Deep brown, lighter below; speculum white; spot at base of bill and ear-coverts whitish, not always clearly defined. _Length_: 22 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—As a rule, rare, save at Lake Erie and Conneaut Lake where it is sometimes fairly common during late fall; it is rarer in spring than in fall.

The white speculum of this large, heavy species will serve to identify it at some distance.

SURF SCOTER _Melanitta perspicillata_ (Linnæus)

Description.—Larger than Mallard. _Male_: Black, with square crown-patch and triangular nape-patch of white; feet red; bill marked with red, white, and yellow, a black spot near base; eyes white. _Female and immature_: A whitish spot at base of bill and on ear-coverts, much as in the White-winged Scoter; upperparts dark brown; throat, breast, and sides grayer; belly white. _Length_: 20 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Like the White-winged Scoter, rare, save at Conneaut Lake and Lake Erie where it is a fairly common fall and rare spring migrant, which sometimes occurs during the winter. Scoters are occasionally seen along the Susquehanna and the Delaware rivers, but they are not, as a rule, either common or regular.

The strange shape and color-pattern of the bills of male scoters will distinguish them at once in hand. They are given to flocking and, as they feed, most of the flock may disappear for seconds at a time, to bob up buoyantly as others of the flock slip under.

RUDDY DUCK _Erismatura jamaicensis_ (Gmelin)

Other Names.—Butterball; Bullhead; Bullneck; Dipper Duck.

Description.—Both sexes with thick necks, short upper tail-coverts, and stiff tails; about half as large as a Mallard. _Male_: Crown black; cheeks and chin white; throat, neck, and back rich rufous; lower back and tail blackish; breast and belly silvery white, somewhat mottled along sides; bill pale gray-blue; eyes black. _Female and immature_: Upperparts dark grayish brown, feathers marked with narrow, wavy, buffy bars; sides of head and upper throat whitish; lower throat and neck grayish; underparts silvery white. _Length_: 15 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Fairly common and regular as a migrant, sometimes abundant, from April 1 to May 15 and from October 1 to November 15. It is seen along smaller as well as larger waterways where it may dive readily upon being approached.