Part 6

The remaining species of our Ducks, Geese, and Swans, nest as a rule, on the ground generally near water. From five to fifteen and, in the case of the Fulvous Tree Duck, possibly as many as thirty eggs are laid. In color they vary from white to buffy and pale olive and are always uniformly colored. Incubation is performed by the female alone. The males at this period among most Ducks deserting their mate to undergo the partial molt before mentioned. While incubating the females surround their nest with soft down plucked from their bodies and when leaving the nest to feed, this down is drawn over the eggs with the double object, doubtless, of concealing them and of keeping them warm.

With Eider Ducks this down constitutes the larger part of, if not the entire nest. Saunders states that in Iceland the down in each nest weighs about one-sixth of a pound. This is gathered by the natives, who, however, are careful to afford the sitting bird an opportunity to raise her brood without further molestation.

The collection of Eider down thus furnishes an admirable illustration of proper economic relations between man and birds. The down is an important source of income to the natives of the comparatively barren, northern countries in which the Eiders nest. So long as man can remember it has been gathered annually. Still the Ducks continue to return in numbers year after year to the same region, perhaps the exact spot in which they nested the year before.

Less intelligent methods would perhaps rob the bird of its second, as well as of its first nest and, unable to reproduce its kind, the species would become extinct within a comparatively short period.

The evils which would follow such a course are, however, thoroughly understood. The Ducks, in the first place, are encouraged in every way. It is said that should one walk into a peasant's cabin and preempt his cot as a nesting-site, the peasant would gladly give up his bed to so valuable a visitor.

Ducks

=129. American Merganser= (_Merganser americanus_). L. 25; B. from nostril, 1.5; nostril midway between eye and tip of bill. _Ad._ [Male]. No band of streaks on breast; no crest. _Ad._ [Female]. and _Yng._ _Chin white_; crown and throat reddish brown; rest of underparts and speculum white; above and tail ashy.

Range.--North America; breeds from New Brunswick, rarely mountains of Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and mountains of Colorado and California northward; winters from Maine and British Columbia south to South Carolina and southern California.

=130. Red-breasted Merganser= (_Merganser serrator_). L. 22; B. from nostril, 1.8; nostril nearer to eye than to tip of bill. _Ad._ [Male]. Breast with a broad cinnamon band streaked with black; head feathers lengthened. _Ad._ [Female] _and Yng_. Crown grayish brown, washed with rusty. Chin and throat paler; rest of underparts and speculum white: back and tail ashy. _Notes._ When alarmed, several low, guttural croaks. (Elliot.)

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds, in America, from New Brunswick and northern Illinois north to Greenland and Alaska; winters from southern breeding limits, south to Cuba and Lower California.

=131. Hooded Merganser= (_Lophodytes cucullatus_). L. 17.5. _Ad._ [Male]. A large, circular black and white crest. _Ad._ [Female] _Yng._ A small cinnamon crest, head, neck and breast grayish brown; back, blackish; belly white. _Notes._ "A hoarse croak, like a small edition of that of the Red-breasted Merganser." (Elliot.)

Range.--North America from Cuba and Lower California north to Labrador and Alaska; breeds locally throughout its range, chiefly in interior of British America; winters from British Columbia, Illinois, and Massachusetts southward.

=132. Mallard= (_Anas boschas_). L. 23. Speculum (patch in wing) purple bordered by black and _white_; under surface of wing pure white. _Ad._ [Male]. Head green; breast chestnut, a white neck-ring. _Ad._ [Female]. Above blackish and buffy, below rusty buff mottled with dusky grayish brown. _Notes._ The familiar _quack_ of the barn-yard Duck.

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds, in America, from Labrador, Indiana, Iowa, and California north to Greenland and Alaska; winters from British Columbia, Kansas, and New Jersey to Central America and West Indies.

=143. Pintail= (_Dafila acuta_). L. [Male], 28; [Female], 22. _Ad._ [Male]. Central tail feathers black, 7.5 long, pointed. _Ad._ [Female]. Tail 3.5,; feathers _sharply pointed_; brownish black, with buff bars; under wing-coverts _dusky_ and _buff_; back blackish with _internal_ buff loops. _Notes._ A loud _quack_, less sonorous than that of the Mallard; a low mellow whistle, and a harsh rolling note. (Nelson.)

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds, in America, from New Brunswick, Iowa, Illinois, and British Columbia northward; winters from British Columbia, Illinois, and Virginia, south to Central America and West Indies.

=133. Black Duck= (_Anas obscura_). L. 22. _Ads._ Speculum bluish purple tipped with _black_; no white in wing; lining of wing white and _dusky_; crown _without_ paler margins; throat, usually, without markings; legs "olivaceous brown," bill "greenish black, dusky olive, or olive-green." _Notes._ A _quack_ resembling that of the Mallard.

Range.--Eastern North America; chiefly east of Mississippi; breeds locally from New Jersey and Illinois north to Labrador and Hudson Bay; winters from Maine to West Indies.

=133a. Red-legged Black Duck= (_A. o. rubripes_). Similar to No. 133 but larger; crown edged with buff or gray; throat spotted; legs red; bill yellow.

Range.--Summer range not definitely known, but breeding specimens have been taken in northern Labrador, James Bay, and west shore of Hudson Bay; in winter south to Virginia and Arkansas.

_134. Florida Duck_ (_Anas fulvigula_). L. 20. _Ads._ Throat and front of neck plain buff, usually unmarked; speculum sometimes tipped with white; belly rusty buff; broadly _streaked_ with black. _Notes._ A _quack_ similar to that of No. 133.

Range.--Florida to coast of Louisiana; resident.

=134a. Mottled Duck= (_A. f. maculosa_). Similar to No. 134, but underparts _mottled_ with black, the markings being _rounder_.

Range.--Eastern Texas; breeds (at least) from Corpus Christi north to Kansas; winters on west Gulf Coast.

=135. Gadwall= (_Chaulelasmus streperus_), L. 19.5. Under wing coverts and axillars _pure white_. _Ad._ [Male]. Wing-coverts chestnut; breast _ringed_ with white. _Ad._ [Female]. Head and throat as in [Male], back fuscous and buffy; breast and _sides_ ochraceous thickly spotted with blackish; speculum ashy gray and white. _Notes._ A _quack_ like that of the Mallard but shriller and more often repeated.

Range.--Northern hemisphere; in America, breeds in the interior from Kansas and California north to Manitoba and Assiniboia; winters from Maryland to Florida, rare in northeastern Atlantic States.

=136. Widgeon= (_Mareca penelope_). L. 18.5. _Ad._ [Male]. Head and neck reddish brown; crown buff; sides with wavy black and white lines. _Ad._ [Female]. Head and throat _rusty_, finely streaked and barred with black; breast and sides rusty; speculum blackish. _Notes._ Of male, a shrill, whistling _whee-you_; of female, a low, purring growl. (Saunders.)

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds in America, only in the Aleutian Islands; casual in migrations and in winter in California and on Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Greenland.

=137. Baldpate= (_Mareca americana_). L. 19. No rusty on head. _Ad._ [Male]. Under tail-coverts black; streak from eye to nape glossy green. _Ad._ [Female]. Head and throat _whitish_ finely marked with black; breast and sides rusty washed with grayish. _Notes._ "A low, soft whistle." (Elliot.)

Range.--North America; breeds in the interior from Minnesota and British Columbia north to Alaska; winters from British Columbia and Virginia south to South America; only a migrant on northeast Atlantic coast to Labrador.

=139. Green-winged Teal= (_Nettion carolinensis_). L. 14.5. Wing-coverts gray, tipped with buff or white. _Ad._ [Male]. A white crescent in front of wing; speculum (wing-patch) green bordered by black tipped with white. _Ad._ [Female]. Wings as in [Male]; throat and sides of neck white, finely spotted with black; breast and sides washed with rusty, marked with black. _Notes._ A "peculiar chirping almost a twittering" as they fly. (Seton.)

Range.--North America; breeds from New Brunswick, Minnesota, and British Columbia north to Greenland and Alaska; winters from Virginia, Kansas, and British Columbia south to Central America and West Indies.

=140. Blue-winged Teal= (_Querquedula discors_). Wing-coverts blue. _Ad._ [Male]. Cheek patch white. _Ad._ [Female]. Resembles [Female] of No. 139, but wing-coverts blue; speculum greenish brown not distinctly tipped with white. L. 16.

Range.--North America; chiefly east of Rockies; breeds from New Brunswick, Kansas, southern Illinois and northern Ohio, north to Alaska, mainly in interior; winters from Virginia and Lower Mississippi Valley to northern South America, California, and Lower California.

=141. Cinnamon Teal= (_Querquedula cyanoptera_). _Ad._ [Male]. Head and neck, breast and sides reddish brown. _Ad._ [Female]. Resembles [Female] of No. 140, but the underparts, _including throat_, are usually suffused with rusty; the throat often being blackish or speckled with dusky. _Notes._ A rather thin, nasal _quack_. L. 16.

Range.--Western North America from British Columbia south to South America, east to Rockies and south Texas; rarely to Florida.

=142. Shoveller= (_Spatula clypeata_). L. 20. Bill much broader at tip than at base. _Ad._ [Male]. Belly chestnut; breast around to back white. _Ad._ [Female]. Wing-coverts blue; back conspicuously margined with buff. _Notes._ "Occasionally a few feeble quacks." (Elliot.)

Range.--Northern hemisphere; in America chiefly in interior; breeds locally from Texas, and regularly from Minnesota and British Columbia north to Alaska and Barren Grounds; winters from British Columbia, Illinois, and Maryland south to northern South America.

=144. Wood Duck= (_Aix sponsa_). L. 18.5. _Ad._ [Male]. Head crested; green, blue, and purple with white stripes. _Ad._ [Female]. A white streak through and behind eye; crown glossy purplish brown; back olive-brown glossed with greenish. _Notes._ A frightened, plaintive, _oo-eek_.

Range.--North America; breeds locally from Florida to Labrador and British Columbia, winters from British Columbia, southern Illinois, and southern New Jersey, south to southern California and Cuba.

=146. Redhead= (_Aythya americana_). L. 19. _Ad._ [Male]. Head and _upper_ neck entirely bright reddish brown. _Ad._ [Female]. Throat white; back grayish brown without fine bars; speculum gray. _Notes._ "A hoarse guttural rolling sound." (Elliot.)

Range.--North America; breeds chiefly in interior from Maine, Minnesota, and California north to Labrador and British Columbia; winters from British Columbia and Maryland south to Lower California and West Indies.

=147. Canvas-back= (_Aythya vallisneria_). L. 21. _Ad._ [Male]. Head and _whole_ neck _dull_ reddish brown. _Ad._ [Female]. Head and neck _rusty_ grayish brown; back grayish brown, _finely barred with black and white_. _Notes._ "A harsh guttural croak." (Elliot.)

Range.--North America; breeds only in interior from Minnesota and Oregon north to Alaska and the Barren Grounds; winters from British Columbia and Maryland south to southern California, Mexico and West Indies.

=148. American Scaup Duck= (_Aythya marila_). L. [Male], 18.5; [Female], 17.5. _Ad._ [Male]. Head glossed with greenish; sides without distinct black bars. Ad. [Female]. Feathers about base of bill white; breast and back rusty grayish brown; speculum white. _Notes._ "Similar to the guttural sound made by the Canvas-back, Redhead and other diving Ducks." (Elliot.)

Range.--Northern parts of northern hemisphere; in America, breeds in the interior rarely from Minnesota, and regularly from North Dakota northward; winters from Long Island to northern South America.

=149. Lesser Scaup Duck= (_Aythya affinis_). L. [Male] 17; [Female], 16.5. _Ad._ [Male]. Head glossed with purplish; sides with distinct black bars. _Ad._ [Female]. Similar to [Female] of No. 148, but smaller.

Range.--North America; breeds only in interior from Iowa rarely, North Dakota commonly, and British Columbia, north to Barren Grounds; winters from British Columbia and Virginia south to Guatemala and West Indies.

=150. Ring-necked Duck= (_Aythya collaris_). L. 16.5. _Ad._ [Male]. A chestnut neck-ring; chin _white_; back _black_; speculum _gray_. _Ad._ [Female]. Feathers about sides of base of bill and throat white, back and breast _rusty_ grayish brown; speculum gray. Resembles [Female] of No. 146, but is smaller and rustier.

Range.--North America: breeding only in the interior from Minnesota northward; winters from Maryland and British Columbia south to Guatemala and West Indies; rare on Atlantic coast north of Maryland.

=151. American Golden-eye= (_Clangula clangula americana_). L. 20. _Ad._ [Male]. Head _greenish_; white patch at base of bill _circular_. _Ad._ [Female]. Head and throat brown; breast and back gray, a white throat-ring; belly and speculum white. _Notes._ Rarely a low croak; a high whistling sound produced by wings in flight.

Range.--North America; breeds from Maine, northern Minnesota, and Alberta, north to Arctic Regions; winters from southern Alaska, the Great Lakes and Maine, south to Mexico and Cuba.

=152. Barrow Golden-eye= (_Clangula islandica_). L. 20. _Ad._ [Male]. Head _purplish blue_; white patch at base of bill _twice as high as wide_. _Ad._ [Female]. Resembles [Female] of No. 151. _Notes._ A high whistling made by wings in flight, probably also a low croaking as in No. 151.

Range.--Northern North America; breeds from Gulf of St. Lawrence, and mountains of Colorado north to southern Greenland; winters south to Virginia, Illinois, and California.

=153. Buffle-head= (_Charitonetta albeola_). L. 14.7. _Ad._ [Male]. Head blue, purple, and green; a white band from eye to eye across nape. _Ad._ [Female]. A whitish patch on either side of head; throat and upper parts grayish brown; belly and speculum white. _Notes._ A single guttural note like a small edition of the Canvas-back's roll. (Elliot.)

Range.--North America; breeds from Maine, Iowa, and British Columbia northward; winters from southern limit of breeding range to West Indies and Mexico.

=167. Ruddy Duck= (_Erismatura jamaicensis_). L. 15. Tail-feathers narrow and stiff; bill short (1.5) and broad. _Ad._ [Male]. Cheeks white, cap black, back reddish brown. _Ad._ [Female]. A whitish streak through dusky cheeks; back grayish brown with fine buffy bars; belly silvery whitish. _Yng._ [Male]. Similar, but cheeks all white or whitish.

Range.--Western hemisphere from northern South America to Hudson Bay; breeds locally throughout its range, but chiefly northward; winters from New Jersey, southern Illinois and California southward.

=168. Masked Duck= (_Nomonyx dominicus_). L. 14. Tail-feathers long, (4.5) narrow, stiff and pointed. _Ad._ [Male]. Front of head black; behind it reddish brown all around; white in wing. _Ad._ [Female]. A brownish streak through eye: buffy streaks above and below it; back blackish regularly _barred_ with buff; below washed with rusty.

Range--Tropical America north to Lower Rio Grande; accidental in Wisconsin, Lake Champlain, and Massachusetts.

=154. Old-squaw= (_Harelda hyemalis_). L. [Male], 21; [Female], 16; T. [Male], 8; [Female], 2.5. No colored speculum. _Ad._ [Male]. Central tail-feathers much lengthened; in winter, crown, nape, throat, and neck all around white. In summer, black, with rusty markings on back. _Ad._ [Female]. winter. Cheeks, neck all around, and underparts white; breast and sides of neck dusky. In summer, crown, cheeks and nape blackish, throat and breast dusky; a whitish patch back of eye. _Notes._ In spring, a rich, musical _a-leedle-a_, frequently repeated in deep, reed-like tones. (Nelson.) Also "_o-onc-o-onc-ough-egh-ough-egh_." (Mackay.)

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds from northern Labrador and Aleutian Islands north to Arctic Ocean; winters south to Virginia, Upper Mississippi Valley, and California, "rarely to Florida and Texas."

=155. Harlequin Duck= (_Histrionicus histrionicus_). L. 17. _Ad._ [Male]. Back and breast slaty blue; head darker. _Ad._ [Female]. Front half of cheeks and spot over ears whitish, above blackish brown; below dusky and whitish. _Notes._ "A confusion of low gabbling and chattering notes." (Nelson.)

Range.--"Northern North America, breeding from Newfoundland, the northern Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevadas (latitude 38°), northward; south in winter to the Middle States and California; eastern Asia, Iceland." (A.O.U.)

=156. Labrador Duck= (_Camptolaimus labradorius_). L. 20. _Ad._ [Male]. Primaries blackish; rest of wing white. _Ad._ [Female]. Ashy gray: speculum white. _Yng._ [Male]. Like [Female] but throat and ends of greater wing-coverts white.

Range.--Formerly North Atlantic coast; bred from Labrador northward; wintered south to New Jersey; believed to be extinct; last records, Grand Menan, New Brunswick, 1871; Long Island, 1875.

=157. Steller Eider= (_Eniconetta stelleri_). L. 18. _Ad._ [Male]. Throat and neck black nearly divided by a white ring; top and sides of head white, forehead and nape greenish; breast chestnut. _Ad._ [Female]. Above and below black and rusty, speculum purple bordered with white; tail feathers pointed.

Range.--"Arctic and subarctic coasts of the northern hemisphere, Aleutian Islands, east to Unalaska and Kadiak; Kenai Peninsula." (A.O.U.)

=158. Spectacled Eider= (_Arctonetta fischeri_). L. 21. _Ad._ [Male]. Front of head plush-like; cushiony pads around eyes; above largely white; breast slaty black; belly black.

Range.--"Alaskan coast of Bering Sea and north to Point Barrow." (A.O.U.)

=159. Greenland Eider= (_Somateria mollissima borealis_). L. 23. Feathers on sides of bill reaching to nostrils, bare spaces on either side of feathers on culmen _pointed_ at base (posteriorly.) _Ad._ [Male]. Crown black with a white wedge. _Ad._ [Female]. Brownish black above margined with rusty and buff; below dusky finely margined with buff. _Yng._ [Male]. Similar to [Female] but more buffy. _Notes._ "A sort of cooing sound" in the breeding season. (Elliot.) A raucous, moaning, _'ha ho, 'ha ho_; female's like that of Mallard. (Brunnich.)

Range.--Northeastern North America; breeds from Labrador to Greenland; winters south to Massachusetts.

=160. American Eider= (_Somateria dresseri_). L. 23. Similar in color to No. 159, but bare spaces on either side of feathers of culmen _rounded_ at the base (posteriorly).

Range.--Northeastern North America; breeds from Isle au Haut, Maine, to Labrador; winters south to New Jersey and Great Lakes.

=161. Pacific Eider= (_Somateria v-nigra_). Similar to No. 159, but _Ad._ [Male] with a black =V= on throat; sides of bill more broadly feathered, distance from end of feathers to base of bare space on culmen less than distance from same place to end of bill. _Notes._ "A low guttural note." (Nelson.)

Range.--North Pacific from Aleutian Islands north to Arctic Ocean east to Great Slave Lake.

=162. King Eider= (_Somateria spectabilis_). L. 23. Feathers at side of bill _not_ reaching nostril. _Ad._ [Male]. White patch on either side of rump, crown ashy blue. _Ad._ [Female] in 1 _Yng._ Resembling same plumages of No. 159 and No. 160.

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds from Labrador and St. Michaels, Alaska north to Greenland and Arctic Ocean; winters south to New Jersey (rarely Ga.), and Great Lakes; one California record.

=163. American Scoter= (_Oidemia americana_). L. 19. Feathers at base of bill not extending forward on sides or top. _Ad._ [Male]. Wholly black; bill black, yellow at base. _Ad._ [Female]. Brownish above, lighter below; no white on wing or on sides of head. _Notes._ A long musical whistle. (Elliot.)

Range.--Northern North America; breeds from Labrador and Alaskan shores of Bering Sea northward; winters south to Virginia, Great Lakes, Colorado, and California.

=166. Surf Scoter= (_Oidemia perspicillata_). L. 20. Feathers extending forward on top of bill. _Ad._ [Male]. Black, nape and crown white; bill orange, yellow, and white, a round black patch on its sides. _Ad._ [Female]. Above black, throat and breast paler; belly whitish; a whitish patch at base of bill. _Yng._ Similar but with white patches on ears.

Range.--Northern North America; breeds from Newfoundland northward; winters south to Virginia, Florida, Illinois, and Lower California.

=165. White-winged Scoter= (_Oidemia deglandi_). L. 22. A white patch on wing; feathers extending forward along _sides and top_ of bill nearly to nostrils. _Ad._ [Male]. Black, a white spot about eye; bill orange, black at base. _Ad._ [Female]. Dusky brown above; lighter below. _Yng._ [Male]. Similar but sides and front of head whitish.

Range.--Northern North America; breeds from Labrador and North Dakota northward; winters south to Virginia, southern Illinois, and Lower California.

=177. Black-bellied Tree Duck= (_Dendrocygna autumnalis_). L. 22. _Ads._ belly and tail coverts _black_: foreback and breast gray; greater wing-coverts whitish. _Notes._ A shrill whistle. (Elliot.)

Range.--Tropical America north to southern Texas.

=178. Fulvous Tree Duck= (_Dendrocygna fulva_). L. 22. _Ads._ Belly uniform rusty brown; upper tail coverts white; a black streak on hindneck; no white in wing. _Notes._ A squealing whistle.

Range.--Tropical America, north in summer to Texas, Louisiana, Nevada and central California. "Casual in North Carolina and Missouri." (A. O. U.)

Geese and Swans

=169. Lesser Snow Goose= (_Chen hyperborea_). L. 23-28, _Ads._ White, head sometimes rusty; primaries black. _Yng._ Head, neck, and above grayish.

Range.--"Pacific coast to the Mississippi Valley, breeding in Alaska; south in winter to southern Illinois and southern California; casually to New England." (A.O.U.)

=169a. Greater Snow Goose= (_C. h. nivalis_). Similar to No. 169, but larger, L. 30-38.

Range.--Eastern North America; breeds in Arctic regions; winters from Chesapeake, New Jersey (rarely) south to Cuba; rare on Atlantic coast north of Maryland.

=170. Ross Snow Goose= (_Chen rossii_). L. 21; B. 1.6. Similar in color to No. 169, but much smaller; bill particularly smaller.

Range.--Arctic America in summer; Pacific coast to southern California and east to Montana in winter.

=180. Whistling Swan= (_Olor columbianus_). L. 55. Nostril nearer to tip of bill than to eye. _Ads._ White, bill and feet black; a small yellow spot before the eye. _Yng._ Head and neck brownish, rest of plumage washed with grayish. _Notes._ _'whoogh_, _'whoogh_, very loud and shrill. (Nuttall.)