Part 4

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is nothing more than a hollow in the midst of some bunch of brush, possibly lined with a few leaves. The eggs are from twelve to eighteen in number and of a greenish shade, mottled with bright brown, but these spots are easily rubbed off.

=Measurements=--Male--Total length from 24 to 28 inches; wing, 12 to 14. Weight, from four to seven pounds.

Female--Total length, from 20 to 22 inches; wing, 10 to 12. Weight, from three to five pounds.

COLUMBIAN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE

(Pediocaetes phasianellus columbianus)

The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse is the "prairie chicken" of eastern Washington. It is far different from the pinated grouse (=Tympanuchus=) of the middle states, commonly called prairie chicken. Its habitat is much the same, however, being the open plains and untimbered foothills east of the Cascade mountains in Washington and through eastern Oregon into northern Nevada, and the extreme northeastern corner of California. The sharp-tail grouse has the same habit of strutting in large groups like the prairie chicken at the beginning of the nesting season. They do not drum, however, like the eastern bird, but make a noise more like an attempt to crow. They also take refuge in the timber for protection from the storms of winter.

During the hunting season they lie well to a dog and afford fine shooting. The food of the sharp-tailed grouse consists of about ten per cent insects, the balance being made up of seeds, grains and berries, with a good percentage of "brouse" in the winter.

=Color=--Male--Side of head and throat, pale buff with mottlings of brown on the cheeks; back and wings, gray, mottled with black; breast, light buff. Under parts, white with lines of dark brown; central tail feathers long and pointed; no long feathers on the neck.

Female--Resembles the male with the exception that the tail feathers are not so long.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is a rude affair on the ground, lined with a little dead grass and generally contains from ten to fifteen eggs of a greenish buff speckled with fine dots of brown.

=Measurements=--Total length from 14 to 16 inches, with the wing about eight; the central tail feathers are about five inches in length. The average bird will weigh about two pounds.

Order ANSERES

Family, ANATIDAE

Range. (All Genus Species Common Names breed far north.) ------------ ------------------ ------------------- -------------------

Subfamily, ANSERENAE

{hyperborea {White goose {From Southern Chen { {(large) {California north. { {rossi {Ross' goose {From Mexico {Small white goose {north.

Anser albifrons gambeli {White-fronted {From Mexico {goose {north. {Gray goose {

{Fulvous tree duck {From Central Dendrocygna fulva {Mexican tree duck {California south {Cavalier {through Mexico. {Breeds from Central {California to {Central Mexico.

{canadensis {Canada goose {From central { {Honker {Mexico north. { {canadensis Hutchins' goose From Southern {hutchinsii California north. { {canadensis White-cheeked {Inland plains from Branta {occidentalis goose {Central California { {north. { {canadensis {Black brant {From Southern {minima {Cackling goose {California north. { {nigricans Black sea brant {On certain bays {from Magdalena, {Lower California {north.

Philacte canagica Emperor goose {A rare visitor {south of Humboldt {Bay, California

Subfamily, CYGNINAE

{columbianus Whistling swan {From Oregon north. Olor { {Rarely as far { {south as Central { {California. { {buccinator Trumpeter swan From Southern { California north.

THE WATERFOWL

The great variety of the waterfowl of the Pacific Coast, the wonderful numbers in which they are found and the excellent shooting they afford, forms a subject, which, to do it justice, would require the space of an ordinary volume.

With the exception of the Gulf tier of the Southern states, waterfowl on the Atlantic Coast are but birds of passage, tarrying for a time on their way to milder winter quarters; tourists loitering for a day or two at attractive by-stations as they wing their way south in the fall and again on their return north in the spring. They are leaving the isolation of the far north or the mountain lakes and marshes where they spent the summer rearing their young and they are seeking more favorable feeding grounds in the milder climate of the South, where animal and vegetable life is not in the state of hibernation which prevents it from furnishing them with an abundance of food during their southern sojourn.

Over the larger portion of our hunting grounds what is the beginning of the calendar year is in fact the beginning of our spring. When the frost king lays his hand upon all vegetable and insect life in the East, spreading his white shroud over field and pasture and breaking with his icy sleet from the vine and the brush their clinging leaves; when from the trees have fallen the last vestige of their autumnal crowns of gold and crimson; when the last flower has shed its petals; when the last hum of insect is heard and the last song of bird has died away on the southern horizon--'tis then the early rains of the Coast start the new sown grain in the fields, give life again to the grasses of the plains, carpet the foothills and the valleys with the gold and purple and crimson of innumerable flowers, and our veritable spring commences.

With us, therefore, waterfowl are not passing pilgrims, tarrying for a few days only as they rest and feed on their way to the open waters and green pastures in which they intend to pass those months marked winter on the calendar of the year. They are not mere hurrying flocks alighting now and again as they wing their way back to their breeding grounds in the spring But ours is the Mecca to which they journey; ours the feeding grounds on which they assemble from the lakes and marshes of the Arctic; from the whole chain of the Aleutian Islands; from the inland seas of British Columbia and from the mountain lakes of our own Sierras from Washington to Mexico. Here on the bays, estuaries and marshes of the coast and the lakes and ponds of the valleys, throughout the whole length of these hunting grounds, countless millions of these birds have found their winter feeding grounds for unnumbered ages. No cold, no ice, no snow, no howling blizzards to stop them in their search for food or disturb their midday rest upon our quiet waters. In warmth they feed upon the tender shoots of the young grasses that fringe their watery haunts or bask in sunshine on the sandy shores.

It is the popular impression that all ducks breed in the far north and migrate from there south. One has only to shoot on the lakes of Mexico to learn how erroneous this impression is, for one will meet varieties quite common there that rarely if ever reach the southern boundaries of the United States.

The masked duck (=Nomonyx dominicus=) is a purely southern species reaching Mexico only in its breeding season. The three species of the Mexican tree duck, quite common in that country, come but little into the United States. One of these, the black-bellied tree duck (=Dendrocygna autumnalis=) migrates to some little extent into Texas and to less extent into New Mexico and Arizona. The fulvous tree duck (=Dendrocygna fulva=) extends its migrations still farther north, breeding to considerable extent in Arizona and southern California, but rarely seen as far north as the center of the state. The other species of the genus (=Dendrocygna elegans=), for which I know no English name, is even rare as far south as southern Jalisco. The cinnamon teal is a southern duck, breeding in Arizona, Texas and southern California but so rarely seen north of San Francisco that a gentleman who had killed a straggler near Marysville, when showing it to me, said that he couldn't find a man in the town who could tell him what it was. Yet the cinnamon teal is very common in Mexico and Arizona and quite plentiful in southern California in the spring, before the flocks break up and the birds seek their nesting places.

Northern bred ducks and purely northern species visit us in great numbers during the winter months, and to these must be added the vast number of these birds that breed in the mountains throughout our hunting grounds.

The ornithologist divides the ducks into two subfamilies; the fresh-water ducks forming the subfamily, =Anatinæ=, and the salt-water ducks the subfamily, =Fullgilinæ=. These two families can easily be distinguished by their feet. If a salt-water duck, the hind toe will be found to have a small web or flap on the under side, but if the bird belongs to the fresh-water group, the toe will be as clean as any land bird.

THE MALLARD

(Anas boschas)

The mallard is possibly the best known duck in America, it being found in greater or less numbers everywhere from the Arctic to Central America. It is a resident species throughout the Pacific Coast, breeding on the mountain lakes and streams from Mexico to Alaska, and even to a considerable extent on the lower marshes of California, Oregon and Washington. On the fresh water ponds and overflows they congregate in great numbers during the winter months and a bag limit of twenty is no uncommon thing. Like all of the fresh-water ducks of this Coast, they, too, are often found in considerable numbers on the tide lands and salt marshes.

The mallard of the Pacific Coast can hardly be said to be a migratory duck, for it breeds from Mexico north. Its migrations consisting more of altitudinal movements than of longitudinal. While it breeds on the mountain lakes of Mexico, it is rarely seen in the higher altitudes during the winter months.

Hybrids between the mallard and the pin-tail and the mallard and the widgeon have been occasionally met with on the marshes of the Coast. This is most likely caused by the mating of cripples that had not the strength to make the flight to their usual breeding grounds.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, dark green with a metallic luster; white ring around the neck at the bottom of the green; back, gray; breast, chestnut brown; under parts dirty white; tail, black with two feathers curled upwards; speculum, (see diagram) purple, bordered with black and white.

Female--Head, dark buff; breast, lighter buff with brown mottlings; legs, orange colored; speculum same as the male; bill, yellow, blotched with brown.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is placed on the ground and lined with grass, feathers and down. The eggs number eight to a dozen and are of a greenish tinge.

=Measurements=--Male--Total length, from 20 to 25 inches; wing, 10 to 12 inches; bill, 2-1/2 inches.

Female--Total length, from 18 to 20 inches; wing, 9 to 10 inches; bill, 2 to 2-1/4 inches.

THE GADWALL

(Anas strepera)

The gadwall was at one time quite plentiful on the shooting grounds of California, south of San Francisco; but, on account of our season opening later and closing earlier than in years past, few are killed now. The gadwall is really a southern duck, coming into the United States to breed. When the California season opened on the first of September and closed the first of April, there were plenty of gadwall found on its ponds in the early fall and late in the spring. Now, but few are killed except in the southern part of the state. Such as are killed are generally found on the mountain lakes and ponds of the higher valleys. On the waters of Mexico and Lower California, however, they are met with in good numbers.

The gadwall, however, migrates as far north as British Columbia for breeding purposes as well as breeding on the mountain lakes of all the territory through which it ranges.

=Color=--Male--Head, light brown, finely mottled with dark brown and black; neck and breast, finely streaked with wavy black and white; under parts, grayish white; rump and tail, black; speculum, black and white, with the lesser wing-coverts chestnut; feet, orange, and bill nearly white.

Female--Closely resembling the male but with very little chestnut on the wings.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest which is usually made a little way back from the water is lined with dead grass, and contains from ten to twelve eggs of a light buff color.

=Measurements=--Total length, about 19 inches; wing, 10, and bill, 1.60.

THE WIDGEON

(Anas Americana)

The widgeon is one of the most common ducks of the Coast, both north and south. As well as being one of the most plentiful of the interior lakes and ponds, they are found in great numbers on the salt marshes and tide overflows, and even form great dark patches on the ocean as they take their midday rest on its bosom a mile or so beyond the surf. They breed on the mountain lakes and streams all along the Coast from Mexico north.

The widgeon begins its migrations early in the fall and great numbers find their way as far south as the Coast marshes and lower lakes of Mexico. They feed largely on the plains and frequent the fields in search of grain. In migrating or flying from pond to pond they usually go in quite large flocks.

=Color=--Male--Head, pinkish white on top, with a greenish streak from the eye back to the ociput; below this the head and neck are speckled with black and white; back and wing-coverts, gray with fine markings of black; breast, a light brick red with a purplish cast; speculum, black and green. Axillars, white with dark shafts.

Female--The female resembles the male in all but the green on the head and the reddish color of the breast.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is generally built in some tuft of grass or thick weeds near some water's edge. The eggs average about a dozen and are of very light brownish white.

=Measurements=--Total length, 18 inches; wing 9-1/2, and bill, 1-1/2.

GREEN-WINGED TEAL

(Anas carolinensis)

The green-winged teal is another variety that is very plentiful on the Coast, breeding in great numbers on our mountain lakes and along the streams from Mexico to Alaska, and even to considerable extent on the lower marshes, especially from central California north. While many of these are killed on the salt marshes and tide lands, they are more generally frequenters of the inland ponds and overflows. Nesting late and maturing early, they are both a late and early duck on our shooting grounds, and remain constantly with us during the whole winter. Shooting on a pass over which the teal are flying from one pond to another furnishes about the finest sport of the duck shooter's life. In such cases they come in small flocks, and single birds must be selected; being a small mark and very rapid flyers they require a good lead and quick work. In fact, a brace of green-winged teal with a pressing engagement at the next pond makes about as pretty a target as the sportsman often fires at.

The green-winged teal, like the widgeon, feeds a great deal on the plains and in the fields.

=Color=--Male--Top of head and neck, brown of a chestnut tinge, the feathers forming almost a crest; a broad stripe of green runs back from the eye to the neck; back and sides, mottled gray; breast, buff, shaded to white on the abdomen and spotted with black; speculum, green.

Female--The top of the head of the female is a rusty brown, and with a very faint stripe on the sides; upper parts, gray, spotted with black; speculum, green.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest of the green-winged teal is generally a little more carefully made than most of the ground nesting ducks. The eggs average about ten and are of a light brownish buff.

=Measurements=--The green-winged teal is the smallest of the fresh-water ducks. Total length, about 14 inches; wing, 7-1/4; bill, 1-1/4 inches.

THE CINNAMON TEAL

(Anas cyanoptera)

The cinnamon teal, very commonly called the blue-winged teal by the sportsmen of the Coast, is only a late fall and early spring bird on our shooting grounds north of Lower California and Mexico. While the cinnamon teal has a blue wing there is no resemblance between the male cinnamon and the male blue-winged. The females of the two species, however, have a marked resemblance in color but a wide difference in shape of body. The female cinnamon teal is much darker on the throat than the blue-winged female, and generally shows a considerable of the cinnamon color of the male. The male of the blue-winged teal partakes more of the grayish color of the green-winged variety and has a white crescent in front of the eye. The northern limit of the cinnamon teal is about the latitude of San Francisco so far as their appearance on our shooting grounds is concerned. A few, however, go farther north for breeding purposes. They are quite common in the southern part of California, where they come to breed. They winter in Mexico, Lower California and Arizona in great numbers. They nest on the mountain lakes and along the mountain streams of California and even as far north as Oregon. In southern California they nest along the salt-water marshes, especially those of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

=Color=--Male--The male bird cannot well be mistaken for that of any other species. The general color being a dark cinnamon, or in fact much nearer a chestnut in color; the head being somewhat darker than the rest of the bird; the upper wing-coverts being blue, form a large patch of blue at the shoulders when the wing is at rest; the speculum, like that of all the teal is green.

Female--The female resembles the female of the blue-winged teal, but is a little larger with a longer and slimmer body; the chin is dusky and the throat is speckled; the breast also has a slight tinge of the cinnamon color of the male.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nests are built generally in long grass patches of the low grounds bordering the streams and lakes and even the salt marshes. The eggs which average about a dozen are of a peculiar light creamy color with a faint bluish tinge.

=Measurements=--Total length, 16 inches; wing, 7-1/2; bill, 1-3/4.

THE BLUE-WINGED TEAL

(Anas discors)

The blue-winged teal is only a straggler north of Lower California, Arizona and Mexico. In Mexico and Lower California I know them to be quite common, and reasonably plentiful in some parts of Arizona.

The blue-winged teal is a plumper bird than either of the other species, and not near so handsomely marked. It is a rapid flyer and affords good shooting in those sections where it is plentiful.

=Color=--Male--Head, a glossy purplish gray, darker on top; between the eye and the bill is a white crescent-shaped mark about one-fourth wider in its center than the eye; the wing-coverts are blue like those of the cinnamon teal; back, dark gray; under parts, gray, spotted with black; speculum, rich green; bill, black, and legs and feet, yellow.

Female--The female resembles the female of the cinnamon teal; but unlike the cinnamon it has no dark markings under the chin, or any of the cinnamon color faintly seen on the cinnamon female. The bill also is much shorter, and the legs are of a yellowish tinge.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nests are much the same as the other members of the teal family. The eggs about a dozen in number are pale buff.

=Measurements=--Total length, 15 inches; wing, about 7, and bill, 1-1/2 inches.

THE SPOON-BILL OR SHOVELLER

(Spatula clypeata)

The shoveler, or spoonbill, as they are commonly called, is also an early duck upon our ponds; they, too, breed throughout the mountains of our hunting grounds. When they first arrive on our ponds they are very fat and finely flavored, but they soon become poor of flesh and lose the flavor brought with them from their mountain homes. And then they are generally let pass undisturbed by the discriminating sportsman.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, green; breast, white, shading into rusty chestnut toward the abdomen; lesser wing-coverts, blue; speculum, green, with white border; legs, orange red.

Female--The female is much smaller than the male and lacks all its high coloring. The general color is buff, mottled with brown; wing-coverts and speculum, same as the male.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest, which is a rude affair, generally contains from seven to ten eggs of a light buff color.

=Measurements=--Total length of the male, about 20 and the female, 18 inches; wing, 9 to 9-1/2; bill, about 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 inches, and very broad at the end.

THE PIN-TAIL

(Dafila acuta)

The pin-tail, or sprig is another very common duck of the Coast. Great numbers of this species breed on our mountain lakes and, maturing early, they are about the first to appear upon our shooting grounds, great flocks reaching as far south as San Diego county, the mouth of the Colorado river and the lakes and marshes of Lower California, Arizona and northern Mexico as early as the middle of August or the first of September. They come from the mountains plump and fat, and as soon as the shooting season is open prove quite acceptable to the epicure.

The pin-tail ranges throughout the territory covered by this work and far to the north of it, and the fact that they breed around the mountain lakes for the whole distance accounts for their early appearance on the shooting grounds of the Coast.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, rich brown, with a white stripe running from the ociput down the sides of the neck to the breast; bill, lead color, with a black stripe along the top; back, gray; breast, white; central tail feathers, very long and pointed; speculum, light smoky brown, edged with white.

Female--The female is much more of an ocher brown than the male, and without the stripe on the neck or the lead color of the bill. The top of the head and the sides of the neck are streaked with brown; breast, spotted with dark brown; under parts, white. While it somewhat resembles the female mallard, the much narrower bill and difference of the speculum should prevent any error in identification. Besides the tail is pointed and the axillars are white, barred with dark brown.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is usually back a little distance from the water's edge and contains from eight to twelve bluish-white eggs.

=Measurements=--Total length, male, 28 and female, 22 inches; wing, 9-1/2; bill, 2 inches.