Chapter 7

A bird commonly seen in the markets where it is often sold as the following species because of their similarity. The nests are placed on the ground in marshes or sloughs, and are made of grasses, lined with feathers. Eggs from six to fourteen in number, of a buffy white color. Size 2.40 × 1.70.

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147. CANVAS-BACK. _Marila valisineria._

Range.--Whole of North America, breeding chiefly in the interior from the United States to the Arctic Ocean.

A noted table bird, especially in the south where it feeds on wild celery. Can be distinguished from the Redhead by its darker head, lighter back, and gradually sloping bill. They nest abundantly in Manitoba, their habits being the same as the preceding. They lay from six to ten eggs of a darker shade than the Red-heads. Size 2.40 × 1.70. Data.--Haunted Lake, N. Alberta, June 12, 1897. Ten eggs. Nest of reeds in a heavy reed bed out in the lake. Collector, Walter Raine.

148. SCAUP DUCK. _Marila marila._

Range.--North America, breeding from North Dakota northward, chiefly in the interior; south in winter to Central America.

This and the following species are widely known as "Blue-bills" owing to the slaty blue color of that member. Their plumage is black and white, somewhat similar in pattern to that of the Redhead, but darker, and the whole head is black. They nest in marshes about many of the ponds and lakes in the interior of British America. The nest is made of marsh grasses and lined with feathers. The six to ten eggs are pale grayish or greenish gray. Size 2.50 × 1.70. Data.--Saltcoats Marshes, N. W. Canada, June 15, 1901. Ten eggs. Nest in the grass; a depression lined with down and dried grasses. Collector, Walter Raine.

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149. LESSER SCAUP DUCK. _Marila affinis._

Range.--North America, breeding from North Dakota and British Columbia northward; winters south to Central America.

This Duck is distinguished from the preceding, chiefly by its size which is about two inches less, or 17 inches in length. The nesting habits are the same as those of the Greater Scaup and the eggs are similar but smaller. Size 2.25 × 1.55. Data.--Northern Assiniboia, June 10, 1901. Ten eggs on grass and down at the edge of a lagoon. Collector, Walter Raine.

150. RING-NECKED DUCK. _Marila collaris._

Range.--North America, breeding in the interior, from North Dakota and Washington northward. Winters from Maryland on the east and British Columbia on the west to Central America.

Similar to the Lesser Scaup in size and plumage, except that it has a narrow chestnut collar around the neck, the back is black instead of barred with white, and the speculum is gray instead of white. The habits and nesting habits of the Ring-neck do not differ from those of the other Scaups. They lay from six to twelve eggs. Size 2.25 × 1.60. Data.--Cape Bathurst, N. Y. T., June 18, 1901. Ten eggs in a slight hollow in the moss, lined with down. Collector, Captain Bodfish.

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151. GOLDEN-EYE. _Clangula clangula americana._

Range.--North America, breeding both on the coast and in the interior, from the northern border of the United States northward to the Arctic Ocean.

These are handsome Ducks known as "Whistlers" from the noise of their wings when flying, and "Greatheads" because of the puffy crest. The head is greenish with a large round white spot in front of, and a little below the eye. The rest of the plumage is black and white. This species nests in hollow trees near the water, lining the cavity with grass, moss and leaves, and lining the nest with down from their breasts. In May and June they lay from six to ten eggs of a grayish green color. Size 2.30 × 1.70.

152. BARROW'S GOLDEN-EYE. _Clangula islandica._

Range.--Northern North America, breeding north of the United States except from the mountainous portions of Colorado northward.

This Golden-eye differs from the preceding chiefly in the shape of the white spot before the eye, which in this species is in the form of a crescent. The size is the same, about 20 inches in length. The reflections on the head are purplish rather than greenish as in the preceding. The nesting habits are the same, they building in hollow trees near water. The six to ten eggs are not different from the preceding. Size 2.30 × 1.65. Data.--Alfusa, Iceland, June 30, 1900. Seven eggs. Nest of grass and down in a box attached to a tree by an islander.

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153. BUFFLE-HEAD. _Charitonetta albeola._

Range.--North America, breeding from United States northward. Winters south to Mexico.

Gunners know this handsome little duck by the names of "Butter-ball," and "Dipper," a name also given to Grebes. It is also quite similar, but smaller (15 in. long), to the American Golden-eye but has a large white patch on the back of the head, from eye to eye. It is an active bird and, like the two preceding, is capable of diving to a great depth to get its food. Its nesting habits are like the preceding. Eggs eight to fourteen. Size 2 × 1.40. Data.--Alberta, Canada, June 6, 1899. Seven eggs. Nest in hole in tree stump, lined with down. Collector, Dr. George.

154. OLD-SQUAW. _Harelda hyemalis._

Range.--Northern Hemisphere, breeding in the Arctic regions; south in winter to New Jersey and Illinois.

The Long-tailed Duck, as it is called, is especially noticeable because the breeding plumage of the male differs markedly from that in the winter. In summer their general plumage is blackish brown, with a white patch around the eye, and white belly. In winter they are largely white. The central tail feathers are much lengthened. They breed abundantly in Greenland, Alaska and the Hudson Bay Territory, placing their nests of grasses and weeds on the ground near the water. It is generally concealed in the long grass. The eggs number from six to twelve. Size 2. × 1.50. Data.--N. Iceland, June 10, 1900. Nest on ground, lined with down. Collector, S. H. Wallis.

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155. HARLEQUIN DUCK. _Histrionicus histrionicus._

Range.--Northern Hemisphere in America, breeding from Newfoundland and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, northward. South in winter to California and New England.

A beautiful and most gorgeous bird, not in colors, but in the oddity of the markings, the colors only including black, white, gray and chestnut. Either sex can be recognized by the small short bill. They breed mostly in single pairs along swiftly running streams, placing their nest, which is woven of weeds and grasses, in the ground near the water. It is also claimed that they sometimes nest in hollow trees. They lay from five to eight eggs, yellowish or greenish buff in color. Size 2.30 × 1.60. Data.--Peel River, Alaska, June 13, 1898. Seven eggs in a hollow in river bank, lined with down. Collector, C. E. Whittaker.

156. LABRADOR DUCK. _Camptorhynchus labradorius._

This bird, whose range was from Labrador to New Jersey in the winter, has probably been extinct since 1875, when the last authentic capture was made. It is a strange fact that a bird of this character should have been completely exterminated, even though they were often sold in the markets. Only forty-one specimens are known to be preserved at present and nothing is known in regard to their nesting habits or eggs.

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157. STELLER'S DUCK. _Polysticta stelleri._

Range.--Arctic regions in America, chiefly on the Aleutian Islands and northwest coast of Alaska.

A very beautiful species eighteen inches long; head white, washed with greenish on the forehead and nape; chin, throat, neck, back, tail and crissum, black; underparts chestnut; wing coverts white, the long scapulars black and white. It breeds on the rocky coasts and islands of Bering Sea. The six to nine eggs are pale olive green in color. Size 2.25 × 1.60. Data.--Admiralty Bay, Alaska, June 22, 1898. Nest on a hummock of the tundra, near a small pool, lined with grass and down. Collector, E. A. McIlhenny.

158. SPECTACLED EIDER. _Arctonetta fischeri._

Range.--Coast of Alaska from the Aleutians to Point Barrow.

Like the rest of the true Eiders, this species is black beneath and mostly white above. The head is largely washed with sea green, leaving a large patch of white, narrowly bordered by black around each eye, thus resembling a pair of spectacles. The nests are made of grass and seaweed and lined with down; they are placed on the ground in clumps of grass or beneath overhanging stones. The five to nine eggs are an olive drab or greenish color. Size 2.70 × 1.85. Data.--Point Barrow, Alaska, June 15, 1898. Six eggs. Nest of moss and down in a hollow in dry tundra. Collector, E. A. McIlhenny.

159. NORTHERN EIDER. _Somateria mollissima borealis._

Range.--North Atlantic coast, breeding from Labrador to Greenland and wintering south to New England.

A large Duck similar to the next species, but with the base of the bill differing, as noted in the description of the following species, and with a more northerly distribution. The nesting habits are the same as those of the other Eiders. Six to ten eggs generally of a greenish drab color. Size 3. × 2.

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160. EIDER. _Somateria dresseri._

Range.--Atlantic coast, breeding from Maine to Labrador and wintering south to Delaware.

This species differs from the preceding only in the fleshy part of the base of the bill, which extends back on each side of the forehead, it being broad and rounded in this species and narrow and pointed in the Northern or Greenland Eider. This species, but more especially the Northern Eider, are the ones chiefly used for the eider-down of commerce. The preceding species is often semi-domesticated in Greenland, the people protecting them and encouraging them to nest in the neighborhood. They make their nests of seaweed and grass and warmly line it with down from their breast; this down is continually added to the nest during incubation until there is a considerable amount in each nest, averaging about an ounce in weight. The birds are among the strongest of the sea ducks and get their food in very deep water. Their flesh is not good eating. Their eggs number from five to ten and are greenish drab. Size 3. × 2.

161. PACIFIC EIDER. _Somateria v-nigra._

Range.--North Pacific from the Aleutian Islands northward, and east to Great Slave Lake.

This bird is, in plumage, like the Northern Eider, except that it has a black V-shaped mark on the throat. They nest sparingly on the Aleutian Islands, but in great numbers farther north on the coast about Point Barrow. Their habits, nests and eggs are precisely the same as those of the eastern forms. Their eggs number from five to ten and are of olive greenish color. Size 3. × 2. Data.--Cape Smythe, Alaska, June 8, 1900. Eight eggs. Nest a hollow in the moss, lined with grass and down.

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162. KING EIDER. _Somateria spectabilis._

Range.--Northern Hemisphere, breeding in America from Labrador to Greenland and the Arctic Ocean; south in winter to the New England States and rarely farther on the eastern side, and to the Aleutians on the Pacific; also casually to the Great Lakes in the interior.

A handsome and very different species from any of the foregoing, having the crown ashy blue, and the long scapulars black instead of white. It also has a broad V-shaped mark on the throat. Like all the other Eiders, the female is mottled brown and black, the different species being very difficult to separate. The nests are sunk in the ground and lined with down. Eggs number from six to ten. Size 2.80 × 1.80. Data.--Point Barrow, Alaska, July 5, 1898. Five eggs. Nest a hollow in the moss on tundra lined with moss and down. Collector, E. A. McIlhenny.

163. SCOTER. _Oidemia americana._

Range.--Northern North America, breeding from Labrador, the Hudson Bay region and the Aleutian Islands northward; winters south to Virginia, the Great Lakes and California.

Scoters or "Coots" as they are generally called are sea ducks whose plumage is almost wholly black; they have fantastically colored and shaped bills. The American Scoter is entirely black without markings; base of bill yellow and orange. This species nest as do the Eiders, often concealing the nest, of grass and feathers, under some overhanging rock. They lay from six to ten eggs of a dingy buff color. Size 2.50 × 1.70. Data.--Mackenzie Bay, June 15, 1899. Ten eggs. Nest a hollow in the sand, lined with down.

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164. VELVET SCOTER. _Oidemia fusca._

An Old World species that has accidentally occurred in Greenland.

165. WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. _Oidemia deglandi_.

Range.--Abundant in North America, breeding from Labrador, North Dakota and British Columbia, northward. Wintering south to the Middle States, southern Illinois and southern California.

The largest of the Scoters, length 22 inches, distinguished by a large white speculum on the wing, also a white comet extending from under the eye backwards. It also has a yellow eye. Like the other Scoters, this species often feeds in very deep water. They are strong, active diving birds, and are also strong on the wing, generally flying close to the surface of the water. Their flesh is not regarded as good eating, although they are often sold for that purpose. They nest on the ground, generally in long grass or under low bushes making a coarse nest of grasses, and sometimes twigs, lined with feathers. They lay from five to eight eggs of a pale buff color. Size 2.75 × 1.85.

166. SURF SCOTER. _Oidemia perspicillata._

Range.--Northern North America, breeding north of the United States boundary, and wintering south to Virginia and southern California.

The male of this species is entirely black, except for the white patches on the forehead and nape, and the vari-colored bill of black, white, pink and yellow. They nest either along the coast or in the interior, building a nest lined with down, in the marsh grass bordering small ponds. They lay from five to eight buffy cream colored eggs. Size 2.40 × 1.70. The females of all the Scoters are a dingy brownish color, but show the characteristic marking of the species, although the white is generally dull or sometimes mottled. Data.--Mackenzie River, June 25, 1894. Six eggs in a nest of down on an island in the river.

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167. RUDDY DUCK. _Erismatura jamaicensis._

Range.--Whole of North America, breeding chiefly north of the United States border except locally on the Pacific coast. Winters along the Gulf and through Mexico and Central America.

This peculiar species may always be recognized by the brownish or chestnut upper parts, blackish crown, white cheeks and silvery white underparts. The bill is very stout and broad at the end, and the tail feathers are stiff and pointed like those of a Cormorant. They build their nests in low marshy places, either placing them on the ground near the water or in the rushes over it. Their nests are made of rushes and grasses, sometimes lined and sometimes not, with down from the parents breast. The eggs number from six to twelve and are grayish in color. Size 2.40 × 1.75. Data.--Northern Assiniboia, Canada, June 6, 1901. Eight eggs. Nest made of aquatic grasses, lined with down. Built in a tuft of rushes in a marsh. Collector, Walter Raine.

168. MASKED DUCK. _Nomonyx dominicus._

This is a tropical species which is resident in Mexico, Central America and in the West Indies. It occurs in Mexico north to the lower Rio Grande Valley and has in three known instances strayed to northern United States. The general plumage is a rusty chestnut, mottled with blackish, it has a black face and throat, with white wing bars.

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169. SNOW GOOSE. _Chen hyperboreus hyperboreus._

Range.--North America west of the Mississippi Valley, breeding in northern Alaska and the MacKenzie River district.

This smaller species of the Snow Goose nests on islands in rivers along the arctic coast. The nest is a depression in the ground, lined with grasses and, occasionally down. They lay from four to eight eggs of a buffy or yellowish white color. Size 2.75 × 1.75.

169a. GREATER SNOW GOOSE. _Chen hyperboreus nivalis._

Range.--Eastern North America, breeding in the Arctic regions and wintering chiefly on the Atlantic coast, south to Cuba.

This bird is like the preceding; except in size; about thirty-six inches, instead of twenty-six inches in length as is the lesser variety. The entire plumage is white except for the black primaries. They construct their nests of grasses on the ground the same as the preceding variety. The eggs number from five to eight and are cream colored. Size 3.40 × 2.40.

169.1. BLUE GOOSE. _Chen cærulescens._

Range.--North America, principally in the interior, breeding from Hudson Bay northward and wintering along the Gulf coast.

This species may always be recognized by the entirely white head and neck, the body being grayish or bluish gray. They nest on the ground as do the other geese laying from four to eight eggs of a brownish buff color. Size 2.50 × 1.75. Data,--Cape Bathurst, Arctic coast, June 29, 1899. Four eggs laid in a depression lined with grass, on an island. Collected with the parent birds by the Esquimaux.

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170. ROSS'S SNOW GOOSE. _Chen rossi._

Range.--This beautiful species, which is similar in plumage to the large Snow Goose, is but twenty-one inches in length. It breeds in the extreme north, and in winter is found in the western part of the United States as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. Their nesting habits and eggs probably do not differ from others in the family except in the matter of size.

171. WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. _Anser albifrons albifrons._

This European species is exactly like the American except that it is said to average a trifle smaller. It is occasionally found in Greenland.

171a. AMERICAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. _Anser albifrons gambeli._

Range.--Whole of North America, breeding in the Arctic regions and wintering south to the Gulf coast; not common on the Atlantic coast during migrations.

These birds may be recognized by their mottled plumage, dark head and white forehead. This species is more abundant than any of the preceding and nests in large colonies along the arctic coast and in Alaska. Their nests are made of dried grasses, feathers and down and are placed on the ground in a slight depression. From four to nine eggs are laid; these have a dull buff ground. Size 3.00 × 2.05. Data.--Island in delta of Mackenzie River, June 10, 1899. Four eggs. Nest of grass and feathers on the ground on a small island. Collector, Rev. I. O. Stringer.

171.1. BEAN GOOSE. _Anser fabalis._

This European species is casually found in Greenland. It is one of the most common of the Old World Species.

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172. CANADA GOOSE. _Branta canadensis canadensis._

Range.--The whole of North America, breeding from northern United States northward, and wintering in the southern parts of the United States.

This species is the most widely known of American Geese and is the most abundant. Its familiar "honk" has long been regarded as the signal of the coming of spring, and the familiar V-shaped formation in which the flocks migrate is always an object of interest to everyone. With the exception of in North Dakota and Minnesota, they breed chiefly north of the United States. They construct quite a large nest of weeds and grass, and warmly line it with down and feathers. They lay from four to nine eggs of a buff or drab color. Size about 3.50 × 2.50. Data.--Ellingsars Lake, North Dakota, May 18, 1896. Five eggs. Nest on an island in the lake, constructed of weeds and trash, and lined with a few feathers. Collector, Edwin S. Bryant.

172a. HUTCHINS GOOSE. _Branta canadensis hutchinsi._

This sub-species is like the preceding except that it is smaller, thirty inches in length. It is a western variety, breeding in Alaska and along the Arctic coast and wintering to southern California. Its breeding habits, nests and eggs are the same as the common goose except that the eggs are smaller. Size 3.00 × 2.05.

172b. WHITE-CHEEKED GOOSE. _Branta canadensis occidentalis._

This bird is about the same size as the Canada Goose and the plumage is very similar except that the black sometimes extends on the throat, thereby isolating the white cheek patches, and there is a white collar below the back of the neck. It is a western species, breeding in Alaska and wintering along the Pacific coast of the United States. Its nesting habits and eggs are same as those of the Canada Goose except that the latter are a trifle smaller.

172c. CACKLING GOOSE. _Branta canadensis minima._

This bird is really a miniature of the Canada Goose, being but twenty-four inches in length. It breeds in Alaska and along the Arctic coast and migrates into the western parts of the United States. They are abundant birds in their breeding range, where they place their nests upon the shores of ponds, or on islands in inland rivers or lakes. The nests are made of weeds and grasses, lined with down. The eggs which are buff colored, number from four to nine and are laid during June and July. Size 2.30 × 1.95.

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173. BRANT. _Branta bernicla glaucogastra._

Range.--Eastern North America, breeding in the Arctic regions and wintering in the United States east of the Mississippi.

The Brant resembles a small Canada Goose, except that the black of the neck extends on the breast, and only the throat is white. They are one of the favorite game birds and thousands are shot every fall and spring. Their nests and eggs are the same as the next species.

174. BLACK BRANT. _Branta nigricans._

Range.--Western North America, breeding in Alaska and wintering on the Pacific coast of the United States. Rare east of the Mississippi.

This species is like the last except that the black extends on the under parts. This species nests very abundantly in northern Alaska, laying their eggs in a depression in the ground, lined with down. Favorite locations are the many small islets in ponds and small lakes. They lay from four to eight grayish colored eggs. Size 2.80 × 1.75. Data.--Cape Bathurst, North West Territory, Junes 22, 1901. Seven eggs in a small hollow in the ground, lined with down. Collector, Capt. H. H. Bodfish.