68 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



a pale buff color, averaging in size about 2.00 by 1.50, but there is a 

 great variation in this respect when a large series of specimens from 

 different parts of the country are examined. When robbed of its eggs 

 the bird will often lay a second set. 



[145.] Netta Rufina (PALL.) 



Rufous-crested Duck. 



Hab. Eastern Hemisphere; accidental in the United States. 



The claim of this species to a place in the North American fauna 

 rests on a single specimen obtained in Fulton Market, New York City, 

 February 2d, 1872. It is supposed to have been shot on Long Island 

 Sound. 



The bird is found in Southern and Eastern Europe, and in por- 

 tions of Africa and Asia. The eggs are described as being of a pale 

 olive-buff and measure 2.19 x 1.68. 



146. Aythya americana (EYT.) [618.] 



Redhead. 



Hab. North America, breeding from California and Maine northward. 



The Redhead or Poachard, so frequently confounded with the Can- 

 vas-back, is a common duck throughout North America. It breeds in 

 all parts of the Fur Countries, and is very abundant in the marshes of 

 Manitoba throughout the summer months. It nests in suitable locali- 

 ties of various northern states, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minne- 

 sota and Dakota. 



The Redhead also breeds in the marshes of California. Mr. 

 Shields mentions it nesting in a swamp near Los Angeles about the 

 middle of June.* The nest is built on the ground in thick grass or 

 weeds and is composed of aquatic plant stems and grasses, lined with 

 the down and feathers from the breast of the bird. The nest is often 

 constructed in a mass of reeds over water after the manner of a Coot's. 

 Mr. Shields found the nests to contain from seven to fourteen eggs. 

 Eight or ten are more commonly laid further north. They are creamy- 

 white, elliptical, and average 2.40 by 1.70, with slight variation. 



147. Aythya vallisneria (WILS.) [617.] 



Canvas-back. 



Hab. Nearly all of North America. 



The celebrated Canvas-back Duck is an exclusively North Ameri- 

 can species, found in the interior and on both coasts as far north as 

 the Arctic Ocean and southward to Central America. Breeds on the 

 interior marshes, rivers and lakes from the Northwestern States to 



* Young Oologist, a magazine devoted to the study of birds, their nests and eggs, published by Frank 

 H. Lattin, Albion, N. Y., Vol. I., p. 90. 



