OF NORTH AMERICA. aS 
birds make excellent decoys for shooting from 
blinds. They are easily domesticated, and, 
wild or not, their flesh is of fine flavor and 
clean, as they are vegetable feeders. 
- BEACK -.DUCK” DUSKY “DUCK. 
Anas obscura. 
Predominating color, dark brown; hghter 
on the breast, head and neck. The edges 
of the feathers are shaded with dusky, giving 
the appearance of shell work or scallops. 
The wing patch is violet; the eyes are 
brown, the bill yellowish- Ute ; feet orange, 
with dark webs. About the same size as No. 
8, averaging a little less in weight, and re- 
sembling the female of the mallard to a great 
degree, differing in having no white mark- 
ings except on the inside of the wings. The 
male and female are much alike, but the lat- 
ter is generally of a hghter shade. 
Habitat — Eastern North America. This 
bird favors the salt water more than the mal- 
lard, and will be found in immense flocks in 
our bays and harbors, although it drops into 
the large ponds during its migratory flights, 
and is there shot from blinds by means of 
decoys. Our gunners on the New England 
coast will insist that there are two varieties, 
viz, the Red-leg or Southern duck, and the 
Black-leg or Winter duck, although no lists 
to-day recognize a difference. My friend 
Leonard, of Marshfield, Mass., writes me as 
follows: ‘In my opinion they are different 
