614 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NEW JERSEY. 



AIX, Boie. 



A. sponsa, L. Wood Duck. Summer Duck. 



Hind toe not bordered by a membrane ; head crested ; tip of 

 bill formed entirely of " nail ; " male, head green, purple and 

 violet, with white lines and throat patch ; upper parts velvet 

 black, Avith metallic tints; chest chestnut, with white spots; 

 bars on sides of breast ; belly white ; bill variously colored (in 

 life). Length, 20 inches. Female, head gray, with greenish 

 crown and crest, and white feathers at base of bill and back- 

 wards; throat white; chest brown and spotted; upper parts 

 grayish brown. Length, 18 inches; tail, 5 inches. 



"Arrives early in April, and is abundant in certain localities 

 during the summer. Prefers small, quiet streams, hedged in by 

 large trees. Builds in trees, and sits much upon the branches. 

 Occasionally met with during the winter, but such is seldom the 

 case." 



AYTHYA, Boie. 



A. vallisneria, Wils. Canvas-back. 



Bill as long as middle toe without claw, end flattened, tip slightly 

 hooked. (Sub-genus Aristonetta, Bd.) Male, head blackish on 

 top and reddish brown below, with neck, chest, upper back and 

 tail coverts with lower rump, black ; rest of plumage, except 

 quills, whitish, with dusky vermiculations ; female, head, neck r 

 chest and upper back brownish ; fore-neck, &c., whitish. Length, 

 22 inches ; bill, 2^ inches or more, its width one-third length. 



" Not abundant, although annually killed, not only on the 

 sea- board but occasionally on the Delaware River, as high up as 

 Trenton. Have been killed on meadows during freshets." 



/ 



A. americana, Eyt. (ferina, L.) Red-head. Pochard. 



Male, head and upper neck chestnut, glossed with purple; 

 belly white ; rest of plumage black, except back, shoulders, sides 

 and flanks, which are black and white (vermiculated) ; female, 

 head and neck grayish brown, nearly white on throat; duller 

 brown on back, chest and sides; bill shorter than head. Length, 

 20 inches. 



"Arrives about the 1st of November, and is more or less com- 

 mon on the sea-board till March. Is less seldom seen inland 



