Appendix 6.3(11) Continued 



Scaup are numerous on the Canadian prairies, and are found in western 

 Alaska. They arrive in the Chenier Plain in mid-October and depart in late 

 April. Their winter range resembles that of the blue-winged teal, but it is 

 not as southerly (Johnsgard 1975). Hunting pressure on scaup is not great, 

 both because of the relative inaccessibility of their habitat and because 

 they are considered to be a low quality table duck by Chenier Plain hunters. 



Other Species 



Because of their small contribution to the Chenier Plain waterfowl pop- 

 ulation, the following are considered in less detail than the previous spe- 

 cies. 



Wood duck (Aix sponsa) 



Wood ducks are perching ducks and are numerous in many regions of the 

 eastern United States, although no population figures are available for the 

 Chenier Plain. The species inhabits swamps and bottomland forests, where 

 it nests in trees. Wood ducks consume fruits, nuts, and green tree shoots 

 and dabble for seeds and vegetative parts of aquatic plants. The species 

 nests in the Chenier Plain. 



Wood ducks are popular game birds and are highly accessible to hunters. 

 In the Louisiana portion of the Chenier Plain, they account for 1% of the 

 total duck harvest. 



Ring-necked duck (Ay thy a collaris) 



The second most numerous of Chenier Plain diving ducks, these birds are 

 common breeders in the Great Lakes region of the United States and across 

 midwestern Canada (Johnsgard 1975). About 20% of the North American popula- 

 tion winters on the Chenier Plain. The species is present in the Chenier 

 Plain from late October to early April, and feeds on submerged aquatics, bul- 

 rush seeds, and molluscs. The latter food composes about 25% of the diet. 

 Ring-necked ducks prefer freshwater conditions and eat more rice than other 

 diving ducks. 



Hooded merganser (Lophodytes ouaullatus) 



The hooded merganser is a common nester in the Chenier Plain, and like 

 the wood duck, nests in tree cavities. 



Whereas Stewart (1962) reported that hooded mergansers evidently avoided 

 salt water, Bateman's surveys indicated they used brackish and salt marshes 

 more than any other duck. Food habits of the hooded merganser are described 

 in Appendix 6.3(13). The species is rarely hunted, because of the poor 

 palatability of their flesh. 



Fulvous tree-duck (Dendroaygna biaolor) 



The rarest of all Chenier Plain waterfowl, these ducks have the most 

 tropical range, rarely venturing north of the coastal rice prairies of Lou- 

 isiana. They migrate south along the Gulf coast to the Bay of Campeche, Mex- 

 ico in winter (Kortwright 1967). They differ morphologically from other 



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