Some that are well done give little new Information on a species. However, 

 even in reports of lesser quality there may be bits of information of substan- 

 tial value. As Palmer (1976a) stated, "One needs to be cognizant of the fugi- 

 tive stuff because some of it is valuable." 



Studies of the Anatidae have characteristically centered about the most 

 hunted species, which are generally regarded as those of greatest economic 

 worth. The Mallard — "the duck", hunted and killed in large numbers, in its 

 domesticated form a major source of food, and widely used as an experimental 

 animal in studies of physiology, toxicology, and other laboratory disciplines — 

 is, with the possible exception of the chicken, probably the best studied spe- 

 cies of bird. Other extensively hunted species like the Wood Duck and Canada 

 Goose are also well studied. We think that for these waterfowl, as well as 

 others that are widely hunted, searches for unpublished information on a partic- 

 ular taxon or geographic area may have real value. For other groups and species 

 of marine birds, knowledge of which is based on only a relatively small and 

 manageable literature, funds might be more wisely applied to field research and 

 survey. 



Although much is known about many of the species covered in this report, 

 and although research is presently being conducted on many of them, there are 

 a number of species of Anatidae about which we know very little. Bellrose 

 (1976) stated that "In some species of waterfowl our lack of the simplest life 

 history knowledge is scandalous. For example, much of the meager nesting infor- 

 mation on the black and surf scoters dates back to the turn of the century." 

 Bellrose (1976) considered that the latter species had the "dubious distinction 

 of being the least studied" of North American ducks. The very short species 

 bibliographies that we were able to assemble for these scoters attest to the 

 continuing relevance of Bellrose 's remarks. Indeed, because we gave equal em- 

 phasis to each species during the course of compiling the bibliographies, we 

 suspect that the relative length of the bibliographies is it itself a good guide 

 to which species need further research. The ten species with the shortest bib- 

 liographies are American Wigeon, Mottled Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Greater Scaup, 

 King Eider, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, and 

 Masked Duck. However, Erskine (1972) provided a comprehensive review of what 

 is known of the Bufflehead, and reports dealing with diverse species of ducks 

 make the American Wigeon and Hooded Merganser better known than our crude as- 

 sessment might suggest. Most of the other seven ducks are genuinely poorly 

 known for many aspects of their breeding biology and distribution. 



Much work has already been accomplished by the Fish and Wildlife Service 

 in validating aerial surveys of wintering and breeding populations (reviews in 

 Johnsgard 1975 and Bellrose 1976). Some species or species groups are much 

 more visible from the air than others. Perhaps as many as 9 in 10 Green-winged 

 Teal are not seen from the air during surveys of the breeding grounds but per- 

 haps as many as 3 out of 4 scoters are seen. The breeding ground surveys, while 

 valuable, do not cover much of eastern Canada or the northeastern United States. 

 Consequently, the size of the breeding population for species known to breed or 

 believed to breed largely within this area or that have large breeding popula- 

 tions in this area are inadequately known. Species or forms in this report that 

 are in this category include the Atlantic populations of the Snow Goose and 

 Brant, Wood Ducks, Black Ducks, Common Eiders, Harlequin Ducks, Oldsquaw, Surf 



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