TRADITIONS OF WATERFOWL 



both its breeding and wintering range in the state of Florida, whereas the 

 western race, A. f. maculosa, lives the year round in Texas and Louisiana. 

 Within these restrictions there is no wide dispersal of males in winter, 

 hence little chance for the cross-mating of birds from widely separated 

 breeding places. Consequently the geographic division between eastern 

 and western birds has been sharp ; the genetic changes recognizable to the 

 taxonomist have developed from this spatial isolation. 



Among the Eiders of the genus Somateria, four closely related kinds 

 are recognized : the American Eider, the Hudson Bay Eider, the Northern 

 Eider, and the Pacific Eider. The American, Hudson Bay, and Northern 

 Eiders are so closely related as to be considered subspecies of one another, 

 and the Pacific Eider is just enough different to be given specific recognition 

 by some authorities. Bent (1925:94) points out that there is an overlapping 

 of range in the American and Northern Eiders, but this is slight, and the 

 main breeding and wintering places of the Northern Eider are well to the 

 northeast of the ranges used by the American Eider. The Pacific Eider is 

 still further separated in its winter and summer ranges; and despite the 

 possibility of some overlapping with the summer range of the Northern 

 Eider, matings with the American Eider could result only by rare chance. 



In considering the distribution of the Florida Duck and the Eiders, 

 the relation between geographic isolation and subspecific differences seems 

 to be one of cause and effect. The variation could hardly occur if Florida 

 Ducks mixed thoroughly on the winter ranges or if all Eiders shared the 

 same wintering places. Whether or not this regional isolation is genetic or 

 traditional, however, is a question we will not try to answer here; for in 

 these instances it may be impossible to separate the genetic and traditional 

 inheritances. 



Tradition may have been a factor in establishing the geographic races 

 in the crane family. Cranes, as already noted, are like geese in their strong 

 family bonds during migration and in their firm regional traditions. Taxono- 

 mists recognize four subspecies of the brown crane of North America, the 

 Little Brown Crane of the far north, the Sandhill Crane of the middle 

 latitudes, the Florida Sandhill Crane, and the Cuban Sandhill Crane. The 

 Coot, a close relative of the cranes, is more like the ducks in its habits. Its 

 breeding range is spread widely over North America, being much the same 

 as that of our game waterfowl; and it joins in large gregarious bands on 

 the wintering grounds. Present evidence suggests that some Coots pair 

 on the wintering grounds, thereby effecting the same genetic mixing as 



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