56 NOTES ON THE 



In the spring of 1863 they were never so numerous, both in 

 spring and in fall migration; and in the following year they 

 were almost unrepresented 



Again they were abundant in 1867, and comparatively scarce 

 in the following year, and so during their entire recorded 

 local history they have varied in their numbers. 



They do not remain with us usually to exceed about two 

 weeks, when all have moved off to still more northern latitudes 

 for incubation. Nothing could be more characteristic of their 

 habits while with us, than their seeking the mouths of the 

 streams where they debouche into the lakes. When not on the 

 wing or in the woods feeding upon the mast, we know where to 

 look for them, especially on a cloudy, windless day. The only 

 reason I have for thinking that they breed in the northern 

 counties is, that they have been seen in several places in June, 

 and again in early August. 



Although he found them common in October at different 

 places in Otter Tail county, Mr. Washburn makes no mention 

 of them in his August observations in the same section, from 

 which I am left to presume that there could not have been any 

 indications of their breeding there. Mr. Lewis extended his 

 explorations much farther north, and finding the males occa- 

 sionally, very reasonably concluded that the species bred to 

 some extent within our borders. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



Bill as long as head, broad, blue, the end black, the region 

 anterior to the nostrils dusky; head, and neck for more than 

 half its length, brownish-red. glossed above and behind with 

 violaceous red; rest of neck and body anterior to the shoulders, 

 lower part of back and tail coverts, black; beneath white, 

 sprinkled with gray and black anterior to the crissum; sides, 

 interscapulars, and scapulars, finely lined with undulating 

 black and white in nearly equal proportions, imparting a gen- 

 eral gray tint; wing coverts a bluish-gra}'. finely sprinkled 

 with whitish; speculum, consisting of the ends of the secondar- 

 ies, hoary grayish-blue, lightest externally, and the innermost 

 narrowly edged externally with black; basal portion of the 

 inner primaries somewhat similar to the speculum; tail of 

 fourteen feathers; iris orange-yellow. The Red heads are 

 easilj'^ distinguished from the Canvasback by the shorter and 

 broader bill, absence of brown on the head, and a greater pre- 

 dominance of black in the waved lines. 



Length, -0.50; wing, 9.50; tarsus, 1.60; commissure, 2.80. 



Habitat, North America. 



