472 THE RUDDY DUCK. 



for a sail. Jet-black over the crown and down the back of 

 the neck, cheeks clear white, the remaining upper parts a 

 bright, glossy dark-red, he is a well-defined object even in 

 the distance. The female — which the male resembles pre- 

 cisely, from fall till spring— is a dark brownish-gray, the 

 throat and broad stripe through the eye lighter, both sexes 

 being white, or white mottled w4th gray, underneath. The 

 young are a little lighter than the female. Except in its 

 sojourn in the south in winter, where it may be seen in im- 

 mense flocks, especially in Florida, it is generally in small 

 flocks after the manner of the Buffle-head. When rising 

 from the water, it runs on the surface for some distance, 

 and generally against the wind. If it cannot command a 

 fair open space for flight, it will dive, using its tail either as 

 a rudder or as a paddle in a vertical motion, and will hide 

 itself away among the grass and sedges. When on the wing 

 it flies low along the surface of the water, with a rapid beat of 

 its broad wings, making a short, plump figure quite uncom- 

 mon for a Duck; and it generally flies quite a distance 

 before alighting. 



Though not averse to the molluscous and piscatorial diet 

 of the sea Duck, and often found on bays and marshes of 

 the sea shore, its principal range is in the interior; and it 

 prefers, as a diet, the leaves and roots of certain aquatic 

 vegetation, for which it dives after the manner of the Fuli- 

 gulincE. 



Not a few of this species remain on St. Clair Flats through- 

 out the breeding season. The nest, built some time in June, 

 is placed in the sedges or marsh-grass over the water; and 

 may contain as many as ten eggs, remarkably large for the 

 size of the bird (2.50x1-75), oval or slightly ovate, the 

 finely granulated shell being almost pure white, tinged with 

 the slightest shade of grayish-blue. The nest may be quite 



