BIRDS OF BERMUDA. 257 



Hah. — North America, especially United States ; breeding throughout 

 in suitable places, and wintering chiefly in the south 5 Cuba (Coues). 



"A female bird of this species was shot by Dr. Cole, Twentieth Eegi- 

 ment, on the 16th December, 1846" (Nat. in B., p. 48). 



Sub-family FULIGULIN^. 

 Genus Fuligula, Steph. 

 151. Fuligula affinis^ Eyt. Lesser Scaup Duck; Blue-bill. 



Anas marila, Forst. 



FuUguIa marila, Aud. 



Fulifjulaajfinia, Eyt., Gossc, Turiib., Coiios. 



Marila affinis, Bp. 



Fidix affinis, Bd., Scl., Lawr., Dress., Salv.,Ne^vton, Dall &, Baou., Coues & 



Preut., Verr., Coues, Mayn., Aikeu. 

 Fuligula viariloides, Vig. 

 Fuligula minor, Gir., Bell. 



Length, 1G.50; wing, 8; tarsus, 1.34. 



Hal). — Tlie whole of North America, and south to Guatemala in 

 •winter; part of the West Indies (Coues). 



To make matters clear, in treating of this species, I must call in the 

 aid of Dr. Coues, who says, in his "Birds of the Northwest" (p. 574): 

 ^'Authors are at variance concerning the relationship of the bird to the 

 preceding {F. marila), and the question is not yet settled. For myself 

 I am rather inclined to keep the two apart, notwithstanding their very 

 close resemblance, and admitting the probability that intermediate ex- 

 amples may be found. There appears to be something different in their 

 range, the F. affinis being the more southerly. Not that it does not in 

 the breeding season reach as high latitudes as the other, but that its 

 autumnal movement is pushed to the West Indies and Central America, 

 where the true F. marila is not recorded as occurring. It is improbable 

 that two varieties, if they be really such, should preserve this differ- 

 ence." Armed with this authority, I think I may safely refer the speci- 

 mens of the Scaup chronicled in "The Naturalist in Bermuda," all of 

 which measured only 16 to 16| inches in length, to this smaller species, 

 jP. affinis. The length of F. marila varies from 19 to 20i inches. The 

 specimens alluded to are one killed by Mr. C. Abbott, Twentieth Kegi- 

 meut, on the 19th December, 1846, and two others by Colonel Wedder- 

 burn, at Warwick Pond, on the 8th January, 1849. Lieutenant Deni- 

 son, Eoyal Engineers, shot a female specimen at Tucker's Town on the 

 25th February, 1876, measuring 16 inches in length. 

 Bull. Nat. Mus. No. 25 17 



