140 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



Barrow's Golden-eye closely resembles the 

 American Golden-eye. It is not easy to dis- 

 tinguish between the males at a distance and it 

 is impossible to tell with certainty to which 



species the females and young belong. Their 

 habits are also similar but the Harrow's breeds 

 farther south and winters farther north. Its 

 note is a low croaking sound. 



BUFFLE-HEAD 

 Charitonetta albeola ( Linncnis) 



.\. O. U. .\umber 153 See Color Plate 10 



Other Names. — Buffle-headed Duck; Duffalo-headed 

 Duck; Bumblebee Duck; Butter Duck; Butter-ball; 

 Butter-bo.x ; Butter-back; Spirit Duck; Wool-head; 

 Hell-diver; Conjuring Duck; Marionette; Dipper; 

 Dipper Duck ; Dapper ; Dopper ; Robin Dipper ; Little 

 Black and White Duck (male) ; Little Brown Duck 

 (female). 



General Description. — Length, 15 inches. Males are 

 black above, and white below ; females are grayish- 

 brown above, and whitish below. 



Color. — .^DULT Male: Head, pulTy and crested, 

 and iridescent, purple, and green; a large zvliitc patch 

 OH each side behind eye, running some distance below 

 eye and joining its felloiv over top of head; neck all 

 around, under parts, shoulders, nearly all wing-coverts, 

 and most secondaries, pure white; some shoulder 

 feathers edged with black, forming a narrow length- 



This little Duck is widely known on fresh 

 waters, for it is by nature a fresh-water bird, 

 which in autumti and winter frequents the sea- 

 shore. It was named Bufifle-head (or Buffalo- 

 head) because of its large fluffy head, which 

 looks particularly big when its feathers are 

 erected. The Buffle-head was not much sought 

 by gunners until within recent years. Its great 

 weakness is a fondness for decoys. 



The male is a hatidsome bird ; its bright con- 

 trasting tints are highly ornamental, but, as is 

 usual among Ducks, the female is dull and incon- 

 spicuous in color and much smaller. My youth- 

 ful experience with the Dipper Duck convinced 

 me at the time that it could dive quickly enough 

 to dodge a charge of shot ; but its immunity 

 from danger probably was due more to my in- 

 experience and to the inferior quality of the gun 

 and ammunition used than to the quickness of 

 the bird. However, it dives like a flash, and is 

 very likely to escape unless the gunner, warned 

 by experience, uses a close shooting gun, judges 

 well his distance and holds exactly right. \\'hen 

 a few are together one usually keeps watch when 

 the others are under water and warns them of 

 danger by its short quack. 



In flight it hurls itself through the air with tre- 

 mendous speed, its rapidly moving wings almost 

 forming a haze about its glancing form, which 

 buzzes straight away as if bound for the other 



wise line; back and upper parts, black; tail, grayish; 

 bill, dull bluish-gray with black tip and base; feet, pale 

 flesh color; iris, brown. Adult Female: Head, thinly 

 crested, dusky-gray with a lighter patch on side; upper 

 parts, grayish-brown ; icings the same zcitli small zi'hite 

 areas; below, whitish shaded on sides of neck and body 

 with ashy ; bill, feet, and iris, as in male. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: In hollow trees or stumps 

 near water ; lined with down and feathers. Eggs : 9 

 to 14 ; from creamy-white to buff or dull olive. 



Distribution. — ■ North America ; breeds from Maine, 

 Ontario, Iowa, northern Montana, and British Columbia 

 north to Alaska ; winters from British Columbia, 

 .A.leutian Islands, Idaho, Colorado, Missouri, southern 

 Michigan, western New York, and New Brunswick 

 south tn niirthiTn Lnwer California, central Mexico, 

 Louisiana, and Florida. 



end of the world. It alights on the water with 

 a tunuiltuous splash, sliding along for a little 

 distance over the surface. When it has once 

 alighted it seems to prefer the water to the air, 

 ;ind will often dive, rather than fly, to escape 

 danger. It is sometimes so fat that in the 

 -Middle .States it is known as the Butter-box or 

 Butter-ball, but the flesh is not usually of a very 

 good quality. As with all Ducks the quahty of 

 its flesh depends largely on the character of the 

 food it has recently eaten, and this species, like 

 others, is much more palatable when killed in 

 the interior than when taken on the sea-coast. 



In February the males begin their mating 

 antics, when they have a habit of stretching 

 forth the neck and erecting the glossy feathers of 

 the head as it is moved back and forth, so as to 

 display their beauties to the best advantage in the 

 sunlight. They are quite quarrelsome in the mat- 

 ing season and fight furiously for the possession 

 of favored females. 



Nuttall says that the Buffle-head feeds princi- 

 pally upon fresh-water and submerged vegeta- 

 tion, and that it sometimes visits the salt marshes 

 "in f|uest of the laver (Ulva lactiica)." as well 

 as Crustacea and small shell-fish. Audubon states- 

 that it feeds on shrimps, small fry, and bivalves 

 in salt water, and on crawfish, leeches, snails, and 

 grasses in fresh water. It also takes locusts,, 

 grasshoppers and many other insects. 



