Ducks SWIMMING BIRDS. 



waved with soft gray and black. Wings generally gray ; specu- 

 lum purplish green between white, a bar in front, and a black 

 and white bar behind. Tail long, black and gray. Below 

 whitish, with black wavings on the sides. Feet lead-blue. 



Female : Wing markings faint, only a trace of the speculum ; tail 

 shorter; generally mottled above with black and yellowish 

 brown; below pale ochre-brown. 



Season : Migrant ; not rare at Stratford, Conn. 



Breeds : Northward from the northern United States. 



Nest : Of litter on the ground. 



Eggs : 6-12, greenish clay colour. 



Mange : Northern Hemisphere ; migrates south to Panama and Cuba. 



Very graceful Ducks of trim build and beautifully mot- 

 tled feathers, long body and well-poised head. Their flesh 

 is excellent, and they are much sought after by the sports- 

 men who go southward for the late fall shooting. 



According to Wilson, it is a bird of mud flats and shallow, 

 fresh-water marshes ; and, unlike other Ducks, which when 

 alarmed scatter in different directions, the Sprig-tails mount^ 

 clustering confusedly together, and thus give the sportsmen 

 a good opportunity of raking them. 



Wood Duck : Aix sponsa. 



Summer Duck. 



Plate 3. Page 21. 



Length : 18-20 inches. 



Male : A sweeping crest of golden green like the head, sides of head 

 with much purple iridescence. White stripe from reddish bill 

 to the eye, and from behind eye to throat. Front of neck 

 and upper breast ruddy, with white specks, other lower parts 

 white ; a black and white crescent before the wings, sides more 

 or less waved with black, white, and yellowish. Above brilliant 

 iridescent hues, — purple, bronze, green, etc. ; speculum green. 

 Feathers on flanks lengthened, and variegated black and white. 

 Legs and feet yellowish. 



Female : Crest slight or wanting. Gray head and neck, below mottled 

 gray, brown, and white, above glossy brown. Wings like the 

 male, but the contrasts much reduced. 



Note : " Peet-peet, oe eek ! oe eek ! " 



Season : A summer resident. 



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