178 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



from eighteen eggs in U. S. National Museum, description from various 

 authors). 



General distribution — North America. Breeds from Upper Yukon Valley, 

 Alaska, Great Slave Lake and central Keewatin south to British Columbia, 

 northern Montana, and central Ontario. Winters from Aleutian Islands, 

 British Columbia, Colorado, Missouri, southern Michigan, western New York 

 and New Brunswick, south to northern Lower California, central Mexico and 

 Florida (modified from A. O. U. Check-list, 1910, p. 77). 



Distribution in California — Common winter visitant along entire seacoast; 

 less numerous away from salt or brackish water. Interior records pertain 

 chiefly to lakes and sloughs at low altitudes. Some record stations away 

 from the seacoast are: Salton Sea, Imperial County (Van Eossem, 1911, p. 

 134) ; near Daggett, San Bernardino County (Lamb, 1912, p. 34) ; Lone Pine, 

 Inyo County (A. K. Fisher, 1893o, p. 18); Los Banos, Merced County (Mus. 

 Vert. Zool.); Stockton, San Joaquin County, and Marysville, Yuba County 

 (Belding, 1879, p. 447) ; and Fort Crook, Shasta County (C. H. Townsend, 1887, 

 p. 195). Arrives in October and remains as late as April 20 (San Diego: 

 Cooper in Baird, Brewer and Eidgway, 1884, II, p. 49). Not known to nest 

 within the state. 



The Buffle-head, or Butterball as it is usually called, is one of the 

 handsomest of the ducks to be found in California. It is commonly 

 to be seen in pairs or small flocks on salt water bays and brackish 

 sloughs, less frequently on fresh water in the interior valleys. Its 

 stay in California is limited to the winter months from October to 

 April. During the nesting season the Buffle-head is confined almost 

 entirely to Canada and the extreme northern United States. It is a 

 common breeder from Manitoba westward to British Columbia, thence 

 north to the limit of trees. Most of the California birds probably 

 breed in the western portion of this region, although some may breed 

 farther south as for instance about the mountain lakes of Oregon and 

 Washington. 



The small size, big head, conspicuous black and white plumage, 

 with white patches on the sides of the head and body make the male 

 Buffle-head easy to distinguish from all other ducks. The long brightly 

 glossed feathers of the head form a sort of enveloping hood and con- 

 trast strongly with the short white feathering of the lower neck. The 

 female is slightly smaller and browner than the male, and lacks 

 entirely the glossy sheen on the head ; the white patch on her wing is 

 smaller and is crossed by a black bar. The Hooded INIerganser is the 

 only duck with which the Buffle-head is likely to be confused. The 

 male Hooded Merganser has a somewhat similar white patch on the 

 head when the crest is raised, but the Buffle-head can be distinguished 

 by the short, stubby bill and by the lower neck which is conspicuously 

 pure white all the way around. The female Buffle-head can be dis- 

 tinguished from the female Ruddy Duck, the only species which it 

 at all closely resembles, by the white spot on the side of the head 

 behind the eye, the white speculum, and the very much smaller bill. 



