206 GAME BIEDS OF CALIFORNIA 



Nest — Always close to water, above or sometimes floating upon it, and 

 usually concealed in tules; constructed of dry tules and lined with dull whitish 

 down. 



Eggs — 5 to 11, more in exceptional eases, short or elongate ovate in shape, 

 measuring in inches, 2.44 to 2.62 by 1.75 to 1.89 (in millimeters, 62.0 to 66.5 

 by 44.4 to 48.0), and averaging 2.52 by 1.82 (64.0 by 46.2); color grayish white, 

 surface rough (twenty eggs from California). 



General distribution — North America. Breeds from central British Columbia, 

 southern Keewatin and northern Ungava, south to northern Lower California, 

 northern New Mexico, southern Minnesota and Maine, rarely south to Guate- 

 mala and Cuba. Winters from southern British Columbia, Arizona, southern 

 Illinois and Maine south to Lesser Antilles and Central America (modified 

 from A. O. U. Check-list, 1910, p. 82). 



Distribution in California — Common resident throughout the state, chiefly 

 on fresh water. Occurs on San Francisco and Tomales bays in winter. Breeds 

 from San Francisco (Squires, 1915, pp. 234-235), south to Mission Valley, San 

 Diego County (Belding, MS), but most abundantly in southern California and 

 in the San Joaquin Valley; breeds also about Tule [=:Ehett] Lake, Modoc 

 County (H. C. Bryant, 1914^', p. 230). 



The Ruddy Duck is strictly a North American species and has 

 not been taken, even as a straggler, in the Old World. East of the 

 Alleghany Mountains it is a comparatively rare bird, but in the west 

 and southwest it is locally abundant. The main breeding range is in 

 the north-central United States and central Canada, but there are 

 many isolated colonies far south of this area. In the western part 

 of the Mississippi Valley it is found breeding in southern Minnesota 

 and northwestern Nebraska. From here the southern boundary of 

 the nesting range extends southwestwardly through the mountains of 

 Colorado and northern New Mexico, to central Arizona and northern 

 Lower California. Indeed there are records of nesting birds from 

 localities as far south as the Valley of Mexico, Guatemala and Cuba. 

 As a species, this duck does not perform any very extensive migration, 

 the center of the breeding range lying but slightly north of the center 

 of abundance in winter. 



The Ruddy Duck, the "Wire-tail" or "Spatterer" of the hunter, 

 is one of the most widely distributed of our California ducks. In any 

 one place it is never found in large numbers, as are some other species, 

 but each little body of fresh water is apt to have from one to a dozen 

 pairs of the birds. In general the Ruddy Duck is an inhabitant of 

 fresh Avater. It may in winter occasionally be found on salt water 

 in company with such species as the Canvasback and Scaups, but this 

 is not a common thing. 



When resting on the water the Ruddy Duck may be recognized by 

 its moderate size, "squat" appearance, short thick head and neck, erect 

 tail, and in the male, by the white area on each cheek. The wings 

 lack contrasted markings of any sort. On close examination a num- 



