380 



AETHYIA AMERICANA (Baird). 



THE REDHEADED DUCK. 



Specific Character. — Bill much shorter than the middle toe (without claw) 

 broad, the end moderately depressed and with the nail decidedly decurved, the 

 culmen about two and a half times the greatest width of the maxilla and decid- 

 edly concave, 



Male — Head and upper half or more of the neck rich reddish chestnut, 

 the latter glossed with redilish purple ; lower part of the neck, jugulum 

 anterior part of the back, lower part of the rump, upper tail coverts and cris- 

 sum. black ; back, scapulars, sides and flanks, densely vermiculated with white 

 and dusky in about equal proportion; anal region similarly but more faintly 

 marked ; entire abdomen immaculate white ; wing coverts deep plumbeous gray, 

 faintly and minutely sprinkled with white ; secondaries (speculum) pale bluish 

 gray the upper feathers edged with black, the others narrowly tipped with white ; 

 primaries dusky, the inner quills slaty gray except at the ends ; tail dusky ; 

 bill pale blue, the end black ; iris red ; feet bluish gray. 



Female — Head and neck grayish brown darkest above ; anterior part of the 

 head lighter, almost white on the chin and upper part of the throat ; jugulum, 

 sides, and flanks, dull grayish brown, the feathers tipped with fulvous; wings 

 as in the male, but their coverts plain slate colour; back and scapulars 

 grayish brown, the feathers with paler tips ; rump, upper tail coverts, and tail, 

 grayish brown ; anal region paler ; longer lower tail coverts whitish. Bill 

 plumbeous, the end black; iris yellow; feet plumbeous. 



Total length about 20.00 inches ; extent, 33.00 ; wing about 8.50 ; culmen, 

 2.05 ; tarsus, 1.60 ; middle toe, 2.35. 



Habitat. — The whole of North America, breeding from central California 

 and Maine to the fur countries; Bahamas. 



Prof. Baird says The American Redhead duck is quite distinct from the 

 Pochard of Europe, though resembling it very closely Audubon considered it 

 to be identical The Redhead duck is pretty generally distributed throughout 

 North America, breedino^ in hioh latitudes down to 44 decjrees and in the 

 winter going as far south as Mexico. Richardson says that this species breeds 

 in all parts of the fur countries from the 50th parallel to their most northern 

 limits. It is common in autumn on Chesapeake Bay and other points along 

 the Atlantic coast, and is here often found associating with the Canvasback which 

 it so closely resembles, in fact in the New York markets it is frequently sold as 

 the genuine Canvasback and indeed while feeding on the wild celery its flesh 

 is not much inferior to that of that famous duck. Formerly the redhead was 

 quite a plentiful species in Ontario, but of late years its numbers appear to be 

 diminishing rapidly, in fact at some stations where large numbers of them used 

 to be shot, not a single specimen has been taken during the last two shooting 

 seasons. This fact may be largely due to the legal existence of spring shooting 

 in some of the neighboring states and the netting of them in the southern 

 states. Like the Bluebill they decoy well and are thus tolerably easily led into 

 traps baited with curii of which they are very fond. The Redhead reaches 

 Ontario early in April and returns late in October and November staying till the 

 ice forms and in some instances on our open lakes all winter. The female la3's 

 from 8 to 10 eggs of a grayish white colour. 



