ANATIN.E — THE DUCKS — LOPHODYTES. 



121 



Lophodytes cucullatus. ' 



THE HOODED SHELDRAKE. 



Mergus cucullatus, Linn. S. N ed. 10, I. 1758, 129 ; ed. 12, I. 1766, 207. — Wils. Am. Orn. VIII. 

 1814, pi. lxix. fig. 1 — Sw. & Eich. F. B. A. II. 1831, 463. — Nutt. Man. II. 1834, 465.— 

 An». Orn. Biog. III. 1835, 246, pi. 233 ; Synop. 1839, 299 ; B. Am. VI. 1843, 402, pi. 413. — 

 Coues, Key, 1872, 296 ; Check List, 1873, no. 523 ; 2d ed. 1882, no. 745 ; B. N. W. 1874, 584. 



Loplwdytes cucullatus, Kkichenb. Syst. Av. 1852, p. ix. — Baird, B. N. Am. 1858, 816; Cat. N. 

 Am. B. 1859, no. 613. — Ridgw. Norn. N. Am. B. 1881, no. 638. 



Hab. All of North America, south to Mexico and Cuba, north to Alaska, and accidentally to 

 Greenland ; breeds nearly throughout its range ; Bermudas, in autumn ; casual in Europe. 



Sp. Char. Adult male: Head, neck, back, and scapulars black ; crest chiefly pure white, but 

 bordered by a distinct "rim" of black ; forehead, ami leathers round base of the bill, dark fuligi- 

 nous, but this blending insensibly into 

 the deep black. Wing-coverts dark gray, 

 lighter and more ashy posteriorly ; 

 greater coverts broadly tipped with 

 white, the base black, this exposed sutii- 

 ciently to show a distinct band ; inner 

 secondaries with their exposed surface 

 (in closed wing) white, the basal por- 

 tion black, showing narrowly beyond 

 the end of the greater coverts ; tertials 

 with a central stripe of white. Pri- 

 maries, primary coverts, rump, upper 

 tail-coverts, and tail brownish dusky. 

 Sides of the breast crossed by two black 

 crescents, projecting from the black of 

 the back, these interdigitating with two 

 white ones, the last crescent being black. 

 Sides and flanks rusty cinnamon (more 

 grayish anteriorly), narrowly undulated 

 with black ; remaining lower parts 

 white, the posterior part of the crissum 

 mottled with grayish brown. Bill deep 

 black ; iris bright yellow ; legs and feet 

 yellowish brown, the claws dusky. 

 Adult female : Head, neck, jugulum, and 

 upper parts generally, grayish brown, 

 darker above, the crest reddish hair- 

 brown, or dull cinnamon, smaller and of 

 looser texture than in the male ; chin, 

 upper part of the throat, and lower parts, 

 except sides, and posterior part of the 

 crissum, white ; middle feathers of the 



greater wing-coverts tipped with white ; inner secondaries with their exposed surface white, except 

 at the base. Maxilla black, edged with orange ; mandible orange ; iris hazel ; feet dusky. Young: 

 Similar to the adult female, but crest rudimentary, or wanting, the sides and posterior part of 

 the crissum more distinctly brown. Downy young: 1 Above, deep hair-brown, darkest on the back 

 and rump; posterior border of the arm-wing, a small spot on each side of the back (nearly con- 

 cealed by the closed wing), and a larger one on each side of the rump grayish white. Lower half 



1 Described from No. 12730, " Northwest Coast of America ; " T. R. Piw.i:. 

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