BIRDS OF ESSEX COUNTY. 



127 



although it must be remembered that these differences of opinion result from 

 general impressions, which are often unreliable. Mr. J. H. Hardy, Jr., has made 

 careful record of some of the Black Ducks sent to Faneuil Hall Market in Bos- 

 ton, from Essex County during the season of 1904-5. From September 1st to 

 the 2 1st all the Black Ducks were of the smaller form. On September 21st 

 the first rubripes from this region was sent. The record is as follows : 



The record necessarily ends here as this goes to press, but a note will be 

 added at the end of the Annotated List continuing these observations by Mr. 

 Hardy throughout the winter. Mr. Hardy and I also examined for sex twenty- 

 five Black Ducks taken in January in Essex County, after first making note of 

 the color of the legs, color of bill, and as to whether the throat and chin were 

 buffy and free from spots or spotted. The results were as follows: fifteen large 

 birds with yellow bills, red legs, and chin as well as throat spotted, were all males. 

 Of six birds with yellow bills, red legs, and spotted lower throats but with a 

 clear buffy area \ to ^ of an inch in depth on the chin, five were males and one 

 was a female. Two birds with green bills, brown legs with a reddish tinge, and 

 spotted throats proved to be one a male, the other a female. Two birds with 



