74 



Birds of North Carolina 



These e\ndences of the abundancp of the Big Blackhead in North Carolina 

 waters are introduced as a rebuttal of the statement made by former writers that 

 Chesapeake Bay forms the southern limit of this bird's winter range, and further, 

 that in North Carolina its place is taken by the Little Blackhead. The proljable 

 reason for this mistake is that most of the published duck-lore of the State has 

 come from observers on Currituck Sound and vicinity, where the small species is 

 the one most in evidence. 



Both the Blackheads are "'good" ducks when feeding on atiuatic vegetable 

 gro\\'ths, but the fle.sh becomes strong and fishy when they take to an exclusive 

 diet of small mussels, as they do in localities where the vegetable food is absent. 

 And hundreds of thou.sands sp(>nd the winter on waters where the latter condi- 

 tions prevail. 



■'^ii0^ 



Fia. 45. .SCAl'l': Bni Hi, vi KllKAr) ladull male). 



Every salt-water duck-shooter from Core Sound in the Long Island waters knows 

 the Big Blackhead, or Broadliill. and better duck-shooting cannot be had than that 

 furnished by these birds when the weather is right for breaking the large rafts into 

 bunches small enough to be attracteil to the shooter's decoys. 



55. Marila affinis {Eijt.). Lesser Scalp Duck. 



Ad. cf. — Similar to preceding species but smaller, head, as a rule, glossed with purpHsh 

 instead of prcwiisli, and flanks strongly instead of faintly marked wnth wavy black biirs. 

 Ad. 9 ■ — Similar to 9 of the preceding species, but smaller, d^ L., 10. .'lO; \V., S.Ofl; Tar., 1.35; 

 B., l.GO; greatest width of B., .95. 9 L., 10.50; W., 7.00; Tar., 1.30; B., 1.55; greatest width 

 of B., .90. 



Retnnrks. — The Scaup Ducks resemble each other so closely that it Ls sometimes impossible 

 to tell them apart, but tliey may generally be distinguished by the characters given above. 

 (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



