THE EED-HEAD 327 



of Hudson Bay, the great duck nursery of the 

 New World, though a comparatively small 

 number breed in the northern States of the 

 Union, and in the Rocky Mountain region much 

 farther south. There is small doubt that many 

 birds, especially of the duck tribe, which are 

 credited with breeding only in the far-off north, 

 occasionally nest in the cool heights of the 

 mountains in much lower latitudes. 



Closely resembling the canvasback in appear- 

 ance and fully equal to this much-lauded bird 

 in table qualities when the same opportunities 

 are given, the Red-head is often sold in the mar- 

 kets as his highly esteemed relative. The like- 

 ness between the two birds might, indeed, de- 

 ceive the casual observer, but no one at all fa- 

 miliar with them should ever mistake one for 

 the other. The short bill, rounded and high- 

 arched skull of americana, together with the 

 somewhat puffy appearance of the feathers of 

 its head, are widely different from the long, 

 sloping profile of the canvasback, where the 

 lines of the bill and head are nearly one. The 

 Red-head is also considerably darker in his gen- 

 eral coloration and has an orange-yellow iris. 

 The canvasback 's iris is red. Still the pur- 



