74 The IVater-fowl Family 



black ; iris, hazel-brown ; legs and feet vary from reddish orange 

 to yellow. 



Measurements — Length, 24 inches ; wing, 12 inches; culmen, 2.20 

 inches; tarsus, 1.70 inches. 



The adult male in summer acquires a plumage closely re- 

 sembling the female, but of a darker cast. This is assumed 

 in June. In August the winter dress begins to be resumed, and 

 by October the plumage is usually full. 



Adult female — Above, dusky brown, the feathers edged with 

 ochraceous, beneath, the general color is paler, the feathers 

 having dark centres, giving a mottled or streaked appearance ; 

 wing, similar to male. Bill, greenish yellow, with black mark- 

 ings ; legs and feet, yellowish ; iris, hazel. 



Measurements — Length, 23 inches; wing, 10.50 inches; culmen, 

 2.25 inches; tarsus, 1.50 inches. 



Downy young — Above, deep olive, marked by two pairs of light 

 spots, the first pair on the back just behind the wing, the second 

 at base of tail and a light superciliary stripe on the sides of fore- 

 head, head, and nape ; dark line from bill through eye ; entire 

 under parts, yellowish buff. 



Eggs — Eight to thirteen in number; olive-buff or greenish buff; 

 measure, 2.20 by 1.70 inches. 



Habitat — The northern portions of the northern hemisphere, breed- 

 ing in Europe as far south as the Rhone Delta. Breeds in 

 North America from Pennsylvania rarely, Ohio, Indiana, pos- 

 sibly Kentucky, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, possibly Arizona 

 and Lower California, and California, north to the Pribilof 

 Islands, Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, the Mackenzie Delta, and east 

 to Fort Anderson, Hudson Bay, Quebec, and Ontario, and in 

 Greenland. Not found in Cumberland, nor apparently in Lab- 

 rador, and rare in migration in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, 

 New Brunswick, and the Atlantic Coast north of Maryland. 

 Winters in southern Greenland and from Maine rarely, Mary- 

 land regularly, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, rarely Min- 

 nesota and South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, British Columbia 

 and the Aleutian Islands, south to the West Indies and Central 

 America. Occurs also in Bermuda and Hawaii. 



