Duck-sbooting 171 



Measnretnents — Length, 22 inches ; wing, 1 1.50 inches ; culmen, 2.25 

 inches. 



Adult female — Head, chin, throat, and neck, pale brown with dusky 

 streaks, darkest on the top of head. Upper parts rufous with 

 black bars, the broadest on back ; lesser coverts, dusky with 

 whitish tips ; primaries and secondaries, dark brown ; breast and 

 sides, pale buff; under parts, grayish brown. 



Meastireinents — Wing, 11.50 inches; culmen, 1.75 inches; tarsus, 

 1.75 inches. 



Downy young — Resembles that of the common eider. 



Eggs — Five to seven in number, light gray-green in color, and 

 measure 3 inches by 2. 



Habitat — In North America, breeds on the Aleutian Islands and 

 the coast of Alaska, from Cook Inlet north to Point Barrow, 

 and eastward along the Arctic Coast to Franklin Bay. Winters 

 in Bering Sea, about the Aleutian Islands, and probably the 

 southeastern coast of Alaska ; recorded from Great Slave Lake, 

 Hudson Bay, and Kansas. Breeds also on the Commander 

 Islands and in northeastern Siberia. 



According to Nelson, these birds arrive off the 

 shores near the mouth of the Yukon, about the 

 middle of May, choosing for their nesting-places 

 the marshy islands in the adjacent ponds. The 

 nest is a depression on the ground and is com- 

 posed of grass and seaweed. The eggs are six in 

 number, the duck carefully covering them with 

 down. During the period of incubation the males 

 gather in flocks near by and moult, taking on a 

 dull plumage. The young are hatched in early 

 July, and until they are able to fly, in September, 

 remain on the smaller bodies of water. Later 

 they gather in large flocks offshore, in stormy 

 weather seeking the protection of the islands and 



