328 Brewster, The Red-legged Black Duck. [^^^ 



from New England during the earlier part of the shooting season 

 in autumn, and not found in any numbers much before the middle 

 of October, affords the strongest kind of presumptive evidence that 

 rubripes is a good subspecies. The very earliest date given by Dr. 

 Townsend for its autumnal appearance in Essex County, Massa- 

 chusetts, is September 21. It was represented by only seven speci- 

 mens among the tw^o hundred and sixty birds sent to Faneuil Hall 

 Market in Boston from this region between September 21 and 

 October 3, 1904, and examined for Dr. Townsend by that excellent 

 authority on such matters, Mr. John H. Hardy, Jr. Of the unstated 

 but presumably considerable number of specimens received be- 

 tween September 1 and 21 of that year Mr. Hardy referred all to 

 "the smaller form" (i. c, triMis). Equally significant and con- 

 vincing is the testimony relating to this point furnished by Dr. J. 

 C. Phillips, who has a shooting stand at Wenham Lake, in Essex 

 County, where he has given close attention to the migrations of 

 water fowl for a number of years. He writes me as follows (under 

 date of March 24, 1910) in response to my enquiry as to when the 

 Red-legged Ducks appear there in autumn : — 



"I have been through all my records for Wenham and find the 

 following dates : — 



September 29, 1904. One Red-leg Duck; weighs 2 lbs. 9 oz. 

 Octobers, 1907. " " " " " 3 " 



" 9, 1906. " " " 



These are very early dates or they would not have been noted. . . . 

 The large, heavj'-feathered ducks [i. e., rubripes] are not common 

 before October 20." He adds: "The more I ponder on the sub- 

 ject, the more I become satisfied that there are two types of ducks, 

 but I don't think that the red legs are the whole story. ^ While at 

 Currituck last Christmas, I was very much struck by the pre- 



1 Although I continue to believe that the coloring of the legs and feet is con- 

 spicuously red in typical examples of rubripes and essentially brown or brownish 

 in those of the bird I have called tristis I should not be greatly surprised to find 

 that this character is more or less inconstant and unreliable. Even should it prove 

 quite worthless there would remain the obvious differences in size and plumage to 

 which I called attention in the original description of rubripes. Dr. Phillips appears 

 to regard them as racial, not age, differences and Col. John E. Thayer assures me 

 that he is of the same opinion. As Dr. Dwight said little or nothing about them 

 in his paper I do not feel called upon to restate or to rediscuss them in the present 

 connection. 



