176 TowNSEND, Red-legged Subspecies of Black Duck. [April 



THE VALIDITY OF THE RED-LEGGED SUBSPECIES OF 

 BLACK DUCK.i 



BY CHARLES W. TOWNSEND, M. D. 



In April, 1902, Mr. William Brewster described a northern race 

 of the Black Duck, — then known as Anas obscura, — under the 

 name of Anas obscura rubripes or the Red-legged Black Duck 

 the chief characteristics of which were the large size, the coral 

 red legs, the yellow bill, the coarse spotting of the entire throat and 

 the grayish edging of the feathers of the crown and nape. This 

 form was well known to occur in winter on the New England coast, 

 and Mr. Brewster referred four of the breeding Black Ducks which 

 he had examined to this new race. These specimens came from 

 northern Labrador and the Hudson Bay region. He referred 

 breeding specimens from Newfoundland to the older race, but he 

 admitted that he had "none from any locality south of the Gulf 

 of St. Lawrence which were taken at the height of the breeding 

 season." He inferred, however, that these belonged to the smaller 

 race with brown or slightly reddish legs, dark or olive green bills, 

 buffy and immaculate, or but slightly spotted throats, and dark 

 crowns and napes. 



It should be noted here that not only the color of the legs, bat 

 several other factors correlated therewith distinguish these two 

 races. I wish to emphasize this fact for ornithologists are apt 

 to speak as if the color of the legs was the only distinguishing 

 feature. 



In April, 1905, in "The Birds of Essex County," I gave several 

 facts which suggested that rubripes might be the adult male of 

 obscura, and "assuming for the sake of argument" that this was 

 the case, I pointed out very similar facts in the case of the Red- 

 breasted Merganser where the winter birds in New England are 

 largely old males, while the females and young go south. In 

 conclusion I said: "These observations are of course insufficient 

 for definite deductions, and are offered merely as a contribution 



I Read at the Twenty-ninth Stated Meeting of the American Ornithologists' 

 Union, November 14, 1911. 



