AMERICAN SCAUP DUCK. 



BIG BLACKHEAD. BLUEBILL. 



Aythya marila nearctica. 



Char. Male: head, neck, and breast black, with green reflections; 

 back and sides white, marked with fine waved lines of black; rump, wings, 

 and tail brownish black ; wing-patch white ; belly white, pencilled with 

 black; vent and under tail-coverts black; bill leaden blue, with a black 

 " nail " at the tip ; legs gray, feet blackish. Female : general plumage 

 of upper parts dull brown; band of white at base of bill; wing-pa'cii 

 and belly white. Length about i8 inches. 



Nest. Amid rank herbage near a lake or stream ; a rude structure of 

 loosely laid grass and sedges, lined with feathers. 



Eggs. 6-10; pale buff tinged with olive, — sometimes tinged with 

 drab; 2.55 X 1.70. 



This species, better known in America by the name of the 

 Bluebill, is another general inhabitant of the whole northern 

 hemisphere, passing the period of reproduction in the remote 

 and desolate hyperboreal regions, whence at the approach of 

 winter it issues over the temperate parts of Europe as far as 



