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COMMON GOLDENEYE (Buoephala olangula; choices 43' and 44', pp. 39-40) 

 and BARROW'S GOLDENEYE (Buoephala islandioa; choice 43' and 44, pg. 39) 

 have dark wings with white speculums, white on some secondary coverts, 

 small bills (Plate 15a-l,2) and yellow or orangish legs. Breeding plumaged 

 males have a white patch between the eye and bill. This patch is lacking 

 in goldeneyes in other plumages. The shape of the white patch on the face 

 of breeding -plumaged males is important to consider (see key and Plate 

 15b-l,2). The two species can be difficult to separate when not in male 

 breeding plumage. The shape of the trachea and syrinx ("voice box") 

 should then be noted (see Bellrose 1976). Common Goldeneyes breed in 

 Alaska. They winter from the Aleutian Islands to Baja California, but 

 sparsely south of California. Barrow's Goldeneyes also breed in Alaska. 

 They winter from the Aleutian Islands to San Francisco Bay but are much 

 less common than Common Goldeneyes south of British Columbia. 



BUFFLEHEAD (Buoephala albeola; choices 45 and 45', pg. 40) has dark 

 wings, a white speculum, a small flattened bill (Plate 15b-5), and a 

 white patch on the head behind the eye. It breeds near the coast in 

 Alaska; it winters from the Aleutian Islands to Baja California. 



OLDSQUAW (Clangula hyemalis; choices 14 and 14', pp* 35-36) vary 

 considerably in plumage but all have white on the head, a dark colored 

 speculum, white sides, bluish legs and feet, and small bills (Plate 15a-3). 

 Males often have very long central tail feathers. Oldsquaws breed along 

 the coast of western Alaska. They winter from St. Lawrence Island, 

 Alaska, south to California but become rare at the southern end of their 

 range. 



HARLEQUIN DUCK (Histrionicus histrianious; choices21 and 21', pp. 36-37) 

 has three white patches on the head. The brightly colored male in 

 breeding plumage has two patches behind the eye and one between the eye 

 and bill; in other plumages it has white patches above, below and behind 

 the eye. The bill is small (Plate 15a-4). The species nests near the 

 coast from western Alaska to northern Washington. It winters from the 

 Aleutian Islands to central California but is most abundant in Alaska. 



STELLER'S EIDER (Polystiata stelleri; choices 20 and 20', pg. 36) has 

 a blue and white speculum similar to the Mallard's but unlike the Mallard 

 it has much blue in the tertials. The male's secondary coverts are white 

 in breeding plumage. The bill is shaped differently from other eiders 

 (Plates 17, 18). In summer it occurs from west to south-central Alaska, 

 in winter from the Alaska Peninsula west through the Aleutian Islands. 



