LESSER SCAUP 259 



smartweeds and arrowheads, 5; miscellaneous plant food, 11; total vege- 

 table food, 60 per cent. Molluscs, 25; insects, 12; crustaceans and mis- 

 cellaneous, 3; total animal food, 40 per cent. Fine gravel comprised 

 about 23 per cent of the total stomach content. It was verified that these 

 Scaups, under certain circumstances, are scavengers. A number of these 

 birds had obviously fed at the mouth of a sewer as they were filled with 

 slaughter-house debris, cow hair, rubber bands, paper, and undetermined 

 drift. 



These Scaups are late breeders, next to the White-winged Scoter, 

 probably the latest; the broods do not hatch out until early in July. 

 Since it is ten or eleven weeks before the young are able to fly, the au- 

 tumn migration is necessarily late and they are amongst the last to leave 

 their breeding grounds. The voyage south is performed in a leisurely 

 fashion, the birds keeping just ahead of the advancing frost line. In 

 the spring their return north is equally tardy. They are on the move in 

 March and April, following the courses of the larger streams and rivers, 

 and while they may be seen on their breeding grounds in May, apparent- 

 ly already mated, June is usually well started before they settle down to 

 the business of building their nests. They winter in large numbers 

 throughout the southern half of the United States. On the coasts of 

 Louisiana and Florida the flocks become exceedingly tame and visitors 

 to these points find great entertainment in throwing food to the trusting 

 "wild" ducks and watching while they scramble and fight for the mor- 

 sels tossed amongst them. 



American Golden-Eye 



Glaucionetta clangula americana 



(Bucephala clangula americana, of Peters) 



(glou-si-o-net-a, klang-gu-la, a-mer-i-kan-a; bew-sef-a-la) 



Colour Plates Nos. 20 and 21. Downy Young No. 34. Hybrid No. 36. 



SCIENTIFIC NAME 



Glaucionetta from Greek, glaukion, the juice of a plant (copper coloured), 

 referring to the colour of the eye, and netta, meaning duck; clangula, Latin, 

 diminutive of clangor, meaning a noise, referring to the whistle of the wings; 

 americana, Latinized form, meaning of America. Bucephala, from Greek, mean- 

 ing with a broad forehead. 



COLLOQUIAL NAMES 



IN GENERAL USE: Goldcneye; whistler; whistle-wing. IN LOCAL USE: Brass eye; 

 brighteye; bronzehead (female and young); bullhead; California golden-eye; canard 

 caille (quail duck); canard canadien (Canadian duck); canard yankee (Yankee 

 duck); cobhead; copperhead (female and young); cubhead; cur; fiddler duck; 

 greathead; ironhead; jingler; king diver; little redhead female and young); merry- 

 wing; oyster duck; pie duck; pied whistler; pisque; plongeon; plongeur (diver); 

 sleepy diver: tree duck; whiffler; whistle diver; whistle duck; winter duck; wood 

 duck. 



