BUFFLE-HEAD 275 



IN FLIGHT. The little male, with its striking black-and-white markings, 

 large white wing-patch, big head and short neck, is easily identified. The drab 



little female is recognized by its dark head 

 with small white face-patch, white speculum 

 and whitish underparts. In the autumn 

 Buffle-heads usually fly in small flocks made 

 up largely of females and juveniles, with 

 two or three old drakes. The flight is 

 generally close to the water, is swift and 

 direct, with rapid beats of the little wings. 

 Unlike most Diving Ducks they rise quickly 

 and neatly from the water, sometimes from 

 below the surface, bursting into the air 



at full speed. They alight with a splash and then glide along the surface to a 

 standstill. 



VOICE. A rather silent bird; the male has a guttural rolling note and a 

 weak, squeaky call; the female, a hoarse quack, and a guk, guk, guk, guk, in a 

 long series. 



LIFE STORY 



The handsome, hardy, vivacious little Buffle-head is another species 

 that is peculiar to North America. It was originally called "buffalo- 

 headed" on account of its disproportionately large head. It is commonly 

 known as "butterball" and "spirit duck," and, as Bent (1925) says, 

 the propriety of applying the latter name to this sprightly little duck 

 "will be appreciated by anyone who has 

 watched it in its natural surroundings, float- 

 ing buoyantly, like a beautiful apparition, on 

 the smooth surface of some pond or quiet 

 stream, with its striking contrast of black and 

 white in its body plumage and with the glis- 

 tening, metallic tints in its soft, fluffy head, 

 relieved by a broad splash of the purest 

 white; it seems indeed a spirit of the waters, 

 as it plunges quickly beneath the surface 

 and bursts out again in full flight, disap- 

 pearing in the distance with a blur of whirring wings." 



The same writer says: "The flight of the Buffle-head is exceedingly- 

 swift and direct, generally at no very great elevation above the water, 

 and is performed with steady and very rapid beats of its strong little 



wings. It rises neatly and quickly from the 

 sur f ace f tne "water and sometimes from be- 

 low it, bursting into the air at full speed. 

 When alighting on the water it strikes with a 

 splash and slides along the surface. It generally travels in small, irregu- 

 lar flocks made up largely of females and young males, with two or three 

 old drakes." The ease with which this species rises from the water is un- 

 usual in the Diving Duck group and is similar to the style of the surface 

 feeders, though the upward bound is neither so high nor so vertical. 



