152 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



Columbia. Its peculiar habit of nesting in hollow trees and 

 stumps above ground is well known. 



Redhead. — This species resembles somewhat its near rela- 

 tive, the canvas-back duck. It is a large duck and favoured 

 by sportsmen. In the Maritime Provinces it is a rare 

 migrant, but more abundant in Ontario, where it breeds in 

 certain of the marshes. It breeds commonly throughout the 

 Prairie Provinces, where it frequents the abundant sloughs. 



Canvas-back Duck. — In the opinion of the epicures this 

 is the king of the game-ducks. It is rare in the Maritime 

 Provinces, but it is a more common migrant in Quebec and 

 in Ontario. Its chief breeding-grounds are in the Prairie 

 Provinces and the Northwest Territories. It also breeds in 

 central British Columbia and winters on Okanagan Lake 

 and around the mouth of the Fraser River and Victoria. 



Scaup or Bluebill. — This swift-flying duck offers excellent 

 shooting to the sportsmen, and migrates southward later 

 than many of the other ducks. It breeds throughout 

 northwestern Canada and east of the Coast Mountains in 

 British Columbia. It may be found in the winter in south- 

 ern British Columbia and on the Pacific coast. 



Golden-eye or Whistler. — The latter name of this species is 

 due to the whistling sound made by its wings in flight. 

 Like the wood-duck, it nests in trees and stumps. It is a 

 migrant in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces. 

 Its chief breeding-places are the wooded regions of Mani- 

 toba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, particularly along the 

 lower portions of the Saskatchewan, Nelson, and Churchill 

 Rivers. It also breeds abundantly along the Athabaska 

 and Slave Rivers. 



Eider-Duck. — The sea is the natural home of these large 

 ducks, that do not come within the category of game-birds. 

 There are a number of species which make their home in 

 the Arctic and sub- Arctic regions of Canada. On the Atlan- 

 tic coast, the northern and American eider are the chief 



