RUDDY DUCK. 333 



der mandible much narrower, and both of a rich light blue; 

 nostrils small, placed in the middle of the bill; cheeks and chin 

 white; front, crown, and back part of the neck down nearly to 

 the back, black; rest of the neck, whole back, scapulars, flanks 

 and tail coverts deep reddish brown, the colour of bright ma- 

 hogany; wings plain pale drab, darkest at the points; tail black, 

 greatly tapering, containing eighteen narrow pointed feathers; 

 the plumage of the breast and upper part of the neck is of a re- 

 markable kind, being dusky olive at bottom, ending in hard 

 bristly points of a silvery gray, very much resembling the hair 

 of some kinds of seal skins; all these are thickly marked with 

 transverse curving lines of deep brown; belly and vent silver 

 gray, thickly crossed with dusky olive; under tail coverts white; 

 legs and feet ash coloured. 



Note. It is a circumstance in ornithology well worthy of 

 note, that migratory birds frequently change their route, and, 

 consequently, become common in those districts where they 

 had been either unknown, or considered very rare, Of the Syl- 

 via magnolia, Wilson declares that he had seen but two indi- 

 viduals, and these in the western country; the Muscicapa 

 cucullata he says is seldom observed in Pennsylvania, and the 

 northern states; the Muscicapa pusilla, and the Muscicapa 

 CanadensiSy he considered rare birds with us; notwithstanding ? 

 in the month of May, 1815, all of these were seen in our gar- 

 dens; and the Editor noted the last mentioned as among the 

 most numerous of the passenger birds of that season. 



The subject of this chapter affords a case in point. The year 

 subsequent to the death of our author this Duck began to make 

 its appearance in our waters. In October, 1814, the Editor 

 procured a female, which had been killed from a flock, consist- 

 ing of five, at Wind-mill Island, opposite to Philadelphia. In 

 October, 1818, he shot three individuals, two females and a 

 male; and in April last another male, all of which, except one, 

 were young birds. He has also at various times, since 1814, 



