RUDDY DUCK. 337 



the shaft of one of the middle feathers projected an inch, and 

 was ramified into rigid bristles, resembling those of the tail of 

 Buffon's Sarcelle a queue epineuse de Cayenne, PL Enl. 967; 

 in all the specimens there was the appearance of the tail feath- 

 ers having been furnished with the like process, but which had 

 been rubbed off. Can it be that this Duck makes use of its tail 

 in climbing up the fissures of rocks, or the hollows of trees? 

 Its stiff, narrow feathers, not unlike those of the tail of a Wood- 

 pecker, would favour this supposition. It is worthy of note 

 that the tail of Mr. Bonaparte's female specimen, alluded to 

 above, is thus rubbed. 



The plumage of the neck and breast, which Wilson says is 

 of a remarkable kind, that is, stiff and bristly at the tips, is 

 common to several Ducks, and therefore is no peculiarity. 



The body of this species is broad, flat and compact; its wings 

 short and concave; its legs placed far behind; and its feet un- 

 commonly large; it consequently is an expert diver. It flies 

 with the swiftness, and in the manner, of the Buffel-head; and 

 it swims precisely as Latham reports the Ural Duck to swim, 

 with the tail immersed in the water as far as the rump; but 

 whether it swims thus low with the view of employing its tail 

 as a rudder, as Latham asserts of the Ural, or merely to conceal 

 itself from observation, as the Scaup Duck is wont to do when 

 wounded, and as all the Divers do when pursued, I cannot 

 determine. 



This is a solitary bird; and with us we never see more than 

 five or six together, and then always apart from other Ducks. 

 It is uncommonly tame, so much so, that, by means of my skiff, 

 I have never experienced any difficulty in approaching within 

 a few yards of it. Its flesh I do not consider superior to that of 

 the Buffel-head, which, with us, is a Duck not highly esteemed. 



I should not be surprised if Buffon's Sarcelle a queue epin- 

 euse de Cayenne should turn out to be this species. The char- 

 acters of the two certainly approximate; but as I have not been 



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