RIVER DUCKS. 227 



Cuba, breeding throughout most of its 

 range; resident from N. C. southward. 



192. SMEW. 



Smaller, 17; patch in front of eye, back 

 and two crescent-shaped bars on side of 

 breast, black; otherwise, white. Female, 

 top of head, brown, rest of head and beneath, 

 white; back, pale brown. Northern Europe 

 and Asia; accidental in eastern N. A. 



RIVER DUCKS. 



Bill, wide and flattened; legs, short, but 

 the birds walk well and often feed on land. 

 Terminal portion of inner secondaries, irri- 

 descent, forming a shining surface, the spec- 

 ulum. Do not dive but reach down into 

 shallow water sometimes tipping the body 

 forward. Nests, on ground; eggs, 6-12, 

 greenish. 



193. MALLARD. 



Large, 24; head and neck, green; lower 

 neck in front and breast, chestnut; lower 

 neck behiftd and back, reddish-brown, finely 



