60 HISTORY OF THE 



excellent. In the summer of 1885, I found young birds in a 

 pond, in Meade county, Kansas. 



Their nesting habits are the same as those of the Mallard; 

 their eggs a little smaller and paler, usually eight to twelve. 

 A set of four, taken May 27th, 1868, at Horicon Lake, Wiscon- 

 sin, are, in dimensions, 2.20x1.50, 2.19x1.49, 2.21x1.50, 2.19x 

 1.52; pale buff white; in form, oval to ovate. 



SUBGENUS MARECA STEPHENS. 



"Bill small, shorter than the head, rather narrow, the edges parallel to near 

 the end, where they gradually converge to a rounded tip; culmen gently con- 

 cave; lamellae of the maxillae almost concealed; feet small, the tarsus about as 

 long as the bill; sexes very different in winter, much like in summer. Adult 

 male, in winter, with the scapulars and tertials ( in the North American species 

 the tail coverts and rectrices also) lanceolate." 



Anas americana GMEL. 



BALDPATE. 

 PLATE V. 



Summer resident; very rare; in migration, common. Arrive 

 the middle of March to first of April; return in October. 



B. 585. R. 607. C. 713. G. 286, 27. U. 137. 



HABITAT. North America in general; breeding chiefly north 

 of the United States; south in winter to Guatemala and Cuba. 



SP. CHAR. " Adult male, in winter: Forehead and middle of crown (longi- 

 tudinally) white, generally immaculate; ground color of head and neck white, 

 sometimes more or less soiled with grayish or brown, and thickly speckled with 

 black; a broad space of metallic blackish green on the side of the occiput, run- 

 ning forward to the eye, and sometimes down the nape, where the two spaces 

 are confluent; jugulum plain pinkish viiiaceous; sides and flanks the same, 

 delicately undulated with black; lower tail coverts velvety black; rest of lower 

 parts pure white; back and scapulars grayish white, more or less tinged with 

 the color of the sides, and similarly undulated with black; wing coverts immacu- 

 late pure white, the anterior portion of the lesser covert region cinereous, and 

 the last row tipped with velvety black; speculum soft metallic green anteriorly, 

 velvety black posteriorly; tertials velvety black, sharply edged with white, the 

 lower one with its lower edge entirely pure white; primaries plain dark cinereous; 

 rump cinereous, minutely undulated on the edges of the feathers; upper tail 

 coverts velvety black, the inner webs mostly grayish; tail hoary cinereous; bill 

 light grayish blue, the end black; iris brown; legs and feet light bluish. Adult 

 female: Above, dusky grayish brown, with transverse, rather distinct, bars of 

 dull white or light ochraceous; wing coverts dark dull cinereous, broadly tipped 

 and bordered with white; speculum dull black; head and neck streaked with 



