XXVIII 



THE SCAUP-DUCKS 



THE scaup-ducks, known to sportsmen in different 

 parts of the country as black-heads, blue-bills, or 

 broad-bills, come to the United States usually in Octo- 

 ber and are found not only on both coasts but through- 

 out the interior. There are two distinct species, 

 exactly alike except in size ; one known as the big 

 black-head, big broad- or blue-bill, and the other as the 

 little black-head, blue-bill or broad-bill. The latter 

 is also called creek broad-bill or blue-bill. These two 

 ducks are often confused, with the result that one is 

 often reported abundant in one locality when as a 

 matter of fact it is the other. They were formerly 

 supposed to be the same, but the ornithologists are 

 now agreed that the two species are as distinct as 

 the greater and lesser yellow-leg tattlers, the king rail 

 and the Virginia rail, and some other birds which are 

 exactly alike in pattern and color, but which are not 

 related. Elliot is of the opinion that the larger black- 

 heads are more often found about the coasts and the 

 smaller birds in the interior. Both have black heads, 

 as the name would suggest. The fore-parts of the 

 back, lower-back, and rump are black. The middle 

 part of the back and sides is white, undulated with 

 black lines similar to those of the red-head, which 



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