BAY AND SEA DUCKS 201 



The Ducks of the genus Marila possess to some extent the habits 

 of both the River Ducks and true Sea Ducks. They are divers in deep 

 water, but along the shores or in shallow water they are also 'dabblers/ 

 On the Atlantic coast the Redhead is a Bay Duck, and feeds in salt 

 and brackish water; but in the West it inhabits prairie sloughs and 

 lakes. When feeding on wild celery its flesh is equal to that of the Can- 

 vasback, indeed, by the discriminating it is considered slightly superior, 

 being as much finer as the bird is smaller than its more famous cousin. 



147. Marila valisineria (Wile.). CANVASBACK. Ad. cf. Head and 

 neck rufous-brown, chin and crown generally blackish; breast and upper 

 back black ; rest of back and generally wing-coverts finely barred with wavy 

 lines of black and white, white lines wider; belly white; lower belly more or 

 less finely barred with black; upper and under tail-coverts black; sides 

 white, much more lightly barred with wavy black lines than back, or even 

 entirely without bars. Ad. 9. Head, neck, upper breast, and upper back 

 cinnamon, throat lighter, and, with front parts of head, more or less washed 

 with rufous; back grayish brown, feathers more or less barred with wavy 

 white lines; belly white or grayish white; sides the same or grayish brown, 

 generally marked like back. L., 21'00; W., 9'00; Tar., 1'60; B., 2'40. 



Remarks. This species is sometimes mistaken for the Redhead, to which 

 it bears a general resemblance. The males of the two species may be distin- 

 guished (1) by the color of the head and neck, which is rufous in the Red- 

 head and rufous-brown in the Canvasback; (2) by the generally blackish 

 chin and crown of the Canvasback, these parts in the Redhead being colored 

 like the rest of the head; (3) by the difference in the markings of the back, 

 wing-coverts, and sides; and (4) by the difference in the size and shape of the 

 bill, as shown by the accompanying measurements. The females of the two 

 species may be at once distinguished by the color of the back, which in the 

 Canvasback is finely barred with wavy white lines, markings which do not 

 appear on the back of the female Redhead. 



Range. N. A. Breeds from cen. B. C., Fort Yukon, Great Slave 

 Lake, and sw. Keewatin s. to Ore., n. Nev., Colo, (rarely), Nebr., and s. 

 Minn., winters from s. B. C., Nev., Colo., Ills., Pa., and w. N. Y. s. to cen. 

 Mex. (Jalisco) and the Gulf coast; in winter formerly abundant, now less 

 so, in Md., Va., and N. C.; occasional s. to Fla., and casual in the West 

 Indies, Bermuda, and Guatemala; in migration n. rarely to N. B. and N. S. 



Washington, rare W. V., Oct. 15-Mch. 25. L. I., rare T. V., Oct. 20- 

 Feb. 11. Ossining, rare T. V., Oct. Cambridge, rare T. V. N. Ohio, toler- 

 ably common T. V., Mch. 20-Apl. 10, Oct. 1-Nov. 25. SE. Minn., uncom- 

 mon T. V. 



Nest, of reeds, lined with gray down, in reeds, or tules over water. Eggs, 

 6-10, (often with eggs of the Ruddy Duck or Redhead added) "rich grayish 

 olive or greenish drab of a darker shade than is usually seen in the eggs of 

 other species" of Ducks, 2*48 x 1*75 (Bent). Date, Heron Lake, Minn., 

 May 9, 1886, adv. 



While the fame of the Canvasback has no doubt been unduly sung 

 by the epicure, there can be no question that from the sportsman's 

 viewpoint it is king among the Ducks. Pursued for the market and as 

 game, it has decreased alarmingly, but in recent years, thanks to more 

 stringent and better enforced laws, and particularly to the abolition 

 of spring shooting, its numbers appear to be increasing. 



In October, 1910, ten thousand Canvasback were estimated to be 

 on Heron Lake, Minnesota. They were feeding on the wild celery 

 which nearly covers the bottom of this shallow body of water, and, 



