72 BIKDS OF NORTH CAROLINA 



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 distinguished (1) by the color of the head 

 and neck, which is rufous in the Redhead 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. (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



Range. North America; breeds from northern United States northward, winters from Penn- 

 sylvania to Mexico. 



Range in North Carolina. Coastal region, mainly confined to Currituck Sound and vicinity. 



PIG. 44. CANVASBACK (adult male). 



Few wild birds on the American market today command as high prices as the 

 Canvasback, and for long years to come it will probably be regarded as the standard 

 of comparison when discussions arise as to the relative merits of palatable ducks. 

 Of their autumn flight, Sanford in The Water Fowl Family says: "The migra- 

 tion from the North is over the water-courses of the interior, until near the bounda- 

 ries of the United States; there some strike the Pacific shore, and a large body 

 pass over the prairies to Texas and Mexico, wintering on the larger inland bodies of 

 water and along both coasts to Central America. Another smaller flight is over the 

 Great Lakes to the Chesapeake and south. This is the course of those birds win- 

 tering on the Atlantic coast." 



Canvasbacks are shot almost entirely over decoys. In the sounds of North Caro- 

 lina the market-gunners usually shoot from batteries, and cold, windy days are 



