AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



301 



Ducks. 



No. 146. Redhead, (/lythya americana.) 



Entire North America breeding from the northern 

 tier of states northwards. Length, about 19.5 inches. 

 Male;— Bill, legs, and feet, grayish blue, the former 

 with a black band across the tip. iris orange. Lower 

 neck, upper parts of the back, chest, rump, upper and 

 lower tail coverts, black. Back, scapulars, and sides 

 grayish white, finely barred with black. Wing coverts 

 and speculum ash gray, the latter bordered above with 

 • black and below with white. Bill, broadest at the tip 

 and at the base taking an abrupt upward turn forming 

 a very different angle to that of the Canvas-back. 

 Female; — Head and neck, brownish, shading towhitisli 

 on the chin and throat. Back, grayish brown. Wing 

 coverts and secondaries pearly gray. Chest and flanks 

 grayish brown. 



No. 147. Canvas-back, {Aythva vallisneria'). 



Whole of North America, breeding north of U. S. 

 except in the west. Length, 20 inches. Bill, black. 

 Eye, red. Legs and feet, dark brownish. Top of 

 head and chin, black. Rest of head and neck reddish 

 brown. Upper back, chest, rump, upper and lower 

 tail coverts, black. Rest of upper and lower parts 

 white, finely waved on the back and sides with black. 

 Bill slopes very gradually from the top of head. Fe- 

 male; — Head, neck, chest and upper back, brownish. 

 Rest of upper parts dark brown slightly barred with 

 ashy white. Wing coverts asiiy. Under parts white. 

 No. 148. American Scaup Duck, (Aythya 



marita nearcticd) . 



Length, 19 inches. Head and neck (with green re- 

 flection), forepart of back, chest, rump, upper and 

 lower tail coverts, black. Back, sides and flanks, 

 white, finely waved with black. Wing coverts black- 

 ish. Speculum, white. Primaries, dark brown. Un- 

 der parts white. Bill, blue gray. Eye, yellow. Legs 

 and feet, brown. Female; — With the exception of a 

 whitish forehead, the entire head, neck, breast, and 

 upper parts are brown. Feathers on the back slightly 

 barred with white. Wings brown with a white specu- 

 lum. Belly white. 

 No. 149. Lesser Scaup, {Aythya affinis). 



Whole of North America. Length, about 16 in:hes. 

 The male differs from the former in being smaller and 

 having purple reflections on his black head. Practical- 

 ly no difference except in size between this and the 

 last female. 

 No. 150. Ring-necked Duck, (^Avthya coUaris) . 



Entire N. A. Length, 17 inches. Somewhat simi- 

 lar to the last two varieties. A triangular patch of 

 white on the throat, and a reddish brown collar around 

 the neck. Head glossed with purple, and back, black, 

 glossed with green. Speculum, gray. Under parts 

 white. Bill, black, with the edges, base, and band 

 near the tip, bluish white. Female; — Top of head, 

 back of neck, back and wings, dark brown. Forehead, 

 eyelids, chin, throat and neck in front yellowish white. 

 Speculum, gray. Rump, black. Tail and upper cov- 

 erts and breast brown, the feathers tipped with yellow- 

 ish. Under parts white. 



