ANATINJ') — TUK DPCKS — FULiaULA. 



15 



It 

 I 



told of Home Ducks wliirli had a nest in ii liollow in ii liif,'li two, and wliicli wore 

 continually tit,ditiut,'. Tiiis liavinjjf ln-cn notiwd for scvcrid days, his curiosity was 

 aroused, and he visited tiie locality, and became an eye-witness of a singular contest 

 l)et\vc(Mi a female Wood Duck and a Hooded Merganser. They were evidently con- 

 tending,' for the jiossession of this nest, and neither would allow the other jjeaceful 

 jtossession. The nest was found to contain ei}j;hteon eggs, two thirds of which were 

 those of the Wood "Duck. They were all fresh, as neither had been ahh^ to sit. 

 Which was the original occupant and which the intruder, it was not possible to 

 ascertain. 



I'rofessor Kumlien informs mo that this species, still common in Wisconsin, occa- 

 sionally breeds at a considerable distance from the water. One pair nested for a 

 inimber of years in a burr-oak in a thicket about three (piartors of a mile from the 

 lu-arest water. The tree was very high, ami tht^ nest was also far from tht? ground. 

 According to his observations, this ])uck uses plenty of down in its nest. 



The eggs of the Wood Duck are of a rouiuled oval shape, of a clear ivory-white 

 color when unsoiled, and measure from 2.05 to 2.10 inches in length by l.oo in 

 breadth. 



Genus FULIQULA, Stki'uf.ns.i 



B Uranfi, I'.oiK, Isis, 1822, 5tU {t\'\v, Anus rufiiin, P.m,i., ) ; not of Scoroi.l, 1760. 



" Fiili(jul'i, SiKi'iu'.s's, (icii. Zool. .KII. 1824, 187 (typi', Anas rujhia, Pai.i,.). 



5' Xdlit, Kaup, Nat. Syst. 1820, 1(12 (siitiic type). 



% CiillUltfii, ItltKllM, Viif,'. Di'iitsclil. 1831, 021 (saiiie type). 



\ Afinjuideti, Kvrox, ("at. Uiit. 1!. 1836, 57 (same type). 



fiiAii. Similar to Fidix, Imt the bill dceidedly In'oadcr at tlin lus(! than at nny other part, 



»' fjraihially iiairowiiig toward the end, wliieli has n large and very broad nail ; maxilla very much 



di'pre-ised terminally, its depth at the base of tin; nail being oidy about one fnin'tli that at the 



extreme liase. AFale with the head rufous, the ]>iluiim ornamented with a very full, sol't tuft or 



bushy crest, occupying the wh(de top of the head. 



Fuligula rufina. 



THE BirFOTTS-CBESTED DUCK. 



Animriifmi, V.\\.\,. Tt. II. App. 1773, 731, no. 28. — m ki.. .S. N. 1. 1788, .Tll. 



/Iniii/criiJiiKi, Hon:, Isis, 1822, r.Gl. —Okay, Cat. I5rit. !!. 1803, 1!I8. 



Fiili'jitlariijhin, Stimmi. f!en. Zool. XII. 1824, 188. — Dkixski:, 15. Knr. I't. .X.KII. Oct. 1873. 



Xet/a rii,fiiiii, Kacp, Nat. Syst. 1820, 102. 



Platypus rufluHn, ISliinnr, Viijj. Doutschl. 1831, 022. 



CiilUchcn riifiaus, HitiaiM, t. c. 924. 



Mn-goidcsriifimi, Evr. liar. lirit, R. 1836, 57. 



Afilhija rufina, Macoim.. Man. IJrit. P. 1846, 191. 



Culliclicn ruficcjis, PuKiI.M, t. c. 022. 



' Some recent authorities have u.sed the generic term Fullriuln for the entire group of Inbe-hnllnxed 



Bivcr-Ducks, or those which have usually been assigned to the geneca Paliguln, Fii/ir, and /Elhyui. Rut 



Anns rufina, Pai.l., upon which the genus Fulirjula of Stephens was based, is quite a difTerent type from 



Fu/i.v (formally restricted to F. marila and its allies by Professor Painl, in 1858) and .'Klhyia, and should, 



In our opinion, Ix) separaU'd generically. The tirst usi; of the term lirmda in a generic sense wn.s by Scopoli 



in 1769 {(or Anser hmida, L., A. moscluitn, L., A. torrila, L., A. albifrons, L.— a very heterogeneous 



.tssemblnge), which invali(hitcs its subsequent emiiloymeut, unless restricted to one or another of the 



S|»Iiccies named by Scopoli not already supiilied with a generic name — with which, however, there appears 



■*^tu be none not provided. 



