ANATIN^ — THE DUCKS — IIISTRIONICUS. 



51 



5er recoivtd 

 IS ini'oniK'd 

 srn Texas. 

 ic iieighlior- 

 'c, howovcr. 

 inmon ficini 

 11(1 ill luiltl 



• in diviiif;, 

 ,nd head, as 

 states that 

 ; during the 

 ir as well as 

 reatest difli- 

 aftly, when 

 lall tish. It 

 table. It is 

 en in small 

 itter part of 

 st generally 

 glity's Cal)- 

 ;ers of Chcs- 

 n the uiijifr 

 1 said to he 

 1 taste of its 

 ;li'! bird has 



re accident, 



ar the bank 



have been 



her secdiiil 



ith by .Ml'. 



ind ; it was 



in the saiin' 



en eggs. \ 



et from tlic 



f eggs was 



;, in jMaiuc. 

 ingly alum- 

 1 their lull 

 ty of >^i'\v 

 gextrcmi'ly 



oating ii'i". 



When the 

 and in their 

 •urc in I lie 



at the liist 

 uickly vise 

 , and made 



-■■»■ 

 'it 



■ i'fe 



by regularly repeated beats of the wings; and it is surprisingly rapid — equalling in 

 rapidity that of the Hooded Merganser. Its note is a mere croak, resembling tliat 

 of the Golden-eye, but feebler. Its food is varied, according to the situation. On 

 the sea-coast and on the estuaries it obtains, by diving, small fry, shrimjis, bivalve- 

 shells, and mollusks ; in fresh water, small crayfish, leeches, snails, grasses, and other 

 water-plants. 



l'1'oli.'HSor Kunilien informs me that tliis species is abundant in Southern Wiscon- 

 sin both in the fall and in the spring, but that none remain there during the summer. 

 Eggs taken in Iowa, and purporting to be of this species, have been wiilely distrib- 

 uted; but this is a more southern locality, and they are, therefore, not so likely 

 to be authentic as those from farther north ; and all that I have seen of these are 

 the eggs of Q. discor.i, bearing but slight resemblance in shade or size to those of 

 Ji. alhvoht. Jlr. B. F. Goss, of Pewaukee, Wis., informs me that the young of this 

 species, still unable to fly, have been killed in Pewaukee Lake — this being the only 

 instance of its being there in the breeding-season which has come to his knowledge. 



The ISufHe-head was found breeding at Fort Resolution by Sir. Kennicott, May 19 ; 

 the nest was in a hollow tree. The following year. May 8, 18G1, Mr. Kennicott also 

 found it breeding on the Yukon Iliver, in which locality its nests were obtained by 

 Mr. Lockhart, who also procured them on Porcupine Iliver. This species was found 

 breeding at Fort Simpson by jNIr. P. 11. Ross ; at Fort Rae by the younger Mr. Clarke ; 

 and at Fort Yukon by Jlr. Lockhart. 



Dr. Perlandier, in his manuscript notes, speaks of this species as occurring in 

 winter on the borders of the rivers and marshes in the State of Tamaulipas, Mexico. 

 In the spring it retires to the north, and reappears at the beginning of winter. 



In ^Maich, 1855 — as Dr. Kennerly, in his Notes on the Pirds observed on the 

 Mexican Boundary Survey, mentions — this Duck was found in abundance at the 

 Boca Grande, in Chihuahua, in Hocks; and also at other points on the Conalitos and 

 Jauos rivers. 



Eggs of this species from the Yukon River (Smithsonian Institution, No. 9550) 

 ari! of a grayish ivory-white color, with a quite distinct tinge of green. They vary 

 considerably in size ; and in some specimens this greenish tinge is much deeper than 

 in others. The smaller-sized eggs of this species, with only very faint tintings of 

 green, approach in appearance the eggs of the Plue-winged Teal ; and in collecting, 

 |he latter egg has been substituted for the rarer one of the Pufflc-head. The follow- 

 ing are the measurements of four specimens : 2.00 by 1.45 inches ; 2.05 by 1.50 ; 1.95 

 by 1.35; 1.95 by 1.45. 



Genus HISTRIONICUS, Lksson. 



///.t/;-iO)iiciw, Less. Man. II. 182? 415 (type, ^jirt.i /lis/rionioi, Linn.). 

 VoHimmessa, Kaup, Entw. Europ. ierw. 1829, 4*5 (snmo type). 

 Oismnmita, Kait, t. c, lUti. 



rhlijncmutta, Huandt, Mem. Ac. St. Petersb. VI. 1849, 4 (same type). 

 " riiylacuncfta, Brandt," Baird ct Coues. 



Char. Most like CYadrjfuin. Bill very small (shorter than the tarsus), thn lateral outlines con- 

 TtrgiiiK rajjidly to the tip, which is occuined entirely hy the very large nail ; depth of the ina.x- 

 fiU at the base about equal to its width ; lamella) entinly hidden by the overhanghig nin.xillary 

 iWnium ; upper basal portion of the maxilla forming a decided angle, inserted between the featlier- 

 ittg of the forehead and that of the lores, the former reaching rather farther forwanl ; a slight mem- 

 fctaneous lobe ut the lower base of the maxilla, overhanging the rictus. Tail rather long (more 



