530 



LAMELLIROSTRAL SWIMMERS — ANSEUES. 



L'lu'y are described as paler than those of the ^Mallard, and of very fine texture ; the 

 (•(dor is greenish gray of a very pah*, soft tone ; in shape they are oblong oval, taper- 

 ing slightly at one end, and measure from J.'.»7 by 1.30 to 1}.03 by 1.40 inches. 

 The (^ohn- sometimes varies to grayisli cream. 



I'rofessor Kundien informs me that these Ducks are common in Southern Wis- 

 consin, where they arrive (piite late in the sjjring, and a few remain to breed. He has 

 met with several broods of young ; but has found only one nest, which was placed in 

 the midst of a high bog. It resembled that of the Mallard, but was less bidky, and 

 was plentifidly sufijAicd with down. A great many old males are seen in the early 

 part of summer, in flocks ; from which he naturally conjectures that their females 

 breed sonunvhere in the extensive marshes that surround Ijake Koskonong. 



Near I'ewaukee, in the same State, this Duck has been found breeding by Mr, 

 B. F. Goss, who writes me that on May 24, in lioricon Lake, near the highest jjart 

 of a snudl island, some five feet id)ove the water, a single '■ S])oon-bill " had made 

 her nest. Tlu^ Mallards were all around within a few ft'ct. As the ground was 

 quite bare, with nu'rely a few rocks scattered about, the birds could be seen from the 

 water sitting on their nests. On his first ai)proacli he noticed the Spoon-bill rising 

 with the rest ; and after examining the nests, selected one that was somewhat 

 smaller than the others, with smaller eggs, and lined with feathers of a little dilTerent 

 shade, as the Spoon-bill's nest. He set a snudl stake to mark the place, and retired 

 until the birds returned to their eggs, when he again a])j)roached, Avatching carefully 

 the indicated spot, and had the good fortune to kill the bird as she rose. The nest 

 contained ten eggs, (piite fresh, a little snudler than the Mallard's, from which they 

 differed somewhat in color and in shape. 



The localities in the Fur llegion from which this Duck has been reported as 

 breeding are Fort Kesolution, on Great Slave Lake, the Yukon Iviver, Fort Kae, Big 

 Island, Lake Winnipeg, Anderson lliver, the Lower Anderson, Shoal Lake, Unalakleet, 

 Red River, etc. 



Eggs from iho Yukon River in the Smithsonian Collection (No. 6G12) are of a 

 gi'cenish-white color, and uu'asurc from 2.0.J to 2.10 inclu\s in length, and from 1.40 

 to 1.50 in breadth. 



Genus QUERQUEDULA, Stephens. 



Querqtiedtihi, Stf.I'IIKNS, Sliaw's Cww. Zool. XII. ii. 1824, 142 (tyin;, Anas querquedula, LiNN.). 

 Cyanopterm, Kyiox, Mon. Aiiat. 1838, 38 (type?). (Not of Hiillidny, 1835.) 

 Plerm-nmim, Bl'. Cut. Met. 1842, 71 (tyi>i!). 



Char. Size .iinull (wing less than 8 inches). Bill slightly longer than the Lead, the edges 

 nearly parallel, the nuixillary tomiuni sinuated, .so as to (listinctly expose the lamella) for tl Ijasal 

 half, and the terminal half of the cidnien slightly but distinctly arched. Otherwise much like 

 Nettion. 



The two North American s])ecies of Querquedula agree very closely in tlie details of form, in 

 which respect they scarcely differ from tlie type of tlie genus, tlie Q. circia (L.) of Europe. The 

 cohjration of the wing, which is almost exactly tliat of Sjtnlula, is also essentially the same in these 

 three species. Tlie females are very different from the males, except in the colors of the wing, 

 being much duller. The following are the main differential characters of the North Americtm 

 species : — 



1. Q. dlsoorB. Adult vutk : Head and neck dtdl pluml)eous, with a faint lavender-pnrple 

 gloss on the sides of the occi])ut ; jiileum blackish ; a large white, somewhat crescent- 

 shapcil, mark before the eye, entirely across fore part of the head ; lower parts pale 





