104 



RIVER DUCKS. 



to the nape, plossy fireon, more or Icsh spriiiklccl with black ; lores, cheeks, 

 and tliroat Initl'y, tiiicly Imrred with hliiek ; upper lireiict ai d k'hIih viruu'coiis, 

 the hitter more or less liiiely harreil with wavy black lines; I'lwer breast and 

 belly white; back jrrayish brown, more or less tiii;,'ed with viiuiceous and 

 finely barred with black. Ail. 9 .—Head and throat white or pale, creamy 

 butr, finely streaked and barred with black, darker above; upper breast and 

 sides pale vinaceous washed with ^frayish ; lower breast and belly white; back 

 jfrayish brown, the feathers with small creamy butl'bars; tertials fuscous, bor- 

 dered with ivhitixh or creamy butf; f,'rcalcr win<r-co verts brownish ;fray, their 

 outer webs mostly or entirely ii/iit<\ their ends black, sometimes tipped with 

 wliitc. L., 1S»00; W., 10-50; Tur., luO; B., 1-40. 



lianije. — North America; breeds in the interior re;rularly from Minnesota 

 northward, and civ*ually as far south as Texas; not known to breeil on tho 

 Atlantic coast; winters from open water south to Central America and north- 

 ern South America. 



Washinjrton, conunon W. K., Oct. to Apl. Lon^' Island, unconnnon T. V., 

 Oct. to Apl. Sinjr Sin^', common T. V., Mcli. 11 to Apl. 12; Oct. 4 to Oct. 28. 



J'^Qils., seven to twelve, bully white, 205 x I'oO. 



Colonel N. S. Goss writes that, as a rule, Widgeons are " not shy, 

 and their note, a sort of whew, whew, whew, uttered while feediiig and 

 swimming, enables the hunter to locate them in the thickest growth 

 of water plants : and when in the air the vhi.stling noise made by their 

 wings heralds their approach." They art fond of wild celery, which 

 they procure by robbing the Canvnsback and other diving Ducks, 

 " snatching their catch from tlieir bills the moment their heads appear 

 above the water." 



139. Anas carolinensiB (Inul. Guekx-wixoed Teal. Ad. s. 

 — Chin black, sides of the head from the eye to the nape ahininfj preen, rest 

 of the head and neck rufous-chestnut ; breast washed with vinaceous and 

 spotted with black ; belly white ; sides finely marked with wavy black and 

 whita lines ; midille under tail-coverts black, lateral ones creamy bufl^; upper 

 back like the sides, lower back jjrayish fuscou? ; a white bar in front of the 

 bend of the winjr; winjr-coverts brownish j^ray, tipped with ochraceous buffy. 

 All. 9. — Top of the heail brownish fuscous, marjjined with cinnamon; throat 

 and sides of the neck white, finely spotted with black ; breast and sides 

 washed witli cinnamon and sjiotted or barred with black ; belly and under 

 tail-coverts white, sometimes spotted with black ; back fuscous, the feathers 

 with creseent-sliaped marks of ochraceous i)urt"y, and bordered with grayish; 

 win-js as in the male. !>., U-.'tO; W., 7-00 ; Tar.. MO : B., V'i'\ 



yiVfWf/f.— North America; breeds from Minnosnto and New Brunswick 

 northward ; winters from Kansas and Virginia southward to the West Indies 

 and Central America. 



Washington, common W. V., Sept. to Apl. Long Island, uncommon T. V. 

 and W. v., Oct. to Apl. Sing Sing, common T. V., Apl. ; Sept. 11 to Oct. 23. 

 Cambridge, uncommon T. V., Apl.; Sept. to Nov. 



Eggs, six to twelve, bufliy white or creamy buff, 1'80 x 1-25. 



