380 
AETHYIA AMERICANA (Batrp). 
THE REDHEADED DUCK. 
Specific Character.—Bill much shorter than the middle toe (without claw) 
broad, the end moderately depressed and with the nail decidedly decurved, the 
culmen about two and a half times the greatest width of the maxilla and decid- 
edly concave. 
Male—Head and upper half or more of the neck rich reddish chestnut, 
the latter glossed with reddish purple; lower part of the neck, jugulum 
anterior part of the back, lower part of the rump, upper tail coverts and cris- 
sum, black ; back, scapulars, sides and flanks, densely vermiculated with white 
and dusky in about equal proportion; anal region similarly but more faintly 
marked ; entire abdomen immaculate white; wing coverts deep plumbeous gray, 
faintly and minutely sprinkled with white ; secondaries (speculum) pale bluish 
gray the upper feathers edged with black, the others narrowly tipped with white ; 
primaries dusky, the inner quills slaty gray except at the ends; tail dusky; 
bill pale blue, the end black; iris red; feet bluish gray. 
Female—Head and neck grayish brown darkest above ; anterior part of the 
head lighter, almost white on the chin and upper part of the throat; jugulum, 
sides, and flanks, dull grayish brown, the feathers tipped with tulvous; wings 
as in the male, but their coverts plain slate colour; back and _ scapulars 
grayish brown, the feathers with paler tips; rump, upper tail coverts, and tail, 
grayish brown; anal region paler; longer lower tail coverts whitish. Bill 
plumbeous, the end black ; iris yellow; feet plumbeous. 
Total length about 20.00 inches; extent, 33.00; wing about 8.50; culmen, 
2.05; tarsus, 1.60; middle toe, 2.35. 
Habitat.—The whole of North America, breeding from centre] California 
and Maine to the fur countries; Bahamas. 
Prof. Baird says The American Redhead duck is quite distinct from the 
Pochard of Europe, though resembling it very closely Audubon considered it 
to be identical. The Redhead duck is pretty generally distributed throughout 
North America, breeding in high latitudes down to 44 degrees and in the 
winter going as far south as Mexico. Richardson says that this species breeds 
in all parts of the fur countries from the 50th parallel to their most northern 
limits. It is common in autumn on Chesapeake Bay and other points along 
the Atlantic coast, and is here often found associating with the Canvasback which 
it so closely resembles, in fact in the New York markets it is frequently sold as 
the genuine Canvasback and indeed while feeding on the wild celery its flesh 
is not much inferior to that of that famous duck. Formerly the redhead was 
quite a plentiful species in Ontario, but of late years its numbers appear to be 
diminishing rapidly, in fact at some stations where large numbers of them used 
to be shot, not a single specimen has been taken during the last two shooting 
seasons. ‘This fact may be largely due to the legal existence of spring shooting 
in some of the neighboring states and the netting of them in the southern 
‘states, Like the Blucbill they decoy well and are thus tolerably eisily led into 
traps baited with curn of which they are very fond. The Redhead reaches 
Ontario carly in April and returns late in October and November staying till the: 
ice forms and in some instances on our open lakes all winter. The female lays 
from 8 to 10 eggs of a grayish white colour. 
