﻿BIRDS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  225 
  

  

  Erismatura 
  jamaicensis 
  (Gmelin) 
  

   Ruddy 
  Duck 
  

  

  Plate 
  10 
  

  

  Anas 
  jamaicensis 
  Gmelin. 
  Syst. 
  Nat. 
  1788. 
  Ed. 
  i. 
  2:510 
  

   Fuligularubida 
  DeKay. 
  Zool. 
  N. 
  Y. 
  1844. 
  pt 
  2, 
  p. 
  327, 
  fig. 
  261 
  

   Erismatura 
  rubida 
  A. 
  O. 
  U. 
  Check 
  List. 
  Ed. 
  2. 
  1895. 
  No. 
  167 
  

  

  erismatti'ra, 
  Gr. 
  tpeifia, 
  prop, 
  and 
  ovpd, 
  tail; 
  jamaicen' 
  sis 
  of 
  Jamaica 
  

  

  Description. 
  Male 
  in 
  full 
  plumage: 
  Neck, 
  upper 
  parts 
  and 
  sides 
  rich 
  

   brownish 
  red; 
  crown 
  and 
  nape 
  black; 
  chin 
  and 
  sides 
  of 
  head 
  nearly 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  

   eye 
  line 
  white; 
  under 
  parts 
  silky 
  white 
  "watered" 
  with 
  dusky 
  white; 
  wings 
  

   and 
  tail 
  blackish 
  brown 
  ; 
  bill 
  and 
  eyelids 
  grayish 
  blue 
  ; 
  feet 
  bluish 
  gray 
  with 
  

   dusky 
  webs; 
  eyes 
  reddish. 
  Female, 
  young 
  and 
  males 
  in 
  obscure 
  plumage: 
  

   Brown 
  above 
  with 
  irregular 
  and 
  spotted 
  bars 
  of 
  ocherous 
  or 
  buffy, 
  giving 
  

   the 
  feathers 
  a 
  peppered 
  appearance; 
  crown 
  and 
  irregular 
  band 
  on 
  side 
  of 
  

   head 
  dark; 
  cheeks, 
  throat 
  and 
  under 
  parts 
  of 
  a 
  grayish 
  white 
  appearance, 
  

   the 
  winter 
  males 
  with 
  plane 
  white 
  cheeks, 
  the 
  bases 
  of 
  the 
  feathers 
  on 
  the 
  

   breast 
  and 
  belly 
  being 
  gray 
  and 
  the 
  tips 
  silvery 
  white; 
  bill 
  dusky. 
  

  

  Length 
  14. 
  5-17 
  inches; 
  extent 
  20-24; 
  wing 
  5.5-6; 
  tarsus 
  1.25; 
  middle 
  

   toe 
  and 
  claw 
  2.6; 
  bill 
  1.5, 
  width 
  .g-.QS. 
  

  

  Distinctive 
  marks. 
  The 
  peculiar 
  round, 
  chimky 
  body, 
  small 
  head 
  and 
  

   thick 
  short 
  neck 
  of 
  this 
  bird 
  make 
  it 
  easily 
  recognized 
  by 
  its 
  shape. 
  It 
  

   has 
  a 
  remarkably 
  broad 
  fiat 
  bill 
  also, 
  with 
  an 
  overhanging 
  and 
  decurved 
  

   nail. 
  The 
  tail 
  is 
  composed 
  of 
  18 
  stiffened 
  feathers, 
  often 
  spiny-pointed 
  by 
  

   the 
  wearing 
  off 
  of 
  the 
  terminal 
  barbs, 
  and 
  with 
  no 
  observable 
  coverts. 
  

  

  Distribution 
  and 
  migration. 
  The 
  Ruddy 
  duck 
  is 
  a 
  fairly 
  common 
  

   migrant 
  on 
  our 
  inland 
  lakes 
  and 
  rivers 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  seasons 
  is 
  common 
  along 
  

   the 
  coast, 
  but 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  irregular 
  in 
  its 
  occurrence 
  on 
  Long 
  Island 
  

   waters 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  interior. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  hardy 
  species 
  and 
  is 
  occasionally 
  taken 
  

   in 
  midwinter, 
  especially 
  on 
  the 
  coast. 
  Foster 
  Parker 
  of 
  Cayuga 
  has 
  furnished 
  

   one 
  instance 
  of 
  its 
  breeding 
  on 
  the 
  marshes 
  of 
  Seneca 
  river. 
  On 
  the 
  first 
  

   day 
  of 
  September 
  several 
  years 
  ago, 
  he 
  found 
  an 
  old 
  duck 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  

   with 
  a 
  brood 
  of 
  young 
  which 
  were 
  so 
  poorly 
  fledged 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  unable 
  

   to 
  fly. 
  I, 
  myself, 
  have 
  seen 
  this 
  species 
  on 
  Buck 
  pond, 
  near 
  Rochester, 
  

   during 
  the 
  months 
  of 
  May 
  and 
  June 
  under 
  circumstances 
  which 
  led 
  me 
  to 
  

   believe 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  nesting 
  in 
  that 
  locality, 
  but 
  I 
  was 
  unable 
  to 
  secure 
  

  

  