Duck-sbooting 151 



Eggs — Seven to ten in number, of a grayish white color, with a 

 tinge of green, and measure 2 by 1.45 inches. 



Habitat — Breeds from New Brunswick, Maine, Ontario, Manitoba, 

 Montana, Alberta, and British Columbia, and probably Michigan, 

 Minnesota, Iowa, Wyoming, and Colorado, north to Labrador, 

 Greenland, Hudson Bay, the lower Mackenzie, and the upper 

 Yukon. Winters from New Brunswick, western New York, 

 Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Idaho, 

 British Columbia, and the Aleutian Islands, south to Cuba, 

 Mexico, and Lower California. Recorded also from Nova Scotia 

 and Newfoundland, Bermuda, Great Britain, the Alaskan coast 

 of Bering Sea, Bering Island, and Hawaii. 



This sprite is always a pleasure to see. The 

 male with his buffle head of white and violet 

 can well be proud of his plumage. Lightly and 

 gracefully floating on the water's surface, if occa- 

 sion requires he dives like a flash or springs into 

 the air with the speed of a teal. The female is 

 plain and insignificant, except in her power to get 

 through space. The species is widely distributed 

 through North America, its range extending to 

 the Arctic region. In the North, on account of 

 its traits, this species is known as spirit duck. 



The breeding-ground is as far south as the 

 northern border of the United States, and from 

 Alaska to Greenland. The nest has not been 

 found often. It is generally in the hole of a tree 

 near the water's edge. Mr. Lockhart describes a 

 nest from the Yukon River. It was in the 

 hollow of a rotten stump near the bank, and con- 

 tained nine eggs. The same gentleman discov- 



