298 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
less timid than they are. Its food is mainly composed of 
animal matter, which is always abundant in its favorite 
haunts, hence it is rare to find one in poor condition. 
It swims rapidly, dives well, can stay under water for a 
comparatively long time, is very quick in flight, and 
when alighting on the water it comes down with such a 
rush that it scatters showers of spray in every direction. 
It does not circle to the windward before settling as 
other ducks do; and it is very fond of uttering its short, 
guttural notes, which are so expressive of contentment. 
It is not so easily decoyed or brought to land as some of 
its kindred, as it is exceedingly cautious. It is one of 
the most maritime of its sub-family, and also one of the 
most beautiful, especially the male. The bill of the lat- 
ter is as long as the head; is deep rather than broad at the 
base; and is a light grayish-blue in color, the unguis being 
blackish. The iris is yellowish; the feet are grayish-blue, 
and the webs and claws black. The head is puffy; the neck 
and the forepart of the back and breast are black; and the 
back of the head displays brilliant iridescence, the result of 
the harmonious combinations of its green, golden, and 
purplish feathers. The back, scapulars, anterior part of 
the abdomen, and sides are grayish-white, waved with 
black; the middle of the breast is white; and the wings 
are brownish-gray. The tail is short, rounded, and com- 
posed of fourteen feathers. It differs from the golden-_ 
eye in being without the loral patch of white; and the 
female 1s blackish in color. The males vary much in 
size, but their average length may be placed at sixteen 
and a half inches, and their weight at twenty-one ounces. 
The ruddy duck (#rismatura rubida), when in full 
plumage, is brownish-red about the head and neck, ex- 
cept the chin and the sides of the head, which are white, 
and the nape and crown, which are black. The under 
parts are white and pale-gray. This species, which is very 
abundant all over the Continent, may be readily recog- 
