75 



Distribution. Of about the same distribution as last species, but perhaps more 

 common on the coast and less so on the Great Lakes. 



167. Ruddy Duck. fb. — lb canabd boux. Erismatura jamaicensis. L, 15. 

 A small duck. Male strikingly coloured, rich rufous-chestnut on neck, shoulders, back, 

 and flanks ; crown and back of head almost black, and cheeks and lower face white. Female 

 small, dull greyish-brown, lighter on underparts and cheeks, and with a dark cap. 



Distinction. Male is the only Duck that is largely red. Female can be told by the 

 silvery grebe-like sheen of the xmderparts, and, in any plumage, by the stiff pointed tail 

 feathers. 



Field Marks. Size, short squatty shape, and thick neck. Its habit of occasionally 

 carrying its tail erect and spread out fan wise is also a good guide, though some Scoters 

 also are said to do this at times. 



Nesting. In reeds over water. 



Distribution. Nests in the prairie provinces northward; more common in migrations 

 on the Great Lakes than on the coast. 



Svb-family — A'ltserince. Geese. 



General Description. Geese resemble ducks, but are larger with a less flattened body 

 and comparatively longer legs; bill (Figure 10, p. 19) is higher and somewhat more com- 

 pressed at base, stouter and less flattened at tip, hardly to be termed spatulate but with 

 the broad nail at tip characteristic of the order. 



Field Marks. The strong flight of the geese is familiar to most. Size, coloration, 

 and flight habits are the best field gmdes. Their hoarse honking voices so often heard 

 during migration are also characteristic. 



Nesting. On groimd. 



Distribution. Geese are of world wide distribution. The American species all breed 

 well to the north, migrating through the interior as well as along the coasts. 



The geese are more terrestrial and herbivorous than the ducks but 

 they are equally at home on the water. They do not normally dive, but 

 secure food from the bottom by tipping and reaching by means of their long 

 neck. The sexes are alike and there is little seasonal change of plumage. The 

 , goose is an excellent table bird and for this reason and on account of its 

 superior size it is much sought after by sportsmen. Geese are exceedingly 

 wary and, though greatly reduced in number, have been able to take better 

 care of themselves than many other large game birds. 



Economic Status. Feeding largely upon grasses and frequenting 

 cultivated areas in migration more than other members of their order they 

 may do more harm than the ducks, but this has never been seriously held 

 against them. Their value in other directions is so obvious that less 

 complaint has been made against geese than against other species equally 

 worthy of protection but whose usefulness though real is less obvious. 



169. Snow Goose, laughing goose, wavey. fb. — l'oie blanche. Chenhyper- 

 boreus. L, 23. A rather small goose, pure white with black primaries. Juveniles with 

 more or less grey or greyish-brown washing locally or over all. 



Distinctions. Cutting edges of mandibles are more or less bowed away from each 

 other, exposing tooth-Uke serrations and giving the face that appearance from which the 

 name, laughing, is derived. 



Field Marks. Colour and evident goose-like flight and outline. 



Nesting. On ground. 



Distribution. The Lesser Snow Goose breeds on the Arctic coast and islands from 

 Coronation gulf westward. It migrates down the interior of the continent, the Greater 

 along the Atlantic coast. 



SUBSPECIES. There are two subspecies of Snow Goose in Canada, the Lesser 

 and the Greater, differing only in size; but as the two intergrade this is not an entirely 

 reliable distinction. There is a difference based upon the comparative shapes and sizes of 



57172—6 



