THE RED-HEAD 327 
of Hudson Bay, the great duck nursery of the 
New World, though a comparatively small 
number breed in the northern States of the 
Union, and in the Rocky Mountain region much 
farther south. There is small doubt that many 
birds, especially of the duck tribe, which are 
credited with breeding only in the far-off north, 
occasionally nest in the cool heights of the 
mountains in much lower latitudes. 
Closely resembling the canvasback in appear- 
ance and fully equal to this much-lauded bird 
in table qualities when the same opportunities 
are given, the Red-head is often sold in the mar- 
kets as his highly esteemed relative. The like- 
ness between the two birds might, indeed, de- 
ceive the casual observer, but no one at all fa- 
miliar with them should ever mistake one for 
the other. The short bill, rounded and high- 
arched skull of americana, together with the 
somewhat puffy appearance of the feathers of 
its head, are widely different from the long, 
sloping profile of the canvasback, where the 
lines of the bill and head are nearly one. The 
Red-head is also considerably darker in his gen- 
eral coloration and has an orange-yellow iris. 
The canvasback’s iris is red. Still the pur- 
