THE CANVASBACK 331 
grayer on the cheeks and behind the eyes. The 
back, also is more brownish in tone. 
The length of this species is from nineteen 
to twenty-one inches; the extent from thirty to 
thirty-two inches. 
THE CANVASBACK. 
(Aythya vallisneria.) 
The duck slayer of New England will have 
little acquaintance with this bird unless he is 
lucky enough to travel west or south for his 
shooting, for this fowl of savory reputation is 
a very unusual sight in our home waters. 
Widely dispersed, dwelling in nearly every part 
of North America, they avoid New England and 
the northeastern corner of our continent very 
carefully, as do so many other feathered mi- 
grants, so that we of these sections must con- 
tent ourselves with other game, for there is 
small likelihood of our getting a chance at the 
‘‘aristocratic Canvasback.’’ 
Of its life and habits, aside from its shot- 
dodging during the fall and winter, we know 
very little save that it occasionally nests in the 
northern States of the Union, in California, and 
