LESSER SCAUP DUCK. 167 



for the table. But if fed upon roots oi water plants, wild 

 rice, celery, or other similar tender grasses, it is a very 

 good little bird indeed. For the sportsman there is no 

 better object upon which to try his skill than this Duck; 

 its rapid flight and quick, unexpected movements on the 

 wing frequently bringing to nought the efforts of the 

 most expert gunner. 



Considerable variation among individuals of this spe- 

 cies exists in their measurements, and occasionally they 

 approach in size those of the Big Scaup, so that, as re- 

 gards the females, it is at times very difficult to distin- 

 guish which species is represented. Adult males can 

 easily be identified, no matter what their dimensions may 

 be, the metallic hues of the head making them readily 

 recognizable. But there is Httle in the coloring of the 

 females to separate them from the larger species, and if 

 the wing should exceed eight and one-quarter inches 

 in length it is exceedingly difficult to say to which form 

 the bird should be referred. The company the specimen 

 kept when it was killed, if that could be ascertained, 

 would be the surest test for identification, as these two 

 Scaups are rarely found associating together. The eggs 

 also vary greatly in their measurements. 



FULIGULA AFFINIS. 



Geographical Distribution. — North America generally. Breed- 

 ing north of United States. In winter to Guatemala and the 

 West Indies. 



Adult Male. — Head, neck, and fore part of body, black, with 

 purple reflections on head Back and scapulars, white, barred 

 with narrow irregular black lines. Wing coverts, dusky, mottled 

 with white. Secondaries, white, the tips, black, with a greenish 

 gloss, forming a white patch or speculum on the wing. Tertials, 

 black, glossed with green. Primaries, brown, blackish at tips 

 and toward iedges of the webs. Rump and upper tail coverts. 



