EEDIiEAD AND CANVAS-BACK 



275 



THE CANVAS-BACK DUCK. 



of unwounded specimens to carry out the ex- 

 periments necessary to determine the precise 

 conditions under which this species will breed 

 in capti^■ity. No one ever sees more than two 

 or three living Canvas-Backs together in an 

 aviary, and thus far I believe none have bred. 



It is unnecessary to describe this species, 

 for it is probable that no one of the readers 

 hereof ever will see one wild and unlabelled. Its 

 range was once the same as that of the redhead, 

 and its habits also were quite similar. 



The Buffle-Head Duck, or Butter-Ball,' is a 

 small, tree-nesting duck, so pretty and so very 

 odd-looking that when seen every one wishes to 

 know its name; and when named, it is not soon 

 forgotten. When you see a short-bodied, 

 plump-looking little duck, black above and white 

 below, with a head that is a great round mass 

 of soft feathers, half snow-white, and half a 

 rich metallic mixture of purple, violet and green, 

 — that is a Butter-Ball, and nothing else. 

 Wherever seen, it commands instant attention. 



Unfortunately, this jjicturescjue little creature 

 does not like our country as a summer resi- 

 dence, for it breeds from Maine, Iowa and Brit- 

 ish Columbia, northward, and returns to us 

 only when snapjjing cold weather heralds the 

 approach of winter. On the water it is the 

 most nervous and watchful duck that I know, 

 and its habit of constantly turning from side 



1 Char-i-ton-et'ta al-be-o'la. Average length, 14.50 

 inches. 



to side is certainly in the interest of self-preserva- 

 tion. But after all, what is the alertness of any 

 duck against the deadly, cold calculation of 

 the greedy "market-shooter" with a choke- 

 bore gun? 



The Buffle-Head is one of the ducks that 

 is rarely seen in captivity. A specimen that 

 is so seriously wounded that it can be caught, 

 usually dies a few days later. So far as I know, 

 it has not yet been induced to breed in cap- 

 tivity; but that is no reason for believing that 

 it never will. We hold that if conditions are 

 made satisfactory, any wild species will breed 

 in captivitJ^ Usually it is a question of suffi- 

 cient seclusion, and immunity from disturbance. 

 The range of this bird is said to include all 

 North America, from the Arctic Ocean to 

 Cuba. And so it does, all save those localities 

 wherein it does not occur. 



THE BUFFLE-HEAD, OR BUTTER-BALL. 



The Harlequin Duck ^ is most fantastically 

 marked. The prevailing colors of the male are 

 dark blue, blue-black and violet, with various 

 white collars, stripes and patches that seem to 

 have been laid on with a jjaiiit-brush. This bird 

 is to be looked for along the Pacific coast above 

 Oregon to .lapan, and on the Atlantic coast from 

 Newfoundland northward. It is nowhere com- 

 mon, rather solitary, but frequents costal rivers 

 as well as the sea. As a rarity to be prized, one 

 Harlequin is equal to twenty ducks of almost any 

 other species in America. 



- H is-lri-cm' i-cns h is-lri-on'-i-ctis. Length , 1 6 inches. 



