6o4 THE AMERICAN SCAUP DUCK. 



No. 295. 

 AMERICAN SCAUP DUCK. 



A. O. U. No. 148. Aythya marila (Unn.). 



Synonyms.— Greater Scaup; Bi.ue-bii,l; Shuffler; Raft Duck; Black- 

 head. 



Description. — Adult male : Head and neck black with green gloss ; foreneck 

 all round and breast rich purplish black; a collar around neck obscurely lighter; 

 belly and sides pure white; back and scapulars vermiculate or wavy-barred black 

 and white, — the white bars wider in front, becoming much narrower behind; ter- 

 tiaries, lower back, and tail-coverts sooty black ; flanks sooty brown ; wing-coverts 

 blackish, speckled sparingly on tips with white; speculum white, tipped with 

 blackish ; axillars and under wing-coverts chiefly white ; bill dull blue with black 

 nail, broadening and much hooked at tip ; feet dark plumbeous and with darker 

 webs; iris yellow. Adult female: Region about base of bill (least on chin) 

 white ; head and neck plain snuff brown ; fore-neck and breast dark brown, edged 

 and tipped with hghter; sides and crissum dark grayish brown, the former de- 

 cidedly, the latter obscurely vermiculated with white; belly white, shading into 

 brown marginally; upper parts brownish dusky, the tips of feathers speckled or 

 obscurely vermiculated with white; wings, bill, etc., as in male. Length 17.50- 

 20.00 (444.5-508.) ; wing 8.6s (219.7) ; tail 2.90 (73.7) ; bill 1.75 (44.5) ; tarsus 

 1.50 (38.1). 



Recognition Marks.. — Smaller than Mallard; head, neck and breast black 

 (female brown) ; belly and"~sides white (male) ; bill bluish with black nail. Larger. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in Ohio. Nest, on the ground in a grassy swamp, 

 of grasses, etc., lined with feathers and down. Bggs, 6-10, pale grayish olive 

 or buffy. Av. size 2.54 x 1.71 (64.5 x 43.4). 



General Range. — North America, breeding far north. South in winter to 

 Guatemala. 



Range in Ohio. — Not uncommon migrant, chiefly on the reservoirs and Lake 

 Erie. 



IN general habits this duck resembles the smaller Lesser Scaup, but is 

 everywhere less common. There is no record of its breeding within the state, 

 but it has been found breeding at St. Clair Flats, near Detroit. It migrates 

 a little earlier than the Lesser Scaup, but frequently flocks of the earlier Lesser 

 Scaups contain some individuals of the Greater. In my experience in northern 

 Ohio, the proportions of these two ducks is about i to 3, possibly i to 4. It 

 is not easy to decide which of the species you have unless the flock contains 

 both, because there is so little difference except in size. The larger bodies of 

 water inland, as well as an our northern border, are resorted to in much greater 

 numbers than are the smaller waters. A large duck loves large water. 



Lynds Jones. 



