JRIVER DUCKS 



(135) Chaulelasmus streperus 



(Linn.) (Gr., ha\'inf; protrusive tetth; 

 Lat., noisy). 



GADWALL; GRAY WIDGEON. 

 Teeth or "gutters" on the edges of 

 the mandibles small but very nimier- 

 ous. Ad. cP — Plumage as shown. 

 A-xillars and under wing coverts 

 white; breast feathers with two con- 

 centric black bands on each, giving 

 a striking scaled effect. Ad. 9 — 

 Less or no chestnut on the upper 

 coverts; speculum grajdsh- white; 

 more spotted below. L., 21.00; W., 

 10.50; T., 4.50; B., 1.60. Nest — 

 Seven to ten creamy-buff eggs {2.10 

 .X 1.60) laid in feather-hned hollows. 



Range — Cosmopolitan. Breeds 

 from AVis. and Cal. northward. \\'in- 

 ters from N. Car., 111., and B. C. 

 southward. Rare on the N. E. 

 coast during migrations. 



of the white under wing coverts with their otherwise dark 

 plumage. 



The habits of FLORIDA DUCKS and MOTTLED 

 DUCKS, notwithstanding their restricted ranges, do not 

 in any way differ from those of the Black Duck. 



GADWALLS, also essentially fresh-water ducks, are by 

 no means abundant and are quite shy. They usually are 

 seen in small flocks or in company with Widgeons, and 

 like to frequent small creeks or the edges of marshes, where 

 the chances of their being disturbed are few and where 

 they can readily get an abundance of the grasses and roots 

 of water plants that they like. 



Male Gadwalls are very modestly colored for ducks, 

 especially on the head, which in most other species is cjuite 

 different from that of the female. 



BALDPATES or WIDGEONS, hke GadwaUs, only 

 resort to bays and brackish sounds after the ponds and 

 marshes that they like to frequent are frozen. They are 



81 



