SEA DUCKS 



(148) Marila marila (linn.) 

 SCAUP DUCK; BLACK-HEAD; 

 BLUE-BILL. Ad. d'— As shown. 

 Iris yellow. Bill dull blue, with 

 black nail. Head glossed with green- 

 ish; speculum white; sides very 

 faintly marked with wavy black 

 lines. /Id. 9 — Grayish-brown, lighter 

 on the belly; speculum and region 

 about base of bill white. L., 19.00; 

 W., 8.75; T., 3.00; B., 2.00. 



Range — Breeds from N. Dak. and 

 B. C. northward. Winters from 

 Me., Ont., and B. C. southward. 



(149) Marila affinis 



(Eyhli). (Lat., allied). 



LESSER SCAUP DUCK. Simi- 

 lar but smaller. Head glossed with 

 purple; flanks more conspicuously 

 barred. L., 16.00; W., 7.60. 



Range — Breeds from Ind., la. 

 and B. C. northward. 



"with Canvas-backs for, although these birds are not able 

 to secure food themselves in deep water, they get consider- 

 able of what is loosened or brought up by the better divers. 



After Canvas-backs, or Redheads, either, have fed on 

 wild rice or celery for a few weeks, their flesh is superior 

 to that of any other wild duck. However, under other 

 conditions of feeding, they are no better and may be de- 

 cidedly inferior to other species. 



The flight of Canvas-backs is very swift, their speed 

 probably not being exceeded by any other ducks. The 

 enormous number of them annually slaughtered by market 

 hunters and sportsmen is making them more scarce each 

 year, particularly in the Eastern States. 



SCAUP DUCI-vS are almost universally known as Blue- 

 bills, and only a little less often as Black-heads, the Greater 

 and Lesser Scaups being called respectively Big and Little 

 Blue-bills. The Scaup is found throughout the Northern 

 Hemisphere, while the smaller species is only North Amer- 



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