SEA DUCKS 



(153) Charitonetta albeola 



(Linn.) (Gr., graceful, duck; Lat.. white), 



BUFFLE - HEAD ; BUTTER - 

 BALL; DIPPER; SPIRIT DUCK. 



Size very smaU. Iris yellow. Ad. d' 

 and 9 — Plumage as shown, the 

 male being the upper bird. Head 

 very puffy, the dark portion being 

 iridescent with green and purple 

 hues. L., 14.50; W., 6.50; T., 2,75; 

 B., 1.00. Nest — In hollow stumps 

 near streams; lined with grass and 

 down; six to fourteen grayish-buff 

 eggs, 2.00 X 1.40. 



Range — Breeds from Ontario, 

 northern Mont., and B, C, north to 

 Keewatin and the Yukon River 

 Winters from N. B., Mich, and B. C. 

 south to the Gulf of Mexico. 



shellfish, have very rank flesh while those that feed chiefly 

 upon roots or wild rice in fresh-water ponds are fairly 

 good. 



BUFFLE-HEADS are very small ducks, smaller in fact 

 than any others except Green-winged Teal. No other 

 species, large or small, is able to excel them in waterman- 

 ship. Two of the most used common names, " Spirit Duck " 

 and "Dipper," give evidence of their agility. Like grebes, 

 they are said to be able to dive at the flash of a gun and so 

 escape the charge of shot, a feat that might have been 

 possible in the days of black powder. Certainly they can 

 disappear with a celerity that mystifies, and well justifies 

 their local names. 



They can dive to considerable depths and can swim a long 

 way under water before coming to the surface. It is almost 

 impossible to catch a wounded Buffle-head for it can dive 

 repeatedly and, when all other means of escape seem closed, 

 it will, rather than be caught, often drown itself by clinging 

 to vegetation at the bottom. This habit of self-destruction, 



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