SEA DUCKS 



(167) 



Erismatura jamaicensis 



to the 



{Gmci.) (Gr., prop, tail, rcfcrrin 

 VLTv stiff tail feathers). 



RUDDY DUCK ; BRISTLE- 

 T.-VIL; BROAD-BILL COOT; BULL 

 NI'XK. Bill large and broadened 

 toward the end. Tail feathers 

 pointed, stiff and narrow. Ad. d' — 

 Plumage as shown. Less highly 

 plumaged specimens have the red- 

 dish-brown parts more or less mixed 

 withgray. Ad. 9 — Grayish-brown 

 lightening below; feathers mostly 

 eclged with whitish. L., 16.00; W., 

 5-7S; T., 3.50; B., 1.50. 



Range — Breeds locally through- 

 out the United States and Canada; 

 more abundantly northward. 



(168) Nomonyx dominicus 



{Linn.) 



MASKED DUCK. A tropical 

 species casually occurring in Texas. 



Scoters are sombre plumaged birds, the females being 

 grayish and the males chiefly a dead black. The Common 

 Scoter (male) is brightened in appearance by an enlarged, 

 yellow basal portion of the bill, giving it the name of "But- 

 ter-bill Coot." Besides having a fantastically colored bill, 

 the Surf Scoter has white on the nape and forehead, these 

 markings causing the species to be known as " Skunk-head 

 Coots." 



RUDDY DUCKS are so named because the males, when 

 in faultless summer attire, have the back, wings and breast 

 a bright, ruddy chestnut. They are seldom seen, however, 

 in this perfect plumage, for it requires several years to attain 

 it. Late in summer, they moult to a plumage containing 

 little or no chestnut. 



These ducks are very different in form from any of our 

 others; the body is short and stout, the neck very large, 

 the bill large and broad and the tail composed of narrow, 

 stiff feathers. Although their flight is rapid, their wings 



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