140 GAME BISDS OF CALIFORNIA 



Wood Duck 



Aix sponsa (Linnaeus) 



Other name — Summer Duck. 



Descbiption — Adult male: Top of head and front of crest metallic green; 

 tip of crest metallic violet; cheeks black tinged with violet; region around 

 eye and base of crest metallic reddish purple; chin, throat and foreneok, pure 

 white, from which area two crescentic bars of the same color extend upwards 

 on each side, one onto side of head just behind eye, the other onto hind neck; 

 a narrow white line on each side of forehead extends from base of bill back 

 over eye along each side of crown to tip of crest; a similar stripe begins a 

 short distance behind eye and extends along lower edge of crest to its tip; 

 iris "bright orange red"; eyelids "deep vermillion" (Baird, Brewer and 

 Eidgway, 1884, II, p. 12); bill pinkish white, lake red at base; ridge, tip and 

 lower mandible, black; upper surface of body sooty brown, lustrous with 

 bronzy green, most vivid on rump and tail; a vertical crescent of enlarged 

 black and w^hite feathers in front of wing; outer surface of closed wing dark 

 brown with more or less steel blue iridescence particularly on greater and 

 middle coverts, these latter also narrowly tipped with black; flight feathers 

 slaty brown with exposed inner webs steel blue and outer webs becoming 

 silvery gray toward tips; feathers of speculum steel blue narrowly tipped 

 with white, bordered above by a broad black band which pertains to the much 

 expanded innermost secondaries and scapulars; lining of wing and g.«llars 

 irregularly barred with brown and white; sides and flanks pale buff, minutely 

 undulated (cross-barred) with black; terminal feathers of flank expanded at 

 tips, and marked with conspicuous bars of black and white; breast rich 

 purplish chestnut, the forepart with a purple gloss, and marked with arrow- 

 points of white; rest of under surface pure white; a patch of metallic pur- 

 ple on each side at base of tail; lateral upper tail coverts marked with narrow 

 central stripes of light brown; under surface of tail and lower tail coverts 

 dark brown, the latter with iridescent green toward tips; legs and feet orange 

 brown, webs olive black, nails black. Total length "19.00-20.50" inches 

 (482-520 mm.) (Eidgway, 1900, p. 99); folded wing 8.75-9.40 (222-238); bill 

 along culmen 1.28-1.50 (32.5-38.1); tarsus 1.34-1.44 (34.0-36.5) (three speci- 

 mens from California and Oregon). Folded wing 8.05 (204) ; culmen 1.27 

 (32.2); tarsus 1.38 (35.0) (immature male no. 3739 Mailliard coll.). Adult 

 female: Top of head and small crest dark gray, glossed with metallic violet; 

 sides of head and whole neck ashy gray; chin and throat white; a white ring 

 around eye, continuous with a white patch behind eye; eyelids yellow; bill 

 "dark lead color," nail "black" (Sanford, Bishop and Van Dyke, 1903, p. 

 114); back, rump and upper tail coverts brown, slightly glossed with bronze 

 and reddish purple; tail brown, glossed with greenish bronze; outer surface 

 of closed wing as in male but secondaries more widely tipped with white, and 

 the four upper greater coverts rich metallic reddish purple, more bluish toward 

 the centers, bronzy toward edges, and narrowly tipped with velvety black; 

 fore breast dark brown, each feather with a shaft streak of brownish white; 

 sides and flanks brown; rest of under surface white, the feathers centered 

 coarsely with light brown or whitish; legs and feet "yellowish brown" 

 (Baird, Brewer and Eidgway, loe. cit.). Total length "17.00-19.50" inches 

 (432-495 mm.) (Eidgway, loc. cit.); folded wing 8.35-8.90 (212-226); bill 

 along culmen 1.15-1.30 (29.2-33.0) ; tarsus 1.25-1.52 (31.7-38.6) (three specimens 



