36 
BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
by Dr. Coues as follows : “ 8-10, 2.25 X 1.60, smooth, dingy, yellowish- 
drab.” The stomachs of fifteen Mallards, killed on the Susquehanna river 
near Perry ville, Md., in the spring and fall, which I have examined, 
contained only vegetable substances, mostly grasses and seeds. 
Anas obscura Gmel. 
Black Duck ; Dusky Duck ; Black Mallard. 
Description. 
Size about the same as Mallard (A. boschas). Bill very similar in size and shape 
to that of the Mallard. The sexes are alike, and although resembling somewhat the 
female Mallard (^1. boschas), they can readily be distinguished from the latter by 
their darker color and the conspicuous white under wing coverts. Bill greenish- 
yellow ; tarsi yellowish ; iris brown ; general color brownish- black, each feather 
edged with rusty-brown or grayish ; primaries and most of tail feathers dusky- 
brown. Speculum violet and black (narrowly tipped with white in male) ; feathers 
on top of head dusky-brown, with rusty or grayish edgings. Sides of head, chin, 
throat and upper part of neck grayish- white, with dark streaks, and in some speci- 
mens a yellowish tint on throat ; lower part of back black. 
Habitat . — Eastern North America, west to Utah and Texas, north to Labrador, 
breeding southward to the northern United States. 
Spring and fall migrant but much less common than the Mallard. 
Hunters residing in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania assert that a 
few of these ducks are occasionally seen in summer frequenting the 
numerous ponds or lakes in Susquehanna and Wayne counties, where 
possibly they occur as rare or irregular breeders. Dr. John W. Det- 
willer, of Bethlehem, Pa., mentions the Dusky Duck as having been 
found by himself breeding in our state ; and Mr. W. K. Park, of Athens, 
Penna., has found this duck nesting in Bradford county. The Black 
Duck breeds on the ground ; its eggs and nest are said to be very simi- 
lar to those of the Mallard. The food of this species is chiefly of a 
vegetable character. 
Anas strepera Linn. 
Gadwall ; Gray Duck. 
Description. 
“ Male. — Head and neck brownish-white, spotted with dusky ; top of head tinged 
with reddish ; lower part of neck with fore part of breast and back blackish, with 
concentric bars of white, giving a scaled appearance to feathers ; interscapular re- 
gion, outermost scapulars and sides of body finely waved transversely with black 
and white. Middle wing coverts chestnut, the greater velvet black, succeeded by a 
white speculum, bordered externally by heavy gray, succeeded by black ; crissum 
and upper tail coverts black ; inside of wing and axillars pure white ; bill black. 
‘‘^Female. — Bill dusky, edged with reddish ; wing somewhat like that of male, but 
with chestnut-red more restricted. Length about 22 inches ; extent about 34 inches.” 
— Baird's B. of N. A. 
Habitat. — Nearly cosmopolitan. In North America breeds chiefly within the 
United States. 
