192 
RIVER AND POND DUCKS 
ceous buffy; speculum as in the preceding; breast and belly ochraceous buffy, 
mottled with dusky grayish brown. L., 23*00; W., 11*00; Tar., 1*75; B., 2*25. 
Range. — N. Hemisphere. In N. Am. breeds from Pribilof Islands, nw. 
Alaska, n. Mackenzie, cen. Keewatin, and Greenland s. to L. Calif., s. N. 
Mex., s. Kans., cen. Mo., s. Ind., and Md. (rarely) ; winters from the Aleutian 
Islands, cen. Alaska, cen. Mont., Wyo., Nebr., s. Wise., n. Ind., Ohio, Md., 
and N. S. (rarely) s. to Mex., the Lesser Antilles, and Panama; casual 
in Bermuda and Hawaii. 
Washington, common W. V., Aug. 28-Mch. 19. Long Island, uncommon 
T. V., Oct. 3-Dec. 24; Mch., Apl. Ossining, rare T. V., Oct., Mch. Cam- 
bridge, rare but regular in fall. N. Ohio, tolerably common T. V., Mch. 1- 
May 15; Oct. 1-Dec. 1. Glen Ellyn, regular but uncommon T. V., Mch. 10- 
Apl. 7; Sept. 13-Nov. 23. SE. Minn., S. B., casual W. R., Mch. 4-Dec. 11. 
Nest, on the ground, usually near water and among high grass or reeds. 
Eggs, 6-13, light greenish buff to light grayish buff, with very little luster, 
2*27 x 1*61. (Bent.) Date, Heron Lake, Minn., May 11. 
The loud, resonant quacking of the female Mallard and much lower, 
less clearly enunciated quack of the drake are familiar sounds, 
though the loud notes are usually attributed to the male. When flying, 
the white under wing-coverts are sometimes conspicuous when the 
birds are too far away to distinguish the green head of the male. In 
Minnesota the Mallard is considered the wildest of wild Ducks. 
133. Anas rubripes Brewst. Black Duck. Ads. — Top of head rich 
fuscous, slightly streaked with pale buffy; sides of the head and throat pale 
buffy, thickly streaked with blackish; rest of underparts fuscous-brown, the 
feathers all bordered by ochraceous-buff ; back slightly darker and narrowly 
margined with buffy; speculum rich purple, bordered by black, and, at the 
end only, narrowly by white. L., 22*00; W., 11*00; Tar., 1*75; B., 2*20. 
Remarks. — Always to be distinguished from the female Mallard by its 
darker colors and smaller amount of white in the wing. 
According to William Brewster {Auk, 1902, 184) the Black Duck is 
represented by two forms, the status of which, however, is considered 
doubtful by the A. O. U. Committee on Nomenclature. Should they be 
recognized, they will stand as Anas rubripes rubripes, the Red-legged 
Black Duck, and Anas rubripes tristis, which, for sake of distinction, may 
be called the Brown-legged Black Duck. A. r. rubripes is the larger of 
the two (<? W., 10*99; Tar., 1*68; B., 2*13; $ W., 10*47; Tar., 1*60; B., 
2*03, as comoared with the following measurements for A. r. tristis: & W., 
10*52; Tar., 1*65; B., 2*05; $, W., 10*14; Tar., 1*61; B., 1*93) and has the 
sides of the head and the neck, chin, and throat more heavily streaked than 
in tristis in which the throat and chin are said to be unstreaked. In life the 
tarsi and toes are bright red, the bill yellow; while tristis has the tarsi and 
toes brownish, the bill olivaceous. The difference in the colors of the feet, 
while not apparent in museum specimens, form a readily observable field 
mark. The limits of the breeding ranges of these supposed forms have not 
been determined, but rubripes appears to be the more northern, not being 
known to breed south of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. During the migration 
and in winter both red-legged and brown-legged birds may be found in the 
same flock. (See also Brewster, Auk, 1909, 175-179; 1910, 323-333, and 
Dwight, Ibid, 1909, 422-426.) 
Range. — E. N. Am. Breeds from cen. Keewatin and n. IJngava s. to 
n. Wise., n. Ind., and s. Md.; winters from N. S. s. to s. La., and Colo.; 
w. in migration to Nebr. and cen. Kans.; casual in Bermuda; accidental in 
Jamaica. 
Washington, common W. V. Aug. 1-Mch. 17. Long Island, abundant 
W. V., Sept.-May; a few breed. Ossining, tolerably common S. R., Mch. 6- 
Nov. 13. Cambridge, very common T. V., and W. V.; a few breed. N. Ohio, 
