1890. 
Mar7-I5 
Florida, 
Canaveral, Banana Creek. 
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The most numerous representative/here of any species of^Duck 
-tribe, but confined to the broad creeks and bays, never visiting 
the smaller ponds in the marshes. They associate freely with all 
other ducks, and even with the Coots, few large beds of whom are 
without a greater or lesser sprinkling of Scaups > Under ordinary 
conditions, that is to say when the water throughout these bays 
and creeks ranges from one to two feet in depth, they get thei s 
food by diving. But after a north wind hag blown for several days 
and the depth of water is reduced to from two or three to eight of 
ten inches, they feed precisely in the manner of the true fresh 
water duck-r- that is, by tipping up the tail and immersing the head, 
neck and fore part of the body. During this trip I frequently 
sa w dozens thus engaged. They are fond of sleeping in the sun on 
mud or sand bars. On several occasions I saw numbers walking about 
on the mud flats, carrying the in bodies rather erect, with legs wide 
spread and waddling terribly, perhaps ^their feet stuck in the sof t 
mud. They decoy better than any other species of duck found here, 
and we killed in this way many of them. As nearly as I could make 
out from careful examination and comparison of all the specimens 
which passed thruugh my hands, about 80/S belonged to the form 
the remaining 20X being +**<u~*4-*^ h 
good many specimens^ however, were apparently more^or, less ^ 
intermediate .between these two forms. The Scaup duck# *■& the swif4 
est flying Jwpi%in this region; in fact, I think its speed is ex- 
ceeded only by that of the Green— winged Teal and the Hooded Mergan- 
ser , It was rarely that flocks of any size came to the decoys, 
but sometimes pairs or bunches of three or four would draw in over 
them, and, if not shot at, would among them. As they came 
in they would set their wings and scale, dropping their legs, 
the feet ’ wide-spread, just before they al ighted ^ Th e only note I 
identified with certainty was a seemed to be 
a note of alarm, and was uttered usually while the bird was sit- 
ting on the water, with head and neck erect, s£sW9B5!b r suspicious 
of danger. A female which I shot in the act of making this sound 
belonged to the smaller form. This duck may be distinguished at a 
good distance when sitting on the water by its black head and .gray- 
ish back. The sides appear nearly pure white, for the feathers of 
the flank are habitually carried well up over the folded wings. 
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