48 
BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
dish-yellow. General plumage black, a white streak about one inch long runs un¬ 
der and behind eye ; secondaries and tips of greater coverts form a white speculum. 
Female .—Bill blackish and less swollen than in male ; general plumage similar 
to male but paler ; speculum white ; whitish patch on side of head. Length about 
22 inches ; extent about 38 inches ; female smaller. 
Habitat .—Northern North America, breeding in Labrador and the fur countries ; 
south in winter to the Middle States, southern Illinois and southern California. 
Spring and fall migrant and winter visitor on our principal rivers 
and at Erie bay. At the last mentioned locality this species is some¬ 
times seen, particularly in the late fall or early winter, in good-sized 
flocks. On the Susquehanna river it is usually found singly or in pairs. 
Oidemia perspicillata (Linn.). 
Surf Scoter ; Surf Duck ; Booby ; Sea Coot. 
Description. 
Male. —Upper mandible much swollen and frontal feathers extend far forward ; 
maxilla swollen at sides and wider at upper part of base than below ; general color 
black ; a triangular white patch on top of head, beginning at about middle of eyes 
and narrowing as it extends over forehead ; a second white triangular patch, widest 
above on nape and extending down on back of neck ; bill (dried skin) pale-yellowish 
and red, with large rounded black spots on side ; legs red ; iris yellowish. Female 
has a blackish bill which is not swollen at base; general plumage sooty-brown ; 
lower parts grayish ; sides of head whitish, in some individuals a whitish loral patch ; 
forehead and hind neck brownish black. Length of male about 20 inches ; extent 
about 33. 
Habitat .—Coasts and larger inland waters of northern North America ; in winter 
south to the Carolinas, the Ohio river and Lower California. 
Rather rare spring and fall migrant and winter resident. When found 
with us this duck inhabits the same localities as the two previously 
described species. In January, 1890, I purchased from a hunter at Erie, 
one of these Scoters, which he had shot on the bay, where he said a flock 
of about twenty had been seen. 
Genus ERISMATURA Bonaparte. 
Erismatura rubida (Wils.). 
Ruddy Duck ; Spine-tailed Duck. 
Description (Plate 68). 
Bill bent upwards and about as long as head, very broad ; nostrils small and situ¬ 
ated near culmen ; head small; neck thick ; tail consists of eighteen stiff and narrow 
feathers ; the under surface of shafts of tail feathers channelled; tail coverts very 
short. 
Male. —Bill bluish ; legs grayish-blue ; iris reddish-brown ; top of head and nape 
blackish ; upper plumage, greater part of neck rusty-brown, brightest on back ; sides 
of head and chin white ; lower parts whitish, breast sometimes very rusty. 
Female and young male. —Top of head and upper parts generally brownish, dotted 
with grayish and reddish-brown ; sides of head grayish-white and rusty lower parts 
grayish-white. A small duck about 15 inches long and 22 inches in extent. 
Habitat.— North America in general, south to Cuba, Guatemala and northern 
South America, breeding throughout most of its North American range. 
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