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BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
Henry reported it from the Mimbres River in April, and Mearns took a specimen 
April 8, 1S92, at Lake Palomas, Chihuahua, hardly more than a mile over the 
boundary from New Mexico. On the Carlsbad Bird Reserve it is said to occur 
regularly in small numbers; it was noted in 1914 in February (Wilder); [20 seen De¬ 
cember, 1916. On the Rio Grande Bird Reserve (Elephant Butte), noted November 
23-December 9, 1916 (Willett)].—W. W. Cooke. 
Food. —Crabs, mussels, bivalves, snails, minnows, and other aquatic animals, 
caddice and syrphid larvae, and wild celery, seeds, and other vegetation. 
General Habits. —The common name of Butter-ball used by 
sportsmen comes from the fact that the plump body of the little Duck 
is encased with fat, while the name of Spirit Duck refers to its quick 
diving, here one moment, there another. When necessary it swims 
long distances under water, using both wings and feet. 
Additional Literature.—Bent, A. C., U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 130, 24-32, 1925. 
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER: Melamtta deglandi (Bonaparte) 
Description. — Length: 19.7-23 inches, wing 10.6-11.4, bill 1.4-1.7, depth of 
upper mandible at base 1.1-1.3, tarsus 1.8-2.1. Bill swollen at base , feathers coming 
close to nostrils. A dull male in winter and breeding plumage: Black , slightly brownish 
on sides and belly, with white eye patch , and conspicuous white icing patch; iris white; 
bill with knob at base black, ridge, white, tip orange; legs and feet with outer sides 
purplish, inner sides orange or red. Adult female in winter and breeding plumage: 
Sooty above, in fresh plumage without white on head but as feather tips wear, with 
white patches (Dwight); w r ing patch white but smaller than in male; underparts 
grayish brown, partly tipped with grayish; iris brown; bill blackish mixed with 
whitish above, sometimes with patch of rose-pink on either side and striped on nail 
with yellowish; feet similar to those of male but duller. Young in juvenal plumage: 
Somewhat variable; dark brown above, lighter and mottled below; conspicuous 
whitish patches in front and back of eye, white wing patch tipped with dusky. 
Range. —North America and eastern Asia. In America breeds from the barren 
grounds of northern Alaska and Canada south to north shore of Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
Hudson Bay, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and northeastern Washington 
(non-breeding birds seen in summer in British Columbia); winters mainly on the sea 
coasts, on the Pacific from the Commander, Pribilof, and Aleutian Islands south to 
Lower California; in the interior on the Great Lakes, in Louisiana, Colorado, New 
Mexico, and occasionally southern British Columbia; on the Atlantic from the Gulf 
of St. Lawrence to South Carolina and (rarely) Florida. 
State Records. —An adtilt female was brought to R. T. Kellogg, November 10, 
1921. It had been taken from a flock of six, on a small irrigation pond on Duck 
Creek, 30 miles northwest of Silver City. 
Additional Literature.—Bent, A. C., U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 130, 131-142, 
1925.— Job, H. K., Auk. XVI, 163-164, 1899. 
SPINY-TAILED DUCKS: Subfamily Erismaturinae 
RUDDY DUCK: Erismatura jamaicensis rubida (Wilson) 
Description. — Length: About 13.5-16 inches, wing 5.7-6, bill about 1.5-1.6. 
Bill broad, short, flat, nail hooked; body stout, chunky, neck thick and short, tail 
feathers stiff , narroxc , pointed; when abraded, like the spines of the Chimney Swift. 
Adult male in breeding plumage: Top and sides of head to below eye, black; cheeks 
