WILD FOWL. 
81 
at the base ; lower tail-coverts brownish-black, rather lighter 
than the upper. Length twenty inches, wing nine and a half. 
Female about two inches smaller, with the head, neck, breast, 
and general color of the upper parts brown, darker on the up¬ 
per part of the head, lighter on the back; bill, legs, and feet 
similar to those of the male. 
“ With us the Red-headed Duck is not as common as many 
other species, and is seldom seen in numbers west of Babylon, 
being chiefly confined to the eastern part of the South Bay, 
where it is sometimes seen in company with the Canvass-back, 
feeding on the stems of the same plant, the latter preferring the 
roots, being more tender and juicy, which imparts to its flesh a 
delicate flavor. The Red-headed Duck is also excellent, com¬ 
mands a high price in our markets, and is frequently sold to the 
inexperienced as Canvass-back, which it so closely resembles 
that the deception is easily practised upon those who have never 
compared the species. It is readily identified by the difference 
in the color of its eyes, as well as by the form of its bill. 
“ At Egg Harbor, the Red-headed Ducks are more common 
than they are with us, but not so plentiful as oh the Chesa¬ 
peake, where the majority assemble during winter. 
“ Attempts have been often made to domesticate these birds, 
but only in one instance do I know of its having been attended 
with success. This was with an individual in the possession 
of Edmund Powell, of Westbury, L. I., who has induced it 
to become completely reconciled to its new home, as though it 
had never known any other course of life. This gentleman 
seems to have a peculiar faculty for subduing the wild propen¬ 
sities of birds, of which he has a greater variety domesticated 
by himself than I have seen in any other part of the country, 
[t is not only a great embellishment to his residence, but at 
times the means of affording convenient shooting, as they always 
invite straggling parties, when crossing the land, to stop and 
share with them; the invitation, given with so much earnest¬ 
ness, and being hailed in their own language, they seldom fail to 
VOL. II. 6 
