DUSKY DUCK. 523 
Male with the head and upper neck, glossy green, succeeded by a white ring; breast 
purplish-chestnut; tail feathers mostly whitish; greater wing-coveris tipped with 
black and white, the speculum violet; feet orange red; female with the wing as in the 
male; head, neck and under-parts pale ochrey, speckled and streaked with dusky. 
Length, about 24; wing, 10-12. 
Habitat, nearly cosmopolitan, and nearly every where domesticated. Wild through- 
out the whole of North America, breeding sparingly throughout the United States as 
well as further uorth. Very rare and scarcely found in New England beyond Massachu- 
setts, where replaced by the Dusky Duck. 
Abundant spring and fall migrant. One of the most highly esteemed 
ducks. Some remain through the summer and breed in the reservoirs and 
secluded swamps. 
Dr. Kirtland, writing in 1850, speaks of the changes in the aquatic 
fauna of the State as follows : 
‘¢ Wild geese, swans, ducks and wading birds literally swarmed abont every lake, 
pond and creek, during spring and autumn. Many species also bred on the Reserve. 
Forty years since, while travelling from Buffalo to Ohio, along the immediate shore of 
the lake, the scene was constantly enlivened by the presence of ducks, leading their young 
on the margin of the water, or hastily retreating to it on our approach. It often 
happened that on doubling some point of land or fallen tree, we placed ourselves in a 
position to cut off their communication with their favorite element. The instructive 
expedients to which the thoughtful mother would resort to extricate her charge from 
impending danger, was to us a matter of amusement and interest. The Goosander, 
Mallard and Summer Duck, were among the most common species we observed.” 
The nest of the Mallard is placed on the ground, in a clump of weeds 
or grass, near water. The eggs are pale, dirty yellowish-drab in color, and 
average 2.35 by 1.75 inches. 
ANAS OBSCURA Gm. 
Dusky Duck. 
Anas obscura, KIRTLAND, Prelim. Rep. Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1838, 67; Ohio Geolog. Surv., 
1838, 166, 186.— AUDUBON, Orn. Biog., iv, 1838,15; B. Am., vi, 1843, 249.—W HEATON, 
Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1860, 370; Reprint, 1861, 12; Food of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. 
Rep. for 1874, 574; Reprint, 1875, 14.—LANGDON, Cat. Birds of Cin., 1877, 17; Re-_ 
vised List, Journ. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 185; Reprint, 19. 
Black Duck, KIRTLAND, Fam. Visitor, i, 1850, 72. 
Anas obscura, GMELIN, Syst. Nat., i, 1788, 541. 
Size of the Mallard and resembling the female of that species, but darker and without 
decided white any where except under the wings. Tail 16-18 feathered. 
Habitat, Eastern North America, especially along the Atlantic coast from Labrador to 
Texas. 
Not uncommon spring and fall migrant ; not common summer resident 
in Northern Ohio. The Dusky Duck or Black Duck, as commonly called, is 
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