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Range (North America generally south)
North America generally, south in winter to Cuba and Mexico; breeds locally throughout its North American range.
Washington, uncommon W. V. Long Island, uncommon T. V., rare W. V., Nov. to May. Sing Sing, rare T. V., Mch. Cambridge, formerly common T. V., Oct. to Dec.
RIVER DUCKS.
Nest, of grasses, leaves, moss, etc., lined with down, in a hollow tree or stump near water. Eggs, eight to ten, buffy white, 2.10 x 1.75. According to Ernest E. Thompson, both the preceding species frequent chiefly "living" or running water, while this bird prefers "dead" waters, or quiet ponds and lakes. In Florida it lives in small ponds in the hummocks, where one expects to find Wood Ducks, and feeds on roots, seeds, etc. It visits also the lakes frequented by Black Ducks, Mallards, and other Anatinæ. The male is a striking bird in life, and can not be mistaken for any other species.
Subfamily Anatinæ. River and Pond Ducks.
The Ducks of this subfamily are distinguished by the absence of a lobe on the hind toe. They are, for the most part, northern breeding birds, and appear on our waters chiefly as migrants. At this time they differ but little in habits, and as a rule frequent sluggish streams, shallow ponds, arms of bays, and marshes. In comparison with the deep-water Fuligulinæ they might be called "dabblers" or "tip-ups," and any one who has seen them dabbling along the shore, or with upturned tail and head immersed probing the bottom in shallow water, like a flock of animated tenpins, will recognize the appropriateness of these terms. They feed upon mollusks, crustaceans, insects and their larvæ, seeds and roots of aquatic plants. The "gutters" on the sides of the bill act as strainers, and, after probing the bottom, the mere act of closing the bill forces out the mud and water taken in with the food. As a rule, they feed more commonly by night than by day. They do not gather in such large flocks as the Sea Ducks, and in our waters are generally found in groups of less than fifty. They spring from the water at a bound, and on whistling wing are soon beyond the fowler's reach. Their speed is variously estimated for different species at a hundred to a hundred and sixty miles an hour. Doubtless the first-named distance is nearer the truth. Their nest is composed of twigs, rootlets, grasses, leaves, moss, feathers, etc., lined with down from the breast of the incubating bird. All our species, except the Wood Duck, place their nest on the ground, generally in grassy sloughs or marshes, but sometimes in dry places some distance from the water.
I. Wing under 8.50.
KEY TO THE SPECIES. a. Lesser wing-coverts gray. 139. GREEN-WINGED TEAL. 138. EUROPEAN TEAL. b. Lesser wing-coverts blue. 1. Cheeks slate-color, a broad white mark near the front of the face. 140. BLUE-WINGED TEAL (8 ad.).
RIVER DUCKS. 62. Cheeks and under parts chestnut-rufous. 141. CINNAMON TEAL (8 ad.). 1. Cheeks finely streaked with blackish. ca. Under parts whitish, sometimes washed with brownish, streaked or spotted with blackish 140. BLUE-WINGED TEAL 9. c. Under parts heavily washed with chestnut-rufous and mottled with black I Wing over 8.50. 141. CINNAMON TEAL .
A. Belly white or grayish white, not conspicuously streaked or spotted. a. Whole head shining dark green 132. MALLARD (8 ad.). b. Center of head white or whitish, a large streak behind the eye. 137. BALDPATE (8 ad.). c. Throat white, crown green or grayish green, tips of primaries greenish. 144. WOOD DUCK. d. Throat blackish, center of crown buffy, rest of head rufous. 136. WIDGEON ( ad.). e. Throat and sides of head olive-brown, darker on the crown. 143. PINTAIL (ad.). f. Throat, crown, and sides of head more or less finely streaked with blackish. f. Wing-coverts with more or less chestnut g1. No chestnut in wing-coverts. g2. Axillars* and sides barred with black 135. GADWALL. 143. PINTAIL. 137. BALDPATE 9. 135. GADWALL Q. g3. Axillars white or speckled with black, sides plain brownish. g4. Axillars white, sides thickly spotted or barred with black. B. Under parts conspicuously mottled, spotted, or streaked, or feathers margined with chestnut-rufous. a. With white in wing-coverts. a1. Lesser wing-coverts ashy blue. 142. SHOVELER 2. 61. Lesser wing-coverts brownish gray, bordered with white or tipped with black. 62. Speculum + purple 132. MALLARD 9. 63. Speculum gray and white 135. GADWALL 2. b. No white in wing-coverts. a. Throat fulvous or buffy without streaks 134. FLORIDA DUCK. b. Throat finely streaked with black 133. BLACK DUCK. 142. SHOVELER 8.
C. Belly chestnut 132. Anas boschas Linn. MALLARD (see Fig. 17, a). Ad. 8.- Whole head and throat glossy greenish or bluish black; a white ring around the neck; breast rich chestnut; belly grayish white, finely marked with wavy black lines; under tail-coverts black; upper back dark grayish brown; rump and upper tail-coverts black; longer upper tail-coverts recurved; speculum rich purple, bordered at the base and tip by narrow bands of black and white. Ad. 0+ .-Top and sides of head streaked with fuscous and buffy; back fuscous, * See Fig. 64. + A colored patch in the wing.
RIVER DUCKS. the feathers with internal rings or loops and sometimes borders of pale ochraceous buffy; speculum as in the preceding; breast and belly ochraceous buffy, mottled with dusky grayish brown. L., 23.00; W., 11.00; Tar., 1.75; B., 2.25. Range.-Northern parts of the northern hemisphere; in America breeds in the interior from Indiana and Iowa, and on the Atlantic coast rarely south of Labrador, northward to the arctic regions; winters from southern Kansas and Delaware southward to Central America and the island of Granada. Washington, common W. V. Long Island, uncommon T. V., Sept. to Apl. Sing Sing, rare T. V., Oct., Mch.
Eggs, six to ten, pale greenish or bluish white, 2.30 x 1.70. The Mallard is far more common in the interior than on the coasts. Its loud, sonorous quack is not distinguishable from that of its domesticated descendants. 133. Anas obscura Gmel. BLACK DUCK; DUSKY DUCK. Ad.- Top of the head rich fuscous, slightly streaked with pale buffy; sides of the head and throat pale buffy, thickly streaked with blackish; rest of under parts fuscous brown, the feathers all bordered by ochraceous-buff; back slightly darker and narrowly margined with buffy; speculum rich purple, bordered by black. L., 22.00; W., 11.00; Tar., 1.75; B., 2-20.