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Subfamily Fuliguline

Bay and Sea Ducks.

The members of this subfamily are to be distinguished from those of the preceding by the presence of a lobe or web on the hind toe. They are open-water Ducks, frequenting our large lakes, bays, and seacoasts. Their food consists chiefly of mollusks, crustaceans, and the seeds and roots of aquatic plants. They obtain it principally by diving, sometimes descending one hundred and fifty feet or more. The SEA DUCKS. bill, as in the Anatinæ, acts as a sieve or strainer. As a rule they feed by day and pass the night at a distance from the shore or at sea. Some of the species occur in our waters in large flocks-indeed, our most abundant Ducks are members of this subfamily. With one exception they are northern breeding birds, seldom nesting south of our northern tier of States.

Their nest is composed of twigs, leaves, grasses, stems of aquatic plants, seaweed, etc., lined with down from the breast of the incubating bird. KEY TO THE SPECIES.

I. Feathers at the base of the bill not reaching 50 forward along its sides. A. Wing over 7.00; axillars and most if not all the linings of the wings white. a. Head and neck black, with greenish or purplish reflections. a1. Back black; bill with a bluish band near its tip. 150. RING-NECKED DUCK 8. 61. Back finely barred with black and white. b2. Back of head generally with purplish reflections; wing generally under 8.25; nail of bill generally under 25 in width. 149. LESSER SCAUP DUCK 8. 63. Back of head generally with greenish reflections; wing generally over 8-25; nail of bill over 25 in width. 148. AM. SCAUP DUCK 8. 6. Head and neck rufous or rufous-brown, sharply defined from the black breast. 61. Head and upper neck rich rufous; bill 2.00 or under; flanks finely barred, like the back. e 146. REDHEAD 8. 62. Head and neck rufous-brown; crown blackish; bill over 2.00; flanks very slightly if at all barred 147. CANVASBACK 8. c. Head and neck brownish or grayish. c1. A white patch in the wing. 2. Feathers at base of bill white; wing generally under 8.25; nail of bill generally under 25 in width.

C3, Feathers at base of bill white; wing generally over 8.25 nail of bill generally over 25 in width d1. No white in wing. 149. LESSER SCAUP DUCK Q. 148. AM. SCAUP DUCK 2. d2. An indistinct bluish band near the tip of bill; bill under 2.00. d3. Wing under 8.00. d4. Wing over 8.00 . 150. RING-NECKED DUCK 2. 146. REDHEAD 9. 147. CANVASBACK Q. e2. No band on bill; bill over 2.00 B. Wing over 7.00; axillars and most if not all the under wing-coverts blackish. a. Head and throat dark steel-blue or steel-green. a¹. Head and throat steel-blue; white patch at base of bill 1.00 or more in height 152. BARROW'S GOLDEN-EYE 8. a2. Head and throat steel-green; white patch at base of bill less than 1.00 in height. 151. AM. GOLDEN-EYE 8.

SEA DUCKS. b. Whole head and throat brown, sharply defined from the gray or white neck; a white patch (speculum) in the wing. 61. Nostril nearer the tip than the base of the bill. neck 151. Aм. GOLDEN-EYE Ω. 62. Nostril in the middle of the bill 152. BARROW'S GOLDEN-EYE 9. c. Whole head and neck black. 163. Aм. SCOTER 8. d. A white patch on the top of the head and another on the back of the 166. SURF SCOTER 8. e. Middle of crown black, bordered by chestnut; front half of the face white 155. HARLEQUIN DUCK 8. f. Head and neck whitish, grayish, or brownish; no white in the wing. f¹. Bill over 1.25. . . fa. Feathers on culmen reaching much farther forward than those at the sides of the bill 166. SURF SCOTER 2. fs. Feathers on culmen reaching little if any beyond those at the sides of the bill 163. Aм. SCOTER 2. g¹. Bill under 1.25. white g2. Central tail-feathers longest, sharply pointed, under tail-coverts 154. OLD SQUAW. g3. Central tail-feathers not sharply pointed; under tail-coverts grayish brown 155. HARLEQUIN DUCK.

C. Wing under 7.00. a. Tail-feathers stiff and narrow; upper tail-coverts very short. a¹. Upper parts mostly rich chestnut-rufous. a2. Cheeks white a3. Cheeks black 167. RUDDY DUCK 8. 168. MASKED DUCK 8. 61. Upper parts grayish or brownish, with sometimes rufous markings. 62. Lining of wing blackish; under parts grayish. 168. MASKED DUCK 9. 63. Lining of wing whitish; under parts grayish. 167. RUDDY DUCK 9. b. Tail-feathers normal; upper tail-coverts about half as long as tail. 153. BUFFLEHEAD.

II. Feathers at sides or top of bill extending forward generally as far as nostril. A. Feathers on sides of bill not reaching nostril. a. Nostril narrow, elongate; feathers on culmen extending forward in a narrow line, a V-shaped mark on throat 162. KING EIDER. b. Nostril large, rounded; feathers on culmen not extending forward in a narrow line 165. WHITE-WINGED SCOTER.

B. Feathers on sides of bill extending as far as nostril. a. Bare base of bill on top narrow, ending posteriorly in a sharp point. 159. GREENLAND EIDER. b. Bare base of bill on top broad, the posterior end rounded. 160. Aм. EIDER.

The RUFOUS-CRESTED DUCK (145. Netta rufina) is an Old-World species which has been taken once in America. The record is based on an immature male found in Fulton Market, New York city, which was supposed to have been shot on Long Island.

SEA DUCKS. 146. Aythya americana (Eyt.). REDHEAD. Ad. 8.-Head and throat bright rufous; lower neck, breast, back of the neck, and upper back black; rest of the back and scapulars finely barred with wavy black and white lines of equal width; wing-coverts brownish gray; upper tail-coverts black; belly white, the lower belly more or less finely barred with black; under tailcoverts black; sides like the back. Ad.. - Upper parts dark grayish brown, darker on the rump, the feathers more or less margined with buffy or ashy; sides of the head lighter; upper throat white; neck buffy ochraceous; breast and sides grayish brown, more or less washed or margined with buffy or buffy ochraceous; belly white; lower belly and under tail-coverts tinged with ochraceous; an indistinct bluish-gray band across the end of the bill. L., 19-00; W., 8-90; Tar., 1.55; B., 1.85.