RING-NECKED DUCK
150. Marila collaris. 17 in.
Male with a narrow chestnut neck ring; head glossed with purple; back black; chin white; bill blackish, with a bluish band near the end; eye yellow. Female with white cheeks, eye ring and region about the base of the bill; otherwise similar to the female of the [Redhead], but smaller.
These ducks are usually met in flocks of from one to three dozen, the same as the preceding two black-headed ducks. Their flight is very rapid, and they are equally agile when in the water. They are seen on the Atlantic coast only in winter, and remain just as far north as the water remains open.
Notes.—A low grunting “quanck.”
Nest.—Of grasses and feathers in marshes and on bogs. The 6 to 10 eggs are grayish-white (2.25 × 1.60); June.
Range.—Breeds in the interior of Minnesota northwards; winters throughout the United States.
