Range.—Western North America, breeding abundantly in northern Alaska and wintering on the Pacific coast from British Columbia to Lower California.
EMPEROR GOOSE.
176. Philacte canagica. 26 inches.
This handsome species may be known by the mottled or scaly appearance of the feathers; the head is white with a black chin and throat. Their 3 to 7 eggs are a dull buff color (3.10 × 2.15).
BLACK-BELLIED TREE-DUCK.
177. Dendrocygna autumnalis. 22 inches.
These odd-shaped ducks, with their long legs and neck, are very common in southern Texas and along the Rio Grande. They are not timid and are frequently caught and domesticated. They can walk and run gracefully, and feed in grain fields at considerable distance from the water. They usually raise two broods in a season, each brood having from ten to as many as twenty.
Nest.—They build their nests in hollow trees, oftentimes at a great distance from the water. The nest is lined with a few feathers and down. The eggs are a creamy white (2.05 × 1.50).