The collection of Eider down thus furnishes an admirable illustration of proper economic relations between man and birds. The down is an important source of income to the natives of the comparatively barren, northern countries in which the Eiders nest. So long as man can remember it has been gathered annually. Still the Ducks continue to return in numbers year after year to the same region, perhaps the exact spot in which they nested the year before.

Less intelligent methods would perhaps rob the bird of its second, as well as of its first nest and, unable to reproduce its kind, the species would become extinct within a comparatively short period.

The evils which would follow such a course are, however, thoroughly understood. The Ducks, in the first place, are encouraged in every way. It is said that should one walk into a peasant's cabin and preempt his cot as a nesting-site, the peasant would gladly give up his bed to so valuable a visitor.

Ducks

129. American Merganser (Merganser americanus). L. 25; B. from nostril, 1.5; nostril midway between eye and tip of bill. Ad. ♂. No band of streaks on breast; no crest. Ad. ♀. and Yng. Chin white; crown and throat reddish brown; rest of underparts and speculum white; above and tail ashy. Range.—North America; breeds from New Brunswick, rarely mountains of Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and mountains of Colorado and California northward; winters from Maine and British Columbia south to South Carolina and southern California. 130. Red-breasted Merganser (Merganser serrator). L. 22; B. from nostril, 1.8; nostril nearer to eye than to tip of bill. Ad. ♂. Breast with a broad cinnamon band streaked with black; head feathers lengthened. Ad. ♀ and Yng. Crown grayish brown, washed with rusty. Chin and throat paler; rest of underparts and speculum white: back and tail ashy. Notes. When alarmed, several low, guttural croaks. (Elliot.) Range.—Northern hemisphere; breeds, in America, from New Brunswick and northern Illinois north to Greenland and Alaska; winters from southern breeding limits, south to Cuba and Lower California. 131. Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). L. 17.5. Ad. ♂. A large, circular black and white crest. Ad. ♀ Yng. A small cinnamon crest, head, neck and breast grayish brown; back, blackish; belly white. Notes. "A hoarse croak, like a small edition of that of the Red-breasted Merganser." (Elliot.) Range.—North America from Cuba and Lower California north to Labrador and Alaska; breeds locally throughout its range, chiefly in interior of British America; winters from British Columbia, Illinois, and Massachusetts southward. 132. Mallard (Anas boschas). L. 23. Speculum (patch in wing) purple bordered by black and white; under surface of wing pure white. Ad. ♂. Head green; breast chestnut, a white neck-ring. Ad. ♀. Above blackish and buffy, below rusty buff mottled with dusky grayish brown. Notes. The familiar quack of the barn-yard Duck. Range.—Northern hemisphere; breeds, in America, from Labrador, Indiana, Iowa, and California north to Greenland and Alaska; winters from British Columbia, Kansas, and New Jersey to Central America and West Indies. 143. Pintail (Dafila acuta). L. ♂, 28; ♀, 22. Ad. ♂. Central tail feathers black, 7.5 long, pointed. Ad. ♀. Tail 3.5,; feathers sharply pointed; brownish black, with buff bars; under wing-coverts dusky and buff; back blackish with internal buff loops. Notes. A loud quack, less sonorous than that of the Mallard; a low mellow whistle, and a harsh rolling note. (Nelson.) Range.—Northern hemisphere; breeds, in America, from New Brunswick, Iowa, Illinois, and British Columbia northward; winters from British Columbia, Illinois, and Virginia, south to Central America and West Indies.

133. Black Duck (Anas obscura). L. 22. Ads. Speculum bluish purple tipped with black; no white in wing; lining of wing white and dusky; crown without paler margins; throat, usually, without markings; legs "olivaceous brown," bill "greenish black, dusky olive, or olive-green." Notes. A quack resembling that of the Mallard. Range.—Eastern North America; chiefly east of Mississippi; breeds locally from New Jersey and Illinois north to Labrador and Hudson Bay; winters from Maine to West Indies. 133a. Red-legged Black Duck (A. o. rubripes). Similar to [No. 133] but larger; crown edged with buff or gray; throat spotted; legs red; bill yellow. Range.—Summer range not definitely known, but breeding specimens have been taken in northern Labrador, James Bay, and west shore of Hudson Bay; in winter south to Virginia and Arkansas. 134. Florida Duck (Anas fulvigula). L. 20. Ads. Throat and front of neck plain buff, usually unmarked; speculum sometimes tipped with white; belly rusty buff; broadly streaked with black. Notes. A quack similar to that of [No. 133]. Range.—Florida to coast of Louisiana; resident. 134a. Mottled Duck (A. f. maculosa). Similar to [No. 134], but underparts mottled with black, the markings being rounder. Range.—Eastern Texas; breeds (at least) from Corpus Christi north to Kansas; winters on west Gulf Coast. 135. Gadwall (Chaulelasmus streperus), L. 19.5. Under wing coverts and axillars pure white. Ad. ♂. Wing-coverts chestnut; breast ringed with white. Ad. ♀. Head and throat as in ♂, back fuscous and buffy; breast and sides ochraceous thickly spotted with blackish; speculum ashy gray and white. Notes. A quack like that of the Mallard but shriller and more often repeated. Range.—Northern hemisphere; in America, breeds in the interior from Kansas and California north to Manitoba and Assiniboia; winters from Maryland to Florida, rare in northeastern Atlantic States. 136. Widgeon (Mareca penelope). L. 18.5. Ad. ♂. Head and neck reddish brown; crown buff; sides with wavy black and white lines. Ad. ♀. Head and throat rusty, finely streaked and barred with black; breast and sides rusty; speculum blackish. Notes. Of male, a shrill, whistling whee-you; of female, a low, purring growl. (Saunders.) Range.—Northern hemisphere; breeds in America, only in the Aleutian Islands; casual in migrations and in winter in California and on Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Greenland. 137. Baldpate (Mareca americana). L. 19. No rusty on head. Ad. ♂. Under tail-coverts black; streak from eye to nape glossy green. Ad. ♀. Head and throat whitish finely marked with black; breast and sides rusty washed with grayish. Notes. "A low, soft whistle." (Elliot.) Range.—North America; breeds in the interior from Minnesota and British Columbia north to Alaska; winters from British Columbia and Virginia south to South America; only a migrant on northeast Atlantic coast to Labrador.

139. Green-winged Teal (Nettion carolinensis). L. 14.5. Wing-coverts gray, tipped with buff or white. Ad. ♂. A white crescent in front of wing; speculum (wing-patch) green bordered by black tipped with white. Ad. ♀. Wings as in ♂; throat and sides of neck white, finely spotted with black; breast and sides washed with rusty, marked with black. Notes. A "peculiar chirping almost a twittering" as they fly. (Seton.) Range.—North America; breeds from New Brunswick, Minnesota, and British Columbia north to Greenland and Alaska; winters from Virginia, Kansas, and British Columbia south to Central America and West Indies. 140. Blue-winged Teal (Querquedula discors). Wing-coverts blue. Ad. ♂. Cheek patch white. Ad. ♀. Resembles ♀ of [No. 139], but wing-coverts blue; speculum greenish brown not distinctly tipped with white. L. 16. Range.—North America; chiefly east of Rockies; breeds from New Brunswick, Kansas, southern Illinois and northern Ohio, north to Alaska, mainly in interior; winters from Virginia and Lower Mississippi Valley to northern South America, California, and Lower California. 141. Cinnamon Teal (Querquedula cyanoptera). Ad. ♂. Head and neck, breast and sides reddish brown. Ad. ♀. Resembles ♀ of [No. 140], but the underparts, including throat, are usually suffused with rusty; the throat often being blackish or speckled with dusky. Notes. A rather thin, nasal quack. L. 16. Range.—Western North America from British Columbia south to South America, east to Rockies and south Texas; rarely to Florida. 142. Shoveller (Spatula clypeata). L. 20. Bill much broader at tip than at base. Ad. ♂. Belly chestnut; breast around to back white. Ad. ♀. Wing-coverts blue; back conspicuously margined with buff. Notes. "Occasionally a few feeble quacks." (Elliot.) Range.—Northern hemisphere; in America chiefly in interior; breeds locally from Texas, and regularly from Minnesota and British Columbia north to Alaska and Barren Grounds; winters from British Columbia, Illinois, and Maryland south to northern South America. 144. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa). L. 18.5. Ad. ♂. Head crested; green, blue, and purple with white stripes. Ad. ♀. A white streak through and behind eye; crown glossy purplish brown; back olive-brown glossed with greenish. Notes. A frightened, plaintive, oo-eek. Range.—North America; breeds locally from Florida to Labrador and British Columbia, winters from British Columbia, southern Illinois, and southern New Jersey, south to southern California and Cuba.