Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast Part 10

=Color=--Male--Head, greenish purple, with a strong metallic l.u.s.ter; white patch running from the eye to the back of the head; feathers of the head long, forming a crest; back, black; under parts white and a broad white patch on the wing.

Female--The female is a very modestly colored bird to have so gaudy a mate. Head and upper parts, a dark, dead brown; under parts, white; speculum, white; a small, elongated white spot on the side of the head.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is usually built on some elevation such as a stump or log; some times in a tree. The eggs, numbering eight to ten, are of a pale buff color.

=Measurements=--Total length, 11 to 12-1/2 inches; wing, about 6, and bill, 1 inch.

THE OLD SQUAW, OR LONG-TAILED DUCK

(Clangula hyemalis)

The old squaw, or long-tailed duck, comes but little into California, though a few are killed each year in Was.h.i.+ngton and Oregon. I killed one several years ago as far south as Los Angeles county, California, the only one I have ever known to get that far away from his northern home.

=Color=--Male--As the winter plumage is the only garb that one of this species will be seen in on these hunting grounds, I will only mention it. Head, white, with a patch of brownish black on the side of the head and side of the neck; breast, black, continuing over the back; belly, white; wings, white; a band of yellow across the bill; central tail feathers, black and very long.

Female--Head, white, with a dark patch on the top and on the side; breast and back, smoky black; under parts, white; no long feathers in the tail.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HARLEQUIN DUCK (Histrionicus histrionicus)]

THE HARLEQUIN DUCK

(Histrionicus histrionicus)

The harlequin duck is a northern bird that comes but little into the United States on either coast. A few stragglers are met with in Oregon and Was.h.i.+ngton, and an occasional one is killed in California. These and the old squaw add a pleasing variety to our mounted collections, but nothing to our sport.

=Color=--The accompanying ill.u.s.tration is the best description of this duck that can be given, as the colors are white and a brownish black.

It is about the size of the widgeon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHITE-WINGED SCOTER (Oidemia deglandi)]

THE SCOTERS

(Oidemia deglandi--Oidemia americana)

The scoters, or coots, as they are called on the Atlantic coast, are all found on this coast southward to Mexico. Of these the white-winged scoter (=Oidemia deglandi=) is the most common, being found in large numbers on all the bays and inlets of the coast as far south as the Magdalena bay, Lower California.

Order, ANSERES

Family, ANATIDAE Subfamily, FULIGULINAE.

(Bay and sea ducks)

Genus Species Common Names Range and Breeding Grounds ------------ ------------ ---------------- ----------------------------

{From Northern Mexico north.

{vallisneria Canvasback {Breeds on the higher lakes { {from Eastern Oregon to the { {Arctic.

{ { {From Central Mexico north.

{americana Red-head {Breeds on the interior lakes { {from Eastern Oregon north.

{ { {American scaup {From Central California {neartica {Blue-bill {north. Breeds on the Aythya { {Black-jack {interior lakes from { {Was.h.i.+ngton north.

{ { {Lesser scaup {From northern Mexico north.

{affinis {Blue-bill {Breeds on the interior lakes { {Black-jack {from Was.h.i.+ngton north to the { {Arctic.

{ { {From Central California north.

{collaris {Ring-neck {More common on fresh waters.

{ {Black-jack {Breeds on the interior lakes { {from Oregon to the Arctic.

{americana American {Rare south of Oregon. Breeds { golden-eye {from northern Was.h.i.+ngton { {north.

{ Glaucionetta { {Very rare south of Puget {islandica Barrows {Sound. Found only along the golden-eye {coast. Breed on the {Aleutian Islands and Alaska {coast.

{From Central Mexican coast Charitonetta albeola {Buffle-head {north. Breeds along the {b.u.t.ter-ball {coast from Was.h.i.+ngton north.

{From Central Mexico north.

Erismatura rubida {Ruddy duck {Breeds on the mountain lakes {Wire-tail {throughout its range.

{From the Lower California {americana {Americas scoter {coast north. Breeds on the { {Black coot {Aleutian Islands and the { {Alaska coast.

Oidemia { {deglandi {White-winged {From the Lower California {scoter {coast north. Breeds on the {White-winged {Aleutian Islands and the {coot {Alaska coast.

THE GEESE OF THE PACIFIC COAST

The hunting grounds of the Pacific Coast have a greater variety of geese than any other section of America. Here are to be found every species known to the Eastern states, except the barnacle brant of the Atlantic. But in return for the absence of this species of sea brant we have the black sea brant, the white-cheeked goose, the ross goose, the emperor goose (none of which are found east of the Rocky Mountains) and the hutchins goose, the lesser snow goose, the white-fronted goose and the little brown brant, which are only stragglers east of the Mississippi valley, and only sparingly seen that far east. Thus it will be seen that within the Pacific Coast hunting grounds there are four genera and nine species of the goose family. All of these are found in the northern parts of these hunting grounds, but only about one-half of them visit the southern parts.

Increased areas of cultivation, the drainage of vast sections of marshy lands and the absence of laws for their protection have greatly reduced the once wonderful supply.

Acres of geese sounds fabulous, yet miles of geese is the only expression which conveys an adequate idea of the wonderful numbers in which these birds were seen on the Coast half a century ago. The great majority of the geese of the Coast at that time were of the white varieties, and it is a veritable fact that in California, and especially in the Sacramento, San Joaquin and Los Angeles valleys, these geese congregated during the winter months in such numbers as to whiten the plains for miles. Many flocks of honkers were mixed with them, as well as some of the other darker varieties. These darker species of the family, however, were far more plentiful in the northern parts of the State than in the southern. That part of the Sacramento valley known as the Maine Prairies has always been a favorite feeding place for the Canada goose and its subspecies.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CANADA GOOSE BROWN BRANT (Branta canadensis) (Branta minima)]

THE CANADA GOOSE, OR HONKER

(Branta canadensis)

The Canada goose, or honker as it is commonly called, was and is quite common on the Coast. This goose, the largest of the Americans, has a wide distribution, ranging from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Arctic to Central America. They breed as far south as southern ern Oregon, at any rate, and possibly on the higher mountain lakes as far south as Mexico, for they seem to make their appearance on the Coast shooting grounds of Mexico nearly, if not quite, as early as they do here.

The flesh of the Canada goose is the equal if not the superior of the tame goose. Its flight, except when migrating long distances, is generally low, and in such cases it can be called by the hunter to within shooting distance.

=Color=--Head and neck, black, with a white stripe running from the chin back of the eye to near the top of the head; upper parts, dark brownish gray; breast, dull, light gray, grading into white at the abdomen; tail and wings, black. Both s.e.xes alike.