Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast Part 8

=Measurements=--Wing, about 9-1/2; bill, 1-3/4 inches.

Order, ANSERES

Family, ANATIDAE Subfamily, ANATINAE

(Fresh water ducks)

Genus Species Common Names Breeding Grounds and Range.

{boschas Mallard {Throughout the scope of { {this work. Breeds wherever { {found.

{ {strepera Gadwall {From Central California { {south. Breeds wherever { {found.

{ { {From British America south.

{ {Breeds on the mountain {americana Widgeon Baldpate {lakes from California Anas { {south.

{ { {From British America south.

{carolinensis Green-winged teal {Breeds throughout its range.

{ { {From Central California {cyanoptera Cinnamon teal {south. Breeds from Central { {California to Central Mexico.

{ { {discors Blue-winged teal {From Arizona south into { {Mexico. Breeds throughout { {its range.

Spatula clypeata {Shoveller or {From British America south.

{Spoon-bill {Breeds on the mountain {lakes from Mexico north.

Dafila acuta {Pin-tail or {From British America south.

{Sprig {Breeds from Central {California north.

{Along the wooded streams {from Central California Aix sponsa Wood duck {north. Breeds wherever {found.

THE BAY and SEA DUCKS

As I have already stated the ducks are divided into two subfamilies, the one the =Anatinae=, commonly called fresh-water ducks, the other the =Fuligulinae=, commonly known as the salt-water ducks. A distinguis.h.i.+ng feature of the salt-water ducks is the little flap or web on the hind toe, which is not seen in the fresh-water varieties.

On our shooting grounds, however, whether the blind is on the salt-water marsh or the fresh-water pond, both kinds are sure to fall to the gun in almost equal numbers. Of the more common of the fresh-water varieties the gadwall and the mallard are seen the least on the salt marshes and the tide overflows, yet even these are quite often met with in these places. So it is with the salt-water species.

All except the scoters are frequenters of the mountain lakes, fresh-water ponds and overflows. The red-head, both species of the scaups, the canvasback and the ruddy are commonly found on the fresh-waters. The ring-neck, and, in fact, the red-head are much more common on these waters than on the salt or brackish marshes.

With the exception, therefore, that certain species always predominate at a given place at certain times of the season, the sportsman's aim brings down a well-a.s.sorted bag, let him shoot where he may, on marsh, pond or overflow, from Was.h.i.+ngton to Mexico.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CANVASBACK (Aythya vallisnaria)]

THE CANVASBACK

(Aythya vallisneria)

The canvasback, the duck par excellence of the Eastern states, is very plentiful in the more northern portions of the territorial scope of these articles, though I have seen them in good numbers on the lakes of Mexico. It is the general supposition that the canvasback breeds in the far north, but from the fact that they are found on the lakes of Mexico as early as October, they must also breed on the higher lakes of our mountains. On our lower marshes they are a late duck, but they appear on our mountain lakes quite early in the season. Canvasback shooting on our waters affords the finest of sport, as it does not partake so much of flock shooting as it does on the Chesapeake and the Delaware rivers. While I certainly prefer our shooting, by no means do I prefer our ducks. When killed on the mountain lakes, our canvasback possesses nearly if not quite as fine flavor as do those of the Eastern states, but when killed on the bays and salt marshes of California they are fishy and barely palatable. This is caused by the absence of the so-called wild celery, properly tape gra.s.s (=Vallisneria spiralis=), the common food of the Eastern canvasback.

Our birds have the habit of feeding largely on the shallow waters of the tide lands and marshes and of consuming large quant.i.ties of crustaceans, such as clams, crabs, mussels and the like, and it takes but a few days' diet of this kind to make the canvasback about the poorest of ducks. I have killed these ducks on the high lakes and ponds of Mexico, when, on account of something they fed upon, they were really unfit to eat.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, nearly black; back, light gray; bill, black, and forming nearly a straight line from the tip to the crown of the head; belly and flanks, nearly white.

Female--Head and neck, cinnamon brown, paler on the throat; back, dark gray.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest of the canvasback is generally found on some little knoll in the marsh, and is lined with dead gra.s.s and feathers, and often with considerable down. The eggs, which are about ten in number, are of a dark creamy white.

=Measurements=--Total length, from 18 to 22 inches; the more northern birds within the territory here covered will always be found considerably larger than those of the more southern lat.i.tudes. Wing, 8 to 9-1/2 inches, and bill about 2-1/2 inches.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RED-HEAD (Aythya americana)]

THE RED-HEAD

(Aythya americana)

The red-head is quite a common duck in the southern sections of the Coast hunting grounds. Though purely a bay or salt-water duck, that is, belonging to the subfamily =Fuligulinae=, it is not found to any great extent on the salt-water marshes, preferring the higher lakes, ponds and reservoirs of the mountain valleys and foothills. I found them one season in great numbers on the San Rafael marshes, high up in the mountains of Lower California, and all the shooting two friends and myself wished to do had no effect in driving them away, although the ponds of the marsh were few and small.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, reddish chestnut; lower neck and upper breast, sooty brown, a mixture of finely penciled lines of gray and brown; speculum, gray; back, gray; feathers on the top of the head almost form a crest; bill, lead color.

Female--Head and neck, light cinnamon brown, very pale on the sides of the head near the bill, and throat nearly white; breast and shoulders, dirty light brown, and back a darker dirty brown.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest, like that of the canvasback, is generally built in the marsh or on the low banks of a lake, usually lined with down and contains about ten eggs of a brownish buff color.

=Measurements=--Total length, about 20 inches; wing, 8-1/4 to 8-1/2; bill barely 2-1/4 inches.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AMERICAN SCAUP DUCK OR BLUE-BILL (Aythya marila neartica)]

THE AMERICAN SCAUP, OR BLUE-BILL

(Aythya marila neartica)

The American scaup, or blue-bill, the lesser scaup (=Aythya affinis=) and the ring-neck (=Aythya collaris=) are very plentiful from Was.h.i.+ngton to Mexico. These three species are generally grouped together by the sportsmen of the Coast under the name of black jacks, black ducks, black-heads or blue-bills; all three species being considered as belonging to the one variety, and the lesser scaup (=Aythya affinis=) as the younger birds. With the males, at least, there should be no excuse for this error, for they can be easily distinguished by the color of the speculum, or bright band on the wings, and by the color of the metallic sheen of the head and neck.

The speculum of the American scaup, or larger blue-bill, is white, the head and neck showing a greenish sheen, quite p.r.o.nounced in the sunlight. The lesser scaup, or little blue-bill (=Aythya affinis=) has a white speculum also, but the sheen of the head and neck is purple.

The ring-neck (=Aythya collaris=), has a gray speculum, which, though quite light in color, can easily be distinguished from the pure white of the other two. The metallic sheen of the head of the ring-neck is a dark indigo blue. The bill of the ring-neck is quite different from that of the scaups, being much darker in color and more of a sooty tinge and with a faint bluish band across it about half an inch from the end. The females of all three species resemble each other very closely, but the difference in size will generally determine to which species they belong. The two blue-bills can be told from the female ring-neck by their white speculums. The female ring-neck has the gray of the male, but this does not distinguish it from the female red-head. The smaller size of the ring-neck and darker appearance of the head and neck will always indicate to which species the female belongs. The bill of the female red-head meets the skull in quite an abrupt manner, while hat of the ring-neck has more of the sloping character of the canvasback.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, black, showing a green l.u.s.ter in the sun; back, gray, finely lined with black; under parts, white; speculum, white.

Female--Head, dead brown, with a light gray patch at the base of the bill blending into the brown of the head; breast and back, dirty brown; under parts, white; speculum, white; bill, bluish.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is a crude affair near the water's edge, containing about ten pale olive-buff eggs.

=Measurements=--Total length, about 18 inches; wing, 8-1/2, and bill, 1 7/8 inches. The females are but a trifle smaller.