Birds and all Nature, Vol. IV, No 4, October 1898

<h2><SPAN name="THE_RED-HEAD_DUCK" id="THE_RED-HEAD_DUCK"></SPAN>THE RED-HEAD DUCK.</h2> <p>IN MANY points of structure and habits Sea Ducks, of which this is a specimen, may be distinguished from Fresh Water Ducks by the presence of a lobe or little flap of skin on the lower side of the hind toe. The legs of the former are also placed farther behind, and they are thus better fitted for swimming, though not so well adapted for walking or running on land. The feathers of Sea Ducks are more dense also, and they are all provided with a quantity of thick down next to the skin, which is of no small commercial value.</p> <p>The difference in the habits of the two species is no less striking. The latter dive for their food, which the former never do; they are chiefly maritime in their distribution, although all, or nearly all, retire to fresh water lakes to raise their young.</p> <p>The Red-head is said not to be common along the coast of New England, but in the winter months is found in considerable numbers along the south shore of Long Island. It is extremely abundant south of that point, and particularly so in Chesapeake Bay, where immense numbers are killed each season. Where it is enabled to feed on the well known wild celery its flesh is said to be fully equal in flavor to that of the Canvas Back. Both in spring and fall it is an extremely abundant migrant in the Western States. It generally reaches northern Illinois, says Hallock, in its spring passage about the last of March, remaining until the latter part of April. On its return journey late in October, it remains on the rivers, lakes, and sloughs until the cold weather, by freezing up its feeding grounds, forces it to go farther south. It is altogether probable that a few of these birds breed in the Rocky Mountain regions within the limits of the United States, but they usually continue northward to their regular breeding grounds, which extend from Wisconsin, Michigan, and others of the northern tier of states, to the fur countries.</p> <p>The Red-head was found nesting on the St. Clair Flats, Michigan, by Mr. W. H. Collins, who, in describing some of its breeding habits, says: "I had the good fortune to find two nests of this bird containing respectively seven and eight eggs. The first was placed on some drifted rushes on a sunken log, and was composed of flags and rushes evidently taken from the pile of drift upon the log, as they were short pieces, so short, in fact, that the nest when lifted with the hands fell in pieces. The nest was four inches deep and lined with down from the female. This nest contained seven fresh eggs of a creamy color, varied in measurements and of a uniform oval shape, very little smaller at one end. The other nest was built similar to a Coot's nest; that is, of flags and grass interwoven at the base of a bunch of flags growing in water three or four feet deep. It was built in such a way that the nest would rise and fall with the water."</p> <p>The food of the Red-head consists of mollusks, shell-fish, and the seeds and roots of aquatic plants.</p> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</SPAN></span></p> <table class="sp2 mc w50 p2" title="RED HEADED DUCK." summary="RED HEADED DUCK."> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="3"><span class="ac w100 figcenter"> <SPAN name="i_059.jpg" id="i_059.jpg"> <ANTIMG style="width:100%" src="images/i_059.jpg" width="600" height="457" alt="" /></SPAN></span> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="xx-smaller ac w30">From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.</td> <td class="x-smaller ac w40">RED HEADED DUCK.<br/> &#8531; Life-size.</td> <td class="xx-smaller ac w30">Copyright by<br/> Nature Study Pub. Co., 1898, Chicago.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr class="chap" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</SPAN></span></p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />