. American bird magazine, ornithology. Birds. 248 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. the bill and the eye. The underparts, secondaries, coverts and centers of the scapulars are white, the rest of the upperparts being black. Fe- male.—Head brown without any white patch, underparts and speculum white, the breast being gray and the back slaty. NEST AND EGGS. These beautiful birds breed northward from the United States to the limit of trees. Like the Wood Duck they make their homes in the hollow cavities of trees or in case of the absence of these, in cavities under boulders. The bottom of the cavity is lined
. American bird magazine, ornithology. Birds. 248 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. the bill and the eye. The underparts, secondaries, coverts and centers of the scapulars are white, the rest of the upperparts being black. Fe- male.—Head brown without any white patch, underparts and speculum white, the breast being gray and the back slaty. NEST AND EGGS. These beautiful birds breed northward from the United States to the limit of trees. Like the Wood Duck they make their homes in the hollow cavities of trees or in case of the absence of these, in cavities under boulders. The bottom of the cavity is lined with leaves, grass and down from the breast of the female. Their six to ten ashy green eggs are laid during the latter part of May or in HABITS. These ducks are familiarly known to all gunners and also to many others as Whistlers, a name given them because of the whistling sound made by their wings when in flight. They are also frequently called Great-heads because of the puffy appearance of the short crest. Dur- ing the summer they are found chiefly about fresh water rivers or lakes where they nest in hollow trees growing near the banks. Their nests are found at all elevations from the ground, sometimes not more than a foot and again they may be twenty or thirty feet up. Frequently the opening is so small that it would appear impossible for so large a bird to squeeze through it, but they appear to do so with the greatest of ease. The young, like those of the Wood Duck, are obliged to flutter and scramble down the tree trunk as best they may, when it comes time for them to leave their nursery, the mother bird, in the mean- while encouraging them by guttural croakings from the ground be- neath. When they have all made the descent in safety, she leads them to the waters edge where they swim and play as though water had al- ways been their natural element. In the fall they start on the journey to the south, travelling in small flocks and resting in fresh water lakes, pond
Size: 1760px × 1419px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1903
