Chapter II: Part 2

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is generally a depression on the ground, but often in the hollow of some log. The eggs number from 12 to 18 and are of a dark ochre in color.

=Measurements=--The measurements of a Mongolian pheasant are practically useless on account of the larger portion of it being the tail, which greatly varies in length.

THE PIGEONS AND DOVES

The family =Columbidae= is represented on the Pacific Coast by three genera which are considered, to more or less extent, legitimate game, though they can not be termed game birds in the generally accepted use of the term. Still as they are hunted to a very considerable extent by the sportsmen of the Coast, they rightfully belong in a work of this kind. I shall, therefore, give them a place, and briefly treat each species that is pursued as game within the territory under consideration.

THE WILD PIGEON

(Columba faciata)

The wild, or banded pigeon, is a mountain dweller, found principally in the southern half of the territory covered by this work. They visit the valleys in the fall and winter months to feed on the oak mast, and at such times they are seen in large flocks in the Sacramento, San Joaquin and coast valleys of California. They are found in good numbers in parts of Arizona, and are common along both sides of the Sierra Madres of Mexico. When visiting the valleys they afford good sport, as they are swift flyers and capable of carrying off a good deal of shot. They have no migrations like the passenger pigeon once so plentiful in the eastern states, nor do they congregate in such immense flocks.

=Color=--About the same as the darker colored tame pigeon; the tail is a trifle longer than the tame bird and a little lighter than the rest of the plumage with a dark band across the middle of it; a small patch of white feathers at the back of the head. Both sexes are alike.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is built in the trees of small twigs and grass. Two eggs are layed at a time, and a pair of young birds are produced about every six weeks from April to August.

=Measurements=--A trifle more than the tame pigeon.

THE MOURNING DOVE

(Zenaidura macroura)

The mourning dove is a cosmopolitan species found in greater or less numbers in all sections. They have a slight migratory movement from the higher to the lower altitudes, but they cannot be called a migratory bird. A large number of these birds begin their nesting season in the mountains at altitudes of from 2000 to 4000 feet, raising one brood at that height, then moving down and nesting again, and moving again until they reach the lower valleys, where they remain all winter, congregating in certain places in flocks of hundreds. Many, however, remain in the valleys all the year and nest around the fields and along the streams.

The mourning dove is so well known in every country that a description of it is unnecessary.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is generally built in the small trees and lined with any soft article that they can find. The eggs number two and a pair of the young birds are hatched about every six weeks from May to September.

THE WHITE-WINGED DOVE

(Melopelia leucoptera)

The white-winged dove is nearly one-half larger than the common mourning dove. They range from Mexico through southern Arizona to the Colorado desert in southeastern California. In some parts of Arizona and in Mexico they are found in large numbers, and afford good shooting. Their habits are the same as the common dove, both as to food and nesting, though in parts of Mexico it nests in the pitahaya plants--a species of cactus--of whose fruit it is very fond.

This species can easily be distinguished from any other member of the dove family by the broad patch of white on the wings.

Order, GALLINAE

Family, TETRAONIDAE

Subfamily, TETRAONINAE. (Grouse)

Genus Species Common Names Range
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

{umbellus sabini Oregon ruffed {Western Oregon and Washington
{ grouse {and Northwestern California.
{
Bonasa { {Eastern sides of Cascade
{umbellus togata Canada ruffed {Mountains in Oregon and
{ grouse {Washington, thence East.

{Northeastern California,
Centrocercus urophasianus Sage hen {Nevada and the sage lands
{of Oregon and Washington.

{Western slope of the
{franklini Spruce grouse {Cascade Mountains.
{
{ {Northeastern Arizona and
Dendragapus {obscurus Dusky grouse {Eastern Nevada.
{
{ {Coast Range and Sierras from
{obscurus Sooty grouse {Southern California to
{ fuliginosus {British Columbia.

{Eastern Oregon and Washington
Pediocaetes phasianellus Sharp-tail {and a few in Northeastern
columbianus grouse {California.

THE GROUSE

Within the territorial scope of this work there are seven species of the grouse family, though only four of these are in any way common. As the wild turkey is confined to the southern extremity of the Pacific Coast hunting grounds, so are the grouse principally found in the northern sections. I have met with a few dusky grouse (=Dendragapus obscurus=) in the mountains of Arizona, but they are by no means plentiful. There were a few and possibly is yet an occasional sooty grouse (=Dendragapus obscurus fuliginosus=) in the mountains of southern California, but grouse in sufficient numbers to furnish any kind of sport are not found much south of Yosemite valley in the Sierras, or south of Humboldt county in the Coast range. An occasional pair or small flock, however, may be met with considerable south of the points named.

The grouse is a northern bird, extending into far colder regions than any other subfamily of the gallinaceous group. The ptarmigan, of course, are grouse.

THE SOOTY GROUSE

(Dendragapus obscurus fuliginosus)

The sooty grouse, commonly called blue grouse by the sportsmen of California, are reasonably plentiful in the Sierras from the Yosemite north into Oregon, where they are quite plentiful, and from there through Washington into Alaska. It is a mountain dweller, being found at altitudes fully 9000 feet above the sea. In the winter it descends to lower latitudes, but seldom below 3000 feet. It is naturally a confiding bird where it has not been hunted much, and for this reason has been given the name, "fool hen," in many localities. But like most of the feathered tribe, it soon learns the destructiveness of man, and after gaining this knowledge it is quite able to take care of itself. When flushed it flies with a cackling sound, generally taking refuge in the tall pines, where it is an expert hider. In the nesting season it produces a drumming sound and struts like a turkey. This drumming is produced by inflating an air sack on each side of the neck. Later in the season these sacks dry up and nearly disappear. It's only migrations are ascending and descending the mountains with the seasons.

According to a published statement of the Section of Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture, the food of the sooty grouse consists of buds, seeds, leaves and insects, of which 68 per cent is leaves, buds and the tender ends of young twigs; 6.73 per cent insects and the balance seeds, berries and the like. The flesh is generally of a fine flavor, though at times it will be found to be tainted a little strongly with the flavor of the pine.

=Color=--Male--Back of head, back of neck and all upper parts, a sooty brown; light streak over the eye and a light throat; breast, a dead or sooty black; the rest of the under parts a slaty gray; tail tipped with gray.

Female--Generally lighter in color but otherwise resembling the male.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is usually nothing more than a depression in the ground among dried leaves or grass, well concealed from view. The eggs, which average about a dozen, are of a cream color, spotted with brown.

=Measurements=--Total length, from 18 to 22 inches; wing, 9 to 9-1/2. The weight will vary from 2-1/2 to 4 pounds.

THE OREGON RUFFED GROUSE

(Bonasa umbellus sabini)

The Oregon ruffed grouse is the handsomest species of the ruffed grouse genus, and is truly a beautiful bird with its deep, rich browns, orange and black. The eastern species of this genus is wrongly known in the north Atlantic states by the name of partridge, and as wrongly called pheasant in Virginia and some other of the southern states. The Pacific Coast species ranges from northern California along the Coast range through Oregon, Washington and far into British Columbia. It is a wary bird, full of cunning and gamy qualities. The male of this genus is, I believe, the only member of the grouse family that drums all the year; all others confining their drumming to the nesting season. This drumming is made with the wings and not by the inflation of an air sack as with other species. The sound, also, is much different, having more of a rolling reverberation. In the spring they will take their position on some rock or dead log and strut back and forth with their heads thrown back and their tails spread out to show the beautiful hues of the feathers and drum for hours to attract the hens or challenge the other males to an almost life and death combat, in which they fight in the same manner as the game cock. They live among the pines, usually near some little opening where they are fond of feeding. When startled they take at once to the timber and are quickly lost to view. For this reason dogs are almost useless in hunting them. They are never found in numbers greater than a single brood, even though the brood may be decimated by the gun of the sportsman or the cunning of the vermin to no more than two or three.

The flesh of the ruffed grouse is white and generally tender and of fine flavor, although in the late fall or winter when its food consists almost wholly of fir buds it tastes quite strong of turpentine. Its food generally is about the same as the sooty grouse and in about the same percentages.

=Color=--Head, light chestnut, the feathers on the top being long and capable of erection when excited; a tuft of long, rich brown feathers will be found on each side of the neck; back, reddish chestnut mottled with black; rump and tail-coverts, more of a cinnamon color blotched with dark brown; flanks, lighter and barred with black; tail, rusty brown barred with deep brown and tipped with two bands of gray, separated by a streak of black; under tail-coverts, orange, barred with black and tipped with white; wing feathers, brown with a central stripe of light yellow.

The female is marked the same but somewhat lighter in coloring.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest, like that of all the gallinaceous birds, is made on the ground and hidden away in some thick cluster of brush or beneath some log. The eggs are of a buff color spotted with dark brown, and number from ten to fifteen.

=Measurements=--Total length from 16 to 19 inches; wing about 7 or 8 inches. Weight about 2 pounds.

THE CANADIAN RUFFED GROUSE

(Bonasa umbellus togata)

The Canadian ruffed grouse ranges through the eastern side of the Cascade mountains of Oregon and Washington, but does not pass over to the Pacific side. It resembles the Oregon ruffed grouse very closely except that it is much lighter in color, and the female either lacks the tufts of feathers on the neck entirely, or where present, they are very small. Like the Oregon species it is a dweller in the heavy timber, and follow the same habits in most all respects. It is of a more confiding nature, however, often sitting unconcerned upon a tree while several of its companions are being shot, making no effort to get away or save itself from the same fate.

=Color=--The color of this species is more of a grayish brown than the Oregon species, and lacking that rich chestnut that adds so much to the beauty of the latter. The brown markings, however, are possibly a little more conspicuous. The upper tail feathers are more of a blue, mottled and barred with a blackish brown. A large tuft of feathers on each side of the neck of a smoky brown, edged with metallic green. Unlike the Oregon species these feathers are entirely absent or very small on the female.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest and eggs are the same as the Oregon grouse.

=Measurements=--In size the two species do not vary to any considerable extent.

THE SPRUCE GROUSE

(Dendragapus franklini)

The spruce or Franklin grouse of Oregon and Washington is a species of the Canadian spruce grouse, and ranges diagonally through the mountains of eastern Oregon and Washington, and thence to the coast of British Columbia. It confines its habitat to the higher mountains, being seldom found below an elevation of four to five thousand feet. This is another of the grouse family that has been given the name of "fool hen," on account of its naturally tame nature. When sitting on the limb of a tree, but a few feet above the ground, it considers itself safe from all harm and makes little effort to escape, and may often be killed with a stick. There is little sport in shooting this variety. The food of this species, like all other mountain dwelling grouse, is buds, tender shoots and seeds, berries and insects when obtainable.

=Color=--Male--Upper parts gray, the central back and the wings having a brownish hue; the tail-coverts, which are tipped with broad splashes of white is a distinguishing feature of this species; feathers, on the flanks tipped broadly with white, throat, black, imperfectly edged with white; tail, nearly square at the end and of a brownish color.

Female--Considerably more of an ochreous cast. It has the same characteristic broad white tips on the feathers of the flanks; tail, dirty ochre, mottled with black and narrowly tipped with white.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is a depression in the ground in some secluded place and lined with leaves or grass. The eggs, averaging about a dozen, are of a reddish buff mottled with brown.

=Measurements=--Total length about 15 inches; wing about 7 inches. Weight from one and a half to two pounds.

THE SAGE HEN

(Centrocercus urophasianus)

The sage grouse, or sage hen is the largest of the grouse of America, some of the males weighing as much as seven pounds. Its range, so far as the geographical scope of this work is concerned, is northeastern California, Nevada, and eastern Oregon and Washington, but it extends much farther east. It is only found in the sage brush districts of the high altitudes. They usually remain in single broods, though they are sometimes found in much larger flocks. They often travel for considerable distances, "following the leader" in single file. They strut in the nesting season, but in a peculiar way, pushing their breasts on the ground until the feathers are worn off and even the skin abraded.

A peculiarity of the sage grouse is that it has no gizzard, but instead it has a stomach more like that of an animal. The young birds lie quite well to a dog and furnish very good sport, and until they are about half grown the flesh is quite good, but the older birds are very unsavory and in fact almost unpalatable. This is caused by their feeding almost entirely upon the leaves of the sage.

=Color=--Male--Upper parts, gray, barred with brown; tail, very long, the longer feathers being quite narrow and stiff and barred also with brown; a dark line over the eye and a light one from the eye down the side of the neck; throat and cheeks, nearly white, mottled with black; a few long hairy like feathers grow from the side of the neck of the male birds.

Female--The female is colored and marked like the male but considerably darker, is much smaller, with shorter tail and without the hairy feathers on the side of the neck.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is nothing more than a hollow in the midst of some bunch of brush, possibly lined with a few leaves. The eggs are from twelve to eighteen in number and of a greenish shade, mottled with bright brown, but these spots are easily rubbed off.

=Measurements=--Male--Total length from 24 to 28 inches; wing, 12 to 14. Weight, from four to seven pounds.

Female--Total length, from 20 to 22 inches; wing, 10 to 12. Weight, from three to five pounds.

COLUMBIAN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE

(Pediocaetes phasianellus columbianus)

The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse is the "prairie chicken" of eastern Washington. It is far different from the pinated grouse (=Tympanuchus=) of the middle states, commonly called prairie chicken. Its habitat is much the same, however, being the open plains and untimbered foothills east of the Cascade mountains in Washington and through eastern Oregon into northern Nevada, and the extreme northeastern corner of California. The sharp-tail grouse has the same habit of strutting in large groups like the prairie chicken at the beginning of the nesting season. They do not drum, however, like the eastern bird, but make a noise more like an attempt to crow. They also take refuge in the timber for protection from the storms of winter.

During the hunting season they lie well to a dog and afford fine shooting. The food of the sharp-tailed grouse consists of about ten per cent insects, the balance being made up of seeds, grains and berries, with a good percentage of "brouse" in the winter.

=Color=--Male--Side of head and throat, pale buff with mottlings of brown on the cheeks; back and wings, gray, mottled with black; breast, light buff. Under parts, white with lines of dark brown; central tail feathers long and pointed; no long feathers on the neck.

Female--Resembles the male with the exception that the tail feathers are not so long.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is a rude affair on the ground, lined with a little dead grass and generally contains from ten to fifteen eggs of a greenish buff speckled with fine dots of brown.

=Measurements=--Total length from 14 to 16 inches, with the wing about eight; the central tail feathers are about five inches in length. The average bird will weigh about two pounds.

Order ANSERES

Family, ANATIDAE

Range. (All
Genus Species Common Names breed far north.)
------------ ------------------ ------------------- -------------------

Subfamily, ANSERENAE

{hyperborea {White goose {From Southern
Chen { {(large) {California north.
{
{rossi {Ross' goose {From Mexico
{Small white goose {north.

Anser albifrons gambeli {White-fronted {From Mexico
{goose {north.
{Gray goose {

{Fulvous tree duck {From Central
Dendrocygna fulva {Mexican tree duck {California south
{Cavalier {through Mexico.
{Breeds from Central
{California to
{Central Mexico.

{canadensis {Canada goose {From central
{ {Honker {Mexico north.
{
{canadensis Hutchins' goose From Southern
{hutchinsii California north.
{
{canadensis White-cheeked {Inland plains from
Branta {occidentalis goose {Central California
{ {north.
{
{canadensis {Black brant {From Southern
{minima {Cackling goose {California north.
{
{nigricans Black sea brant {On certain bays
{from Magdalena,
{Lower California
{north.

Philacte canagica Emperor goose {A rare visitor
{south of Humboldt
{Bay, California

Subfamily, CYGNINAE

{columbianus Whistling swan {From Oregon north.
Olor { {Rarely as far
{ {south as Central
{ {California.
{
{buccinator Trumpeter swan From Southern
{ California north.

THE WATERFOWL

The great variety of the waterfowl of the Pacific Coast, the wonderful numbers in which they are found and the excellent shooting they afford, forms a subject, which, to do it justice, would require the space of an ordinary volume.

With the exception of the Gulf tier of the Southern states, waterfowl on the Atlantic Coast are but birds of passage, tarrying for a time on their way to milder winter quarters; tourists loitering for a day or two at attractive by-stations as they wing their way south in the fall and again on their return north in the spring. They are leaving the isolation of the far north or the mountain lakes and marshes where they spent the summer rearing their young and they are seeking more favorable feeding grounds in the milder climate of the South, where animal and vegetable life is not in the state of hibernation which prevents it from furnishing them with an abundance of food during their southern sojourn.

Over the larger portion of our hunting grounds what is the beginning of the calendar year is in fact the beginning of our spring. When the frost king lays his hand upon all vegetable and insect life in the East, spreading his white shroud over field and pasture and breaking with his icy sleet from the vine and the brush their clinging leaves; when from the trees have fallen the last vestige of their autumnal crowns of gold and crimson; when the last flower has shed its petals; when the last hum of insect is heard and the last song of bird has died away on the southern horizon--'tis then the early rains of the Coast start the new sown grain in the fields, give life again to the grasses of the plains, carpet the foothills and the valleys with the gold and purple and crimson of innumerable flowers, and our veritable spring commences.

With us, therefore, waterfowl are not passing pilgrims, tarrying for a few days only as they rest and feed on their way to the open waters and green pastures in which they intend to pass those months marked winter on the calendar of the year. They are not mere hurrying flocks alighting now and again as they wing their way back to their breeding grounds in the spring But ours is the Mecca to which they journey; ours the feeding grounds on which they assemble from the lakes and marshes of the Arctic; from the whole chain of the Aleutian Islands; from the inland seas of British Columbia and from the mountain lakes of our own Sierras from Washington to Mexico. Here on the bays, estuaries and marshes of the coast and the lakes and ponds of the valleys, throughout the whole length of these hunting grounds, countless millions of these birds have found their winter feeding grounds for unnumbered ages. No cold, no ice, no snow, no howling blizzards to stop them in their search for food or disturb their midday rest upon our quiet waters. In warmth they feed upon the tender shoots of the young grasses that fringe their watery haunts or bask in sunshine on the sandy shores.

It is the popular impression that all ducks breed in the far north and migrate from there south. One has only to shoot on the lakes of Mexico to learn how erroneous this impression is, for one will meet varieties quite common there that rarely if ever reach the southern boundaries of the United States.

The masked duck (=Nomonyx dominicus=) is a purely southern species reaching Mexico only in its breeding season. The three species of the Mexican tree duck, quite common in that country, come but little into the United States. One of these, the black-bellied tree duck (=Dendrocygna autumnalis=) migrates to some little extent into Texas and to less extent into New Mexico and Arizona. The fulvous tree duck (=Dendrocygna fulva=) extends its migrations still farther north, breeding to considerable extent in Arizona and southern California, but rarely seen as far north as the center of the state. The other species of the genus (=Dendrocygna elegans=), for which I know no English name, is even rare as far south as southern Jalisco. The cinnamon teal is a southern duck, breeding in Arizona, Texas and southern California but so rarely seen north of San Francisco that a gentleman who had killed a straggler near Marysville, when showing it to me, said that he couldn't find a man in the town who could tell him what it was. Yet the cinnamon teal is very common in Mexico and Arizona and quite plentiful in southern California in the spring, before the flocks break up and the birds seek their nesting places.

Northern bred ducks and purely northern species visit us in great numbers during the winter months, and to these must be added the vast number of these birds that breed in the mountains throughout our hunting grounds.

The ornithologist divides the ducks into two subfamilies; the fresh-water ducks forming the subfamily, =Anatinae=, and the salt-water ducks the subfamily, =Fullgilinae=. These two families can easily be distinguished by their feet. If a salt-water duck, the hind toe will be found to have a small web or flap on the under side, but if the bird belongs to the fresh-water group, the toe will be as clean as any land bird.

THE MALLARD

(Anas boschas)

The mallard is possibly the best known duck in America, it being found in greater or less numbers everywhere from the Arctic to Central America. It is a resident species throughout the Pacific Coast, breeding on the mountain lakes and streams from Mexico to Alaska, and even to a considerable extent on the lower marshes of California, Oregon and Washington. On the fresh water ponds and overflows they congregate in great numbers during the winter months and a bag limit of twenty is no uncommon thing. Like all of the fresh-water ducks of this Coast, they, too, are often found in considerable numbers on the tide lands and salt marshes.

The mallard of the Pacific Coast can hardly be said to be a migratory duck, for it breeds from Mexico north. Its migrations consisting more of altitudinal movements than of longitudinal. While it breeds on the mountain lakes of Mexico, it is rarely seen in the higher altitudes during the winter months.

Hybrids between the mallard and the pin-tail and the mallard and the widgeon have been occasionally met with on the marshes of the Coast. This is most likely caused by the mating of cripples that had not the strength to make the flight to their usual breeding grounds.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, dark green with a metallic luster; white ring around the neck at the bottom of the green; back, gray; breast, chestnut brown; under parts dirty white; tail, black with two feathers curled upwards; speculum, (see diagram) purple, bordered with black and white.

Female--Head, dark buff; breast, lighter buff with brown mottlings; legs, orange colored; speculum same as the male; bill, yellow, blotched with brown.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is placed on the ground and lined with grass, feathers and down. The eggs number eight to a dozen and are of a greenish tinge.

=Measurements=--Male--Total length, from 20 to 25 inches; wing, 10 to 12 inches; bill, 2-1/2 inches.

Female--Total length, from 18 to 20 inches; wing, 9 to 10 inches; bill, 2 to 2-1/4 inches.

THE GADWALL

(Anas strepera)

The gadwall was at one time quite plentiful on the shooting grounds of California, south of San Francisco; but, on account of our season opening later and closing earlier than in years past, few are killed now. The gadwall is really a southern duck, coming into the United States to breed. When the California season opened on the first of September and closed the first of April, there were plenty of gadwall found on its ponds in the early fall and late in the spring. Now, but few are killed except in the southern part of the state. Such as are killed are generally found on the mountain lakes and ponds of the higher valleys. On the waters of Mexico and Lower California, however, they are met with in good numbers.

The gadwall, however, migrates as far north as British Columbia for breeding purposes as well as breeding on the mountain lakes of all the territory through which it ranges.

=Color=--Male--Head, light brown, finely mottled with dark brown and black; neck and breast, finely streaked with wavy black and white; under parts, grayish white; rump and tail, black; speculum, black and white, with the lesser wing-coverts chestnut; feet, orange, and bill nearly white.

Female--Closely resembling the male but with very little chestnut on the wings.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest which is usually made a little way back from the water is lined with dead grass, and contains from ten to twelve eggs of a light buff color.

=Measurements=--Total length, about 19 inches; wing, 10, and bill, 1.60.

THE WIDGEON

(Anas Americana)

The widgeon is one of the most common ducks of the Coast, both north and south. As well as being one of the most plentiful of the interior lakes and ponds, they are found in great numbers on the salt marshes and tide overflows, and even form great dark patches on the ocean as they take their midday rest on its bosom a mile or so beyond the surf. They breed on the mountain lakes and streams all along the Coast from Mexico north.

The widgeon begins its migrations early in the fall and great numbers find their way as far south as the Coast marshes and lower lakes of Mexico. They feed largely on the plains and frequent the fields in search of grain. In migrating or flying from pond to pond they usually go in quite large flocks.

=Color=--Male--Head, pinkish white on top, with a greenish streak from the eye back to the ociput; below this the head and neck are speckled with black and white; back and wing-coverts, gray with fine markings of black; breast, a light brick red with a purplish cast; speculum, black and green. Axillars, white with dark shafts.

Female--The female resembles the male in all but the green on the head and the reddish color of the breast.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is generally built in some tuft of grass or thick weeds near some water's edge. The eggs average about a dozen and are of very light brownish white.

=Measurements=--Total length, 18 inches; wing 9-1/2, and bill, 1-1/2.

GREEN-WINGED TEAL

(Anas carolinensis)

The green-winged teal is another variety that is very plentiful on the Coast, breeding in great numbers on our mountain lakes and along the streams from Mexico to Alaska, and even to considerable extent on the lower marshes, especially from central California north. While many of these are killed on the salt marshes and tide lands, they are more generally frequenters of the inland ponds and overflows. Nesting late and maturing early, they are both a late and early duck on our shooting grounds, and remain constantly with us during the whole winter. Shooting on a pass over which the teal are flying from one pond to another furnishes about the finest sport of the duck shooter's life. In such cases they come in small flocks, and single birds must be selected; being a small mark and very rapid flyers they require a good lead and quick work. In fact, a brace of green-winged teal with a pressing engagement at the next pond makes about as pretty a target as the sportsman often fires at.

The green-winged teal, like the widgeon, feeds a great deal on the plains and in the fields.

=Color=--Male--Top of head and neck, brown of a chestnut tinge, the feathers forming almost a crest; a broad stripe of green runs back from the eye to the neck; back and sides, mottled gray; breast, buff, shaded to white on the abdomen and spotted with black; speculum, green.

Female--The top of the head of the female is a rusty brown, and with a very faint stripe on the sides; upper parts, gray, spotted with black; speculum, green.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest of the green-winged teal is generally a little more carefully made than most of the ground nesting ducks. The eggs average about ten and are of a light brownish buff.

=Measurements=--The green-winged teal is the smallest of the fresh-water ducks. Total length, about 14 inches; wing, 7-1/4; bill, 1-1/4 inches.

THE CINNAMON TEAL

(Anas cyanoptera)

The cinnamon teal, very commonly called the blue-winged teal by the sportsmen of the Coast, is only a late fall and early spring bird on our shooting grounds north of Lower California and Mexico. While the cinnamon teal has a blue wing there is no resemblance between the male cinnamon and the male blue-winged. The females of the two species, however, have a marked resemblance in color but a wide difference in shape of body. The female cinnamon teal is much darker on the throat than the blue-winged female, and generally shows a considerable of the cinnamon color of the male. The male of the blue-winged teal partakes more of the grayish color of the green-winged variety and has a white crescent in front of the eye. The northern limit of the cinnamon teal is about the latitude of San Francisco so far as their appearance on our shooting grounds is concerned. A few, however, go farther north for breeding purposes. They are quite common in the southern part of California, where they come to breed. They winter in Mexico, Lower California and Arizona in great numbers. They nest on the mountain lakes and along the mountain streams of California and even as far north as Oregon. In southern California they nest along the salt-water marshes, especially those of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

=Color=--Male--The male bird cannot well be mistaken for that of any other species. The general color being a dark cinnamon, or in fact much nearer a chestnut in color; the head being somewhat darker than the rest of the bird; the upper wing-coverts being blue, form a large patch of blue at the shoulders when the wing is at rest; the speculum, like that of all the teal is green.

Female--The female resembles the female of the blue-winged teal, but is a little larger with a longer and slimmer body; the chin is dusky and the throat is speckled; the breast also has a slight tinge of the cinnamon color of the male.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nests are built generally in long grass patches of the low grounds bordering the streams and lakes and even the salt marshes. The eggs which average about a dozen are of a peculiar light creamy color with a faint bluish tinge.

=Measurements=--Total length, 16 inches; wing, 7-1/2; bill, 1-3/4.

THE BLUE-WINGED TEAL

(Anas discors)

The blue-winged teal is only a straggler north of Lower California, Arizona and Mexico. In Mexico and Lower California I know them to be quite common, and reasonably plentiful in some parts of Arizona.

The blue-winged teal is a plumper bird than either of the other species, and not near so handsomely marked. It is a rapid flyer and affords good shooting in those sections where it is plentiful.

=Color=--Male--Head, a glossy purplish gray, darker on top; between the eye and the bill is a white crescent-shaped mark about one-fourth wider in its center than the eye; the wing-coverts are blue like those of the cinnamon teal; back, dark gray; under parts, gray, spotted with black; speculum, rich green; bill, black, and legs and feet, yellow.

Female--The female resembles the female of the cinnamon teal; but unlike the cinnamon it has no dark markings under the chin, or any of the cinnamon color faintly seen on the cinnamon female. The bill also is much shorter, and the legs are of a yellowish tinge.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nests are much the same as the other members of the teal family. The eggs about a dozen in number are pale buff.

=Measurements=--Total length, 15 inches; wing, about 7, and bill, 1-1/2 inches.

THE SPOON-BILL OR SHOVELLER

(Spatula clypeata)

The shoveler, or spoonbill, as they are commonly called, is also an early duck upon our ponds; they, too, breed throughout the mountains of our hunting grounds. When they first arrive on our ponds they are very fat and finely flavored, but they soon become poor of flesh and lose the flavor brought with them from their mountain homes. And then they are generally let pass undisturbed by the discriminating sportsman.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, green; breast, white, shading into rusty chestnut toward the abdomen; lesser wing-coverts, blue; speculum, green, with white border; legs, orange red.

Female--The female is much smaller than the male and lacks all its high coloring. The general color is buff, mottled with brown; wing-coverts and speculum, same as the male.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest, which is a rude affair, generally contains from seven to ten eggs of a light buff color.

=Measurements=--Total length of the male, about 20 and the female, 18 inches; wing, 9 to 9-1/2; bill, about 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 inches, and very broad at the end.

THE PIN-TAIL

(Dafila acuta)

The pin-tail, or sprig is another very common duck of the Coast. Great numbers of this species breed on our mountain lakes and, maturing early, they are about the first to appear upon our shooting grounds, great flocks reaching as far south as San Diego county, the mouth of the Colorado river and the lakes and marshes of Lower California, Arizona and northern Mexico as early as the middle of August or the first of September. They come from the mountains plump and fat, and as soon as the shooting season is open prove quite acceptable to the epicure.

The pin-tail ranges throughout the territory covered by this work and far to the north of it, and the fact that they breed around the mountain lakes for the whole distance accounts for their early appearance on the shooting grounds of the Coast.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, rich brown, with a white stripe running from the ociput down the sides of the neck to the breast; bill, lead color, with a black stripe along the top; back, gray; breast, white; central tail feathers, very long and pointed; speculum, light smoky brown, edged with white.

Female--The female is much more of an ocher brown than the male, and without the stripe on the neck or the lead color of the bill. The top of the head and the sides of the neck are streaked with brown; breast, spotted with dark brown; under parts, white. While it somewhat resembles the female mallard, the much narrower bill and difference of the speculum should prevent any error in identification. Besides the tail is pointed and the axillars are white, barred with dark brown.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is usually back a little distance from the water's edge and contains from eight to twelve bluish-white eggs.

=Measurements=--Total length, male, 28 and female, 22 inches; wing, 9-1/2; bill, 2 inches.

THE WOOD DUCK

(Aix sponsa)

The wood duck, the handsomest of all the American ducks, is not plentiful anywhere, and seems to be growing fewer in numbers. Ornithologists class them as resident ducks, breeding throughout their range. From my personal experience I believe that they are migratory, at least to a considerable extent, for while many flocks of from half a dozen to twenty birds can be seen along the timbered portions of the Sacramento river during the summer months and the early fall, as well as along other wooded streams of the Coast, few are to be seen during the shooting season. From this fact I can draw but one conclusion; they migrate south in the winter. A few are killed each winter but they can only be considered a rare duck whose beauty lends an occasional charm to the game bag.

=Color=--Male--The male has a long crest falling down the back of the neck and showing a green and purple luster; the bill is red with a dark stripe on top; a broad stripe of white commences under the bill and passes down the neck, meeting another stripe of white that nearly encompasses the neck; sides and front of lower neck, brownish purple, dotted with white; back, a bronze green; speculum, bluish purple, bordered with black and white.

Female--The general plan of the markings of the female is the same as that of the male, but the colors are not so bright, nor the crest so long. The crest is more of a brown, and the breast a pale brown, mottled with dark spots.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is built in the hollow of a tree or stump, and occasionally a considerable distance above the ground. The eggs, which average about eight, are of a pale brownish white. The young are taken from the nest in the bill of the mother, and are often seen perched on her back while she is swimming around in search of food.

=Measurements=--Total length of the male, about 18 inches, with the female about an inch less; wing, 9-1/4 to 9-1/2; bill 1 3/8 inches.

THE FULVOUS TREE DUCK

(Dendrocygna fulva)

The fulvous tree-duck, commonly called the Mexican tree-duck, and cavalier, as well as the black-bellied tree-duck (=Dendrocygna autumnalis=), according to the classification of the ornithologist, belong to the subfamily, =Anserinae=, the same family as the geese. The fact that they have a bill more like that of the goose than any other duck, a goose neck also, and that there is no difference in the sexes will show the reason for such classification. Their generic name, however, signifies tree-swan. The fulvous tree-duck ranges on our hunting grounds as far north as Sacramento, where occasionally one is killed. They come here only to breed and, therefore, late in the season. Quite a few are killed in southern California, and from Arizona and Lower California south they are very plentiful. The black-bellied tree-duck is only met with as a straggler north of Chihuahua, Mexico. Another species of the same genus (=Dendrocygna elegans=) is a still more southern bird, seldom seen north of the state of Guerrero.

=Color=--Sides of head and neck and lower parts, buff; top of head, back of neck and back, dark brown; wings, dark brown; neck, long and slim; bill, resembles that of a goose very much. Both sexes alike.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nests are generally built in a hollow tree or stump. The eggs number from ten to fifteen and are of an ochreous white.

=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 distinguishing 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-assorted bag, let him shoot where he may, on marsh, pond or overflow, from Washington to Mexico.

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 grass (=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 quantities 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 grass 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 latitudes. Wing, 8 to 9-1/2 inches, and bill about 2-1/2 inches.

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.

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 Washington 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 pronounced 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 luster 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.

THE LESSER SCAUP, OR LITTLE BLUE-BILL

(Aythya affinis)

The little blue-bill, or lesser scaup, like its larger relative, is a cosmopolitan species, and commonly met with in flocks of the other, which has led to the common error of classing the two together, the one as the elder and the other as the younger birds.

While in general color and markings they are very similar, there is so much difference in their size that they should be easily distinguished. With the males this is very easy for the head of the larger species has a green sheen, the head of the lesser has a purple sheen as shown in the sun. The bill of this species is more of a blue and much smaller, being not over 1-1/2 inches in length.

=Color=--The color and markings are the same as the American scaup, with the exception that the metallic sheen of the head, as already mentioned, is purple.

=Nest and Eggs=--The same as the American scaup.

=Measurements=--Total length, about 16-1/2 inches; wing, 7-1/2, and bill 1-1/2 inches.

THE RING-NECK

(Aythya collaris)

In the breeding season the ring-neck male has a dirty orange ring around the neck which disappears wholly, or nearly so, before the beginning of the hunting season. The ring-neck is generally more plentiful on the fresh waters. I have seen great numbers of them at the mouth of the Colorado river. In fact, both the ring-neck and the lesser scaup range much farther south than do the larger species, for while few of the larger scaup are seen in Mexico, great quantities of the little blue-bills are found throughout the republic, especially on the salt marshes of the two coasts. All of these three species breed along the mountain lakes from California north.

=Color=--Male--Head and neck, black, with an indigo sheen when turned in the sun. This will always distinguish it from the larger blue-bill whose sheen is green and the lesser blue-bill whose sheen is purple. The speculum is gray; bill, bluish with a pale blue band across it about a half inch from the end.

Female--The female of this species resembles the female of the red-head very closely. It is considerable darker, however, and the bill joins the head without the marked indentation seen in the red-head.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest and eggs are the same as the scaups.

=Measurements=--Total length, 17-1/2 inches; wing, 8, and bill, 2 inches.

THE RUDDY DUCK, OR WIRE-TAIL

(Erismatura rubida)