Western Bird Guide

RING-NECKED DUCK

150. Marila collaris. 17 inches

In appearance and general habits this duck is much the same as the two preceding. Male with head, neck and breast black with purple shades, having a ring of chestnut about the neck, which at a little distance is not noticeable. Bill blackish, with a bluish band near the end; eye yellow.

Nest.– Same in every way as above, and general distribution the same, breeding from Oregon and Minnesota northward.

AMERICAN GOLDEN-EYE

151. Clangula clangula americana. 20 inches

These are handsome ducks, known as “Whistlers,” from the noise of their wings when flying, and also “Great-heads,” because of the puffy crest. The head is greenish black with a large round white spot in front of and a little below the eye. The rest of the plumage is black and white.

Nest.– Built in the hollows of trees near the water, lining the cavity with fine grasses, moss or leaves and then lining the nest with feathers, in which they place from 6 to 10 eggs of a grayish color (2.30 × 1.70).

Range.– North America, breeding from Alaska south to the most northern of United States. Winters to southern California and the Gulf Coast.

BARROW GOLDEN-EYE

152. Clangula islandica. 20 inches

Head of this species a bluish black, with a crescent white spot between the bill and eye; which is yellow as also is the preceding.

Nest.– The range and nesting habits are the same as above, possibly breeding a little farther south on the Pacific coast.

BUFFLE-HEAD

153. Charitonetta albeola. 14 inches

This handsome little duck is also known as “Butter-ball” and “Dipper-duck,” the latter name given to them on account of the ease with which they can disappear under the water. They are always on the alert and will dive at the flash of a gun. Head iridescent blue, green and purple, and with a large white patch extending from eye to eye, across the back of the puffy crest. Their flight is very rapid, and they can take wing from the water easier than the majority of ducks.

Nest.– In holes of tree stumps or in the banks along the sides of rivers, 8 to 14 eggs of a light grayish color (2.00 × 1.40).

OLD-SQUAW – LONG-TAILED DUCK

154. Harelda hyemalis. 21 inches

One of the very few ducks that change their plumage in summer and winter. Both sexes are marked similarly, but the female is somewhat duller and lacks the long tail feathers of the male. They are excellent swimmers and dive to great depths in search of their food.

Nest.– Generally concealed in the long grass near the water, made of grass and lined with feathers. 6 to 10 eggs (2.00 × 1.50).

HARLEQUIN DUCK

155. Histrionicus histrionicus. 17 inches

A beautiful and most attractive bird as shown in the illustration. It is not the colors alone that make them so attractive, but the way the colors are placed. The white being in long stripes, crescents or large spots, with black, gray and chestnut. They are usually found only in pairs among the swiftly running streams, or in the winter in small flocks on the coasts.

Nest.– Is nicely woven of weeds and grasses and lined with down placed on the ground in crevices of rocks or sometimes in the hollow of a tree. 5 to 8 greenish buff eggs (2.30 × 1.60).

Range.– Northern North America, breeding from Alaska to the central part of California among the mountain streams.

PACIFIC EIDER

161. Somateria v-nigra. 23 inches

This bird is in plumage like the Northern Eider, except that it has a black V-shaped mark on the throat. They nest sparingly on the Aleutian Islands, but in great numbers farther north.

Nest.– They make their nests of seaweed and grass, warmly lining same with down from their breasts. 6 to 8 eggs (3.00 × 2.00).

STELLER EIDER

157. Polysticta stelleri. 18 inches

A very beautiful species; head white, washed with greenish on the forehead and nape; chin, throat, neck, back, tail and crissum, black; under parts chestnut; wing coverts white, the long scapulars black and white.

Nest.– Are made of grasses and heavily lined with down. It breeds on the rocky coast and islands of Bering Sea. The six to nine eggs are pale olive green in color (2.25 × 1.60).

Range.– Arctic regions in America, chiefly on the Aleutian Islands and northwest coast of Alaska.

SPECTACLED EIDER

158. Arctonetta fischeri. 21 inches

This species is black on the under parts and mostly white above. The head is largely washed with sea green, leaving a large patch of white, narrowly bordered with black around each eye, thus resembling a pair of spectacles and giving it the name it has.

Nest.– Is made of seaweed, grass and lined with down from their breast; they are placed upon the ground under overhanging stones or clumps of grass. 5 to 9 eggs (2.70 × 1.85).

KING EIDER

162. Somateria spectabilis. 23 inches

This species is very different from any of the preceding, the crown being of an ashy blue, and the long scapulars black in place of the white of the others. It also has a broad V-shaped mark on the throat and a black crescent between the eye and bill. Like all of the other Eiders the females are mottled brown and black, the different species being very difficult to separate.

Nest.– These are usually a depression in the ground lined with the down from the breast, and contain from 6 to 10 eggs of a greenish color (3.00 × 2.00).

Range.– Northern North America, breeding along the coast of Siberia, Bering Sea and Arctic coast of America.

SCOTER

163. Oidemia americana. 19 inches

Scoters or “Coots,” as they are generally called, are Sea Ducks whose plumage is almost wholly black; base of the bill is yellow and orange. This species nest similar to the Eiders, concealing it under overhanging rocks or in tufts of grass. 6 to 10 eggs of a dull buff color (2.50 × 1.70).

WHITE-WINGED SCOTER

165. Oidemia deglandi. 22 inches

This is the largest of the Scoters, and may easily be distinguished from the others by the white speculum on the wing and a white comet extending from the eye backwards. It also has a yellow eye.

This species often feeds in very deep water, like others of the family.

Nest.– They nest on the ground, generally in long grass or under low bushes, making a coarse nest of grasses, and sometimes twigs, lined with feathers; 6 to 8 pale buff eggs (2.75 × 1.70).

Range.– North America, breeding in British Columbia and Alaska.

SURF SCOTER

166. Oidemia perspicillata. 20 inches

The male of this species is entirely black, excepting a white spot on top of the head and another on the nape; eye white; bill red, white and yellow with a large black spot near the base. The female is a grayish brown, lighter below; also with a spot of dull white in front of the eye and the same in back.

RUDDY DUCK

167. Erismatura jamaicensis. 15 inches

This species may always be recognized by the reddish brown upper parts; blackish head, with white cheeks and chin and under parts silvery white with grayish wash next to the ruddy. Bill is very stout and broad at the end, and the tail feathers are very stiff and pointed. Females have back, crown and sides grayish, cheeks showing traces of white as on the male. These ducks are very quick either in the water, on land, or in flight.

Nest.– They are usually made of grass and rushes and generally lined with down in which are placed their eggs to the number of from 8 to 12 of a grayish white color (2.40 × 1.75) unusually large for the size of the bird.

Range.– The whole of North America, breeding from Central British Columbia southward as far as Lower California.

SNOW GOOSE

169. Chen hyperboreus hyperboreus. 26 inches

Plumage entirely white with primaries tipped with black. This is the smallest species of the Snow Goose, the eastern variety being some ten inches longer, found in N. A., west of the Mississippi River.

ROSS GOOSE

170. Chen rossi. 23 inches

This beautiful species, with its breeding range unknown, winters in California and as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, and is the smallest of the family.

WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE

171a. Anser albifrons gambeli. 27 inches

These birds may be recognized by their mottled plumage, dark head and white forehead; bill and feet orange. They are the most common on the western coast and large numbers of them are sold in the markets.

Their food consists mostly of vegetable matter, frogs, snails, and insects.

Nest.– These are placed upon the ground in a slight depression and made of dried grasses, feathers and down. Eggs are from four to nine in number, of a dull buff color (3.00 × 2.05).

Range.– Western and central North America, breeds on the Arctic coast south to the lower Yukon Valley, winters from British Columbia to southern California. During the spring flight immense flocks of these birds pass through Oregon and follow down the west coast.

CANADA GOOSE

172. Branta canadensis canadensis. 38 inches

This species is the most widely known of the family, and is the most numerous. Its familiar “honk” has long been the signal of the coming spring, and the V-shaped formation in which the flocks migrate is always an object of interest to every one; large birds, with long necks outstretched, wings beating the air in unison, and all following the leadership of one bird in their journey over their invisible path.

Nest.– Of grasses and feathers lined with down, placed on the ground in marshes or near lakes or ponds; four to nine eggs of a buff or drab color are laid (3.50 × 2.50).

Range.– The whole of North America, breeding from northern United States northward, and wintering in the southern part of U. S. to Lower California.

CACKLING GOOSE

172c. Branta canadensis minima. 24 inches

This is a perfect miniature of the above, the difference being only in the size. It breeds in Alaska and along the Arctic coast and migrates in winter along the western coast south to southern California. Eggs are buff color; 4 to 9 (2.90 × 1.95).

BLACK BRANT

174. Branta nigricans. 26 inches

Head, neck and breast black with a broad white collar nearly encircling the black neck, back a grayish brown; under parts mostly white. They are very inquisitive and easily come to decoys, and consequently large numbers of them are shot each year for the markets. They are a noisy bird especially when in large flocks. They get most of their food by tipping up in the shallow waters, where they feed upon the tender water plants and roots gathered from the bottom.

Nest.– A depression in the ground lined with grass and feathers and the down from their breasts; four to eight eggs are laid of a grayish color (2.80 × 1.75).

Range.– Western North America, breeding abundantly in northern Alaska and wintering on the Pacific coast from British Columbia to Lower California.

EMPEROR GOOSE

176. Philacte canagica. 26 inches

This handsome species may be known by the mottled or scaly appearance of the feathers; the head is white with a black chin and throat. Their 3 to 7 eggs are a dull buff color (3.10 × 2.15).

BLACK-BELLIED TREE-DUCK

177. Dendrocygna autumnalis. 22 inches

These odd-shaped ducks, with their long legs and neck, are very common in southern Texas and along the Rio Grande. They are not timid and are frequently caught and domesticated. They can walk and run gracefully, and feed in grain fields at considerable distance from the water. They usually raise two broods in a season, each brood having from ten to as many as twenty.

Nest.– They build their nests in hollow trees, oftentimes at a great distance from the water. The nest is lined with a few feathers and down. The eggs are a creamy white (2.05 × 1.50).

FULVOUS TREE-DUCK

178. Dendrocygna bicolor. 22 inches

In form this duck is much like the last, but in color is more of a rufous all over, being darkest on the upper parts. It has no white markings. It is fully as abundant as the preceding and is found farther north and west to the Pacific coast in southern California.

Nest.– Their nesting habits; their eggs and the size of them are identical with the former. As many as 32 eggs have been found in one nest, but these were probably laid by two birds.

WHISTLING SWAN

180. Olor columbianus. 58 inches

These large birds are snow white, with the exception of their bill and feet, which are black. The nostril is situated nearer the end of the bill than it is to the eye. It is distinguished from the next by the small yellow spot on either side of the bill near its base.

Nest.– Are made of a large mass of rubbish, weeds, moss, grass, feathers and a few sticks, generally placed in marshy places near ponds or lakes. Three to six greenish or brownish buff eggs are laid (4.00 × 2.75).

Range.– North America, more common in the east, breeding in Alaska and the Arctic islands, wintering from British Columbia to the central part of California.

TRUMPETER SWAN

181. Olor buccinator. 65 inches

This magnificent bird, over five feet in length, with a spread of wing nearly ten feet, is found more in the interior than on the coast. Its plumage is the same as above, except that the bill is entirely black and the nostril is located nearer the eye. Their nesting habits are the same as above, the eggs averaging a trifle larger.

GLOSSY IBIS – Family Ibididæ

186. Plegadis autumnalis. 25 inches

The neck and body of this bird is a rich dark chestnut color, glossy with purplish on the head; wings and tail glossy greenish black; bill, legs and feet carmine red, bill much curved downward.

This bird is just the same as the White-faced Glossy Ibis which is occasionally found in southern California, with the exception that the latter has the forehead and feathers, bordering the bill, white.

Nest.– Strongly and compactly woven of dead rushes attached to living stalks, and well cupped. Eggs 3 or 4 deep greenish blue color (1.95 × 1.35).

WOOD IBIS – Family Ciconiæ

188. Mycteria americana. 45 inches

Head and neck unfeathered and covered with scales, which are pale bluish in color as are also the legs. Plumage entirely white except for the primaries and tail, which are glossy purplish black. This is the only true Stork which occurs in North America, and is found only in the southern part of California and the most southern states near the Gulf of Mexico. They lay 3 or 4 white eggs (2.75 × 1.75).

LEAST BITTERN

191. Ixobrychus exilis. 13 inches

This small variety of Bittern is very common in the southern portions of the United States. They are very quiet and sly birds, and their presence is often unsuspected when they are really quite abundant. Their nests are made of rushes woven about the upright stalks; 3 to 5 eggs, bluish white (1.20 × .90).

BITTERN – Family Herodii

190. Botaurus lentiginosus. 28 inches

These are birds of the bogs and marshes, and will keep concealed so closely that one may pass within a few feet of them and they not take flight. They are known by a variety of names, nearly all of which have reference to their “booming” sound while in the bogs. The most common name given them being “Stake Driver” and again “Thunder Pumper.” They are much variegated with brown and yellowish brown; adults with a long, broad black stripe on either side of the white throat; eye is yellow; bill and legs, greenish yellow.

Nest.– They build in swamps or marshy places, placing their nest usually in a tussock of grass on some bog surrounded by water. They lay from three to five brownish colored eggs (1.95 × 1.50).

GREAT BLUE HERON

194. Ardea herodias herodias. 48 inches

This handsome Heron in general color in the adult stage is bluish gray, relieved by a black crest, and black primaries and patches on the sides and a white crown. Young birds are much duller colored and lack the crest of the old birds. It takes several years for them to obtain their perfect plumage. In the South they breed in large colonies, often in company with many other species.

Nest.– Is usually built of sticks, making a rude platform in the trees near swamps or wet woods. In some localities as many as 40 nests have been found in a single tree. Three to five eggs of a greenish blue color (2.50 × 1.50).

Range.– North America except the extreme northern part, breeds from British Columbia to southern Lower California.

GREEN HERON

201. Butorides virescens virescens. 17 inches

This is the smallest of our Herons, and is well known all over the country. In most sections of the country they will be found nesting, one of two pairs together, along the border of some swamp or stream; 3 to 5 pale greenish blue eggs (1.45 × 1.10).

EGRET

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