The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-01-03
The Ducks of Chesapeake Bay and its
Tributaries.
BY o. d. FoULKs, OF TOWN POINT.
From tie american Sportsman.

From tie american Sportsman.
Mallard. (Anas Boschas) Male: HeaG
and neck bright grass green; top of heaG
duller; white ring around the middle OF
the neck, below which and on the fore part
and sides of the breast, the color is dark
brownish chestnut. Under parts and sides,
| pale grey, very finely undulated with dus.
ky. Fore parts of black reddish brown.
! Cressum and upper tail coverts blue black.
/ Speculum, purplish violet, terminated with
black; a recurved tuft feathers on the
rump. Wing coverts brownish grey, the
greater coverts tipped first with white,
then more narrowly with black.
I Female: Wings exactly like the male.
Under parts pale whitish ochery, each
feather obscurely marked with dusky.-
Head and neck spotted and streaked with
dusky; chin and throat above unspotted.
Under parts dark brown; feather broadly
edged with reddish brown.
Length of male, 90 inches; wing II:
stretch of wings, 81.
This duck was at one time very common
! in all the rivers emptying into Chesapeake
Bay. But of late years it seems to have
almost deserted the head waters of the
Chesapeake. 1t seldom, if ever, decoys to
bunch of ducks out in the river; if the
decoys are near shore, it will pass over
them at a height of about twenty yards,
or if decoying into them, the moment it
discovers the deception it rises perpendicu-
larly to a considerable height, and then
darts off in the face of the wind. The
usual method of decoying this duck is to
place few decoys in the water at the edge
of marsh, and scattering abont dozen
more painted to resemble the duck on
the mud. Every passing mallard will de-
coy to these, and if he does not alght,
will at least offer good mark. Tame
ducks are also anchored out and used for
decoys.
Black duck (anas obscura). Male: Bill,
greenish; feet, red. Body generally black
ish brown, the feathers obscurely margin
ed with reddish brown. Head and neck,
brownish yellow, spotted with black; tops
of the head and nape dark brown, with
dull greenish gloss. Speculum violet, ter
minated with black. Axillars and inside
of wings, white.
Female similar, but rather duller; sides
of head without green gloss; speculum
blush, with less violet. The light edges
to under feathers more conspicuous.
Length of male, % inches; wing, nearly
10; stretch of wings, 50.
This duck is very common on all the
marshes bordering Chesapeake Bay and its
tributaries. Its action over decoys is SINH
lar to the malard.
Pintaii-sprigtail (dafila acuta). Male:
Head and upper part of neck, uniform
dar k brown, CLOSED with green and pur-
pie behind. Interior part of neck, breast,
and under parts, white; the white of neck
passes up to the nape, separating the
brown, and itself is divided dorsally by
black, which below, passes into the grey
of the back. The wings are plain and
blush grey; the greater coverts with a
terminal bar of purplsh buff, below which
is greenish purple speculum, margined |
behind by black. and tipped with white;
scapulars, black, edged with sivery; cres.
sum and elongated tail feathers black, the
former edged with white. The back and |
sides finely lined with black and white.
Female with only a trace of the mark
ing of the wing; the green of the specular
brownish, with few green spots. The
feathers of the back are brown, with a
broad brownish yellow bar on each feather.
Sometimes these bars are in the shape of
transverse lines.
Male: Length, 80 inches; wing, II; tail
$50; stretch, of wings, 50.
Young male very difficult to recognize
from the female when without the long
all. This duck is very common, feeding
along the shores and in the marshes. 1t
never pitches to the decoys, although it
often flies over them. 1t is always thin
md tough, and is never shot at by an old
luck shooter, if a better mark can be
'ound. The tail is very pointed, the two
middle feathers being nearly as long as the
wing. The bill is also very long and mar
,ow.