(Erismatura rubida)
The ruddy duck is a very common duck on our shooting grounds, from one
end to the other, though as a rule it is not much sought after by our
sportsmen. When feeding on the salt marshes they are not very
palatable, it is true, but when killed on fresh waters they are one of
our finest flavored ducks, if properly cooked. After refusing many
shots at these little ducks and even many times failing to carry home
those I did kill, it remained for Mr. Babcock, then of the Coronado
Hotel, of San Diego, California, to demonstrate to me the real value
of the ruddy duck. I was one of the party shooting with him on his
preserve at Otay dam. When we came into the house after our morning's
shoot, a most enjoyable one, he asked each member of the party what
kind of duck he wished for his dinner. Mallards, canvasbacks, sprigs
and widgeons had been named, so when he came to me I answered that any
kind would do me. To this he replied: "Then you shall have one of my
favorites." When dinner was ready, before each plate was a beautifully
roasted duck of the species chosen by the member of the party for whom
that plate was laid, but the plates in front of Mr. Babcock and myself
each contained two plump little birds that I did not recognize in
their undress uniform. After I had tasted of one, Mr. Babcock asked:
"How do you like my selection?" "Very much," I answered, "but what are
they? I never ate anything better." "The much despised ruddy," was his
reply, "the superior of the canvasback when properly handled." The
best evidence that I fully endorsed all that he claimed for the ruddy
duck is the fact that there was nothing left of my two birds but
well-picked bones. The ruddy duck may well be called a resident
species over the whole of the Pacific Coast shooting grounds, for they
breed not only on the lakes and streams, but on the lower marshes as
well, throughout the whole territory.
The ruddy duck is known by a number of names such as "wire tail,"
"dipper," "bullet-head," "buffle-head," etc.
=Color=--Male--Top of head, dark brown; sides of head below the eye,
dirty white; upper parts, brown; no speculum on the wing; axillars,
very light gray with light brown shafts; tail, broad and stiff with
the feathers pointed; under parts, dirty white.
Female--Much the color of the male, but more of a dirty brown. Side of
the head and throat, dirty gray.
=Nest and Eggs=--The nests are usually built on little hillocks in the
marshes, and contain from six to eight dirty white eggs.
=Measurements=--The ruddy is a small duck with a very rounded body.
Total length, about 15 inches; wing, 6, and bill, 1-1/2 inches, strongly
depressed in the center.
[Illustration: AMERICAN GOLDEN-EYE (Glaucionetta clangula americana)]