(Glaucionetta clangula americana)
The American golden-eye is a visitor from the far north to the
northern portions of the territory covered by this work. An occasional
straggler is killed as far south as San Francisco, but they are a cold
country bird. They are more common in the interior of Washington and
Oregon than along the coast.
=Color=--Male--Head and upper half of neck, dark green with a metallic
sheen; a nearly round patch of white between the eye and the base of
the bill; lower part of neck, most of the back and the under parts,
white; upper part of the back, rump and tail, black; wings, mostly
white.
Female--Head and upper neck, brown; gray spot at the base of the bill;
breast and under parts, gray; back and most of the wings, brownish
black.
=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is usually built in a hollow tree or stump
and contains about ten eggs of a bluish white color.
=Measurements=--Total length, about 19 inches; wing, 9, and
bill, 1 7/8. Female about one-tenth smaller.
[Illustration: BARROW'S GOLDEN-EYE (Glaucionetta ilandica)]