(_Charitonetta albeola._)
This small and wonderfully beautiful duck is a native of North America,
wintering in the latitude of Cuba and Mexico and breeding from Maine to
Montana and northward. It is said that a favorite place for its nesting
is along the banks of the Yukon river, and other streams of the boreal
regions, yet it is reported that the young have been captured in the
Adirondack mountains. Though classed with the "sea ducks" (Fuligulinae)
it is one of the most common of our fresh-water forms, and, like many
other animals, as well as vegetable forms, of wide distribution, it is
the recipient of numerous popular names, nearly all of them being more
or less suggestive of its characteristics or habits. In the North it
is frequently called the Butter-ball, the Butter-box, the Butter duck,
the Spirit duck and the Dipper. In the South some of the same names are
heard, but perhaps more often the Marionette, the Scotch dipper, or
duck, the Scotch teal and the Wool-head. However, no more appropriate
name could be selected than that of Buffle-head, having reference to
the showy, ruffled or puffed plumage of the head. The technical name,
albeola, meaning whitish, was given this species by Linnaeus in 1758,
on account of the pure white on the side of the head.
The adult males vary but little. The plumage of the head is puffy and,
with that of the upper half of the neck, is a "rich silky, metallic
green, violet purple and greenish bronze, the last prevailing on the
lower part of the neck, the green on the anterior part of the head, the
purple on the cheeks and crown." A beautiful pure white patch extends
from the eyes, meeting on the top of the head. The lower portion of the
neck and nearly all the feathers of the under side of the body, as well
as the wing coverts, are also showy white. The lining of the wings is
dark, and the upper side of the body is black.
The head of the female is less puffy and of a brownish or dark gray
color. The white head patch is not so prominent or pure and the plumage
of the under side of the body is more or less tinged with gray. In both
sexes the iris is dark brown, the bill bluish or lead color, and the
legs and feet pinkish.
There are few birds that are more expert in diving or swimming, while
on land, owing to their larger feet and shorter legs, they are more
awkward and waddle more than many of the ordinary ducks. Their graceful
attitude while floating on the water, moving apparently without any
motion of the body and scarcely causing a ripple on even a placid
surface, has given them the name Spirit duck.
The Buffle-head, like nearly all the sea ducks, feeds on mollusks and
other animal-forms found in the water. As a result, their flesh is
usually coarse and quite too rank for use as a food. The canvas-back is
a notable exception, for during the winter months it feeds on the wild
celery (Vallisneria) of the Middle Atlantic coast, and thus its flesh
receives the flavor so appreciated by those who relish game food.