Identifier: birdcraftfield00wrig (find matches)
Title: Birdcraft : a field book of two hundred song, game, and water birds
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Wright, Mabel Osgood, 1859-1934 Fuertes, Louis Agassiz, 1874-1927
Subjects: Birds -- United States
Publisher: New York : Macmillan Co.
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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Text Appearing Before Image:
wn forehead and cheeks tinged with red. Season : A migrant; rare at Stratford according to Mr. Averill, but Ihave seen it several times on the Fairfield marsh-meadows. Breeds : Northward from California and Maine. Bange: North America. The common Wild Duck of our markets which often,when deprived of its identifying feathers, goes masquerad-ing as the Canvasback, with whom it associates. Canvasback: Aythya vallisneHa, Length : 20-22 inches. Male: Bill blackish, 2^ inches long, or not shorter than the head.Above waved black and white, head tinged with black in front,and a rich glossy chestnut neck and back to head. A brovm-ish black collar across upper breast, below whitish; sides dusky.Tail slatish, feathers pointed. Speculum white. Season: Rare fall and winter migrant. 1 Feet fully webbed, large flap on hind toe, rapid swimmers, but awk-ward on land. Feed largely upon animal food, and their flesh, with afew notable exceptions, is rather coarse if not as rank as the fish-eatingspecies.
Text Appearing After Image:
SWIMMING BIRDS. Ducks Breeds: From the Northern States northward to Alaska.Bange: Nearly all of North America, wintering from the Chesapeakesouthward. The favourite Duck of dinner parties and suppers, where itdivides the honours with diamond-backed terrapin. The par-ticular flavour of its flesh, when at certain seasons it feeds onvallisneria, or wild celery (which is not celery at all, but aneel-grass) won its fame. But as this eel-grass is a localplant, not growing all through the range of the Canvas-back, and as when the celery is lacking it eats frogs, lizards,tadpoles, fish, etc., a certificate of residence should be soldwith every pair to insure the inspiring flavour. The biography of this Duck belongs rather to the cook-book than a bird list, and in fact even its most learnedbiographers refer mainly to its eatable qualities, and Dr.Coues even takes away its character from that standpoint,saying, There is little reason for squealing in barbaricjoy over this over-rated and general

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