Bucephala clangula
Order Anseriformes
Family Anatidae
Subfamily Anatinae
Other names: American Golden-eye, Whistler
♂ Adult male.— Head black (greenish in good light), slightly crested; spot below and in front of eye white; middle of back and tail black; entire under parts (except throat), broad ring around neck, and sides of upper back white; wing black, much of it covered with long white feathers when closed, and showing a broad patch of white when spread; bill black; feet orange.
♂ Adult female.— Head dull reddish-brown, no white-spot; back and band across breast dark grayish-brown; ring around neck and rest of under parts white; wing showing considerable white both when closed and when open; bill yellowish-brown; feet and legs yellowish.
Nest, in a hole in a tree, near the water.
Eggs, bright pea-green, or olivaceous green.
The Whistler is a common winter visitant to the coast of New York and New England, arriving in October, and leaving in April. It breeds in northern Maine, notably at Lake Umbagog (see Brewster, “ Auk,” vol. xvii. pp. 207216). The Whistler in winter is an inshore duck, coming into the small bays and harbors, and up the mouths of rivers, where it dives for shellfish and water plants. Sometimes when the shoals are frozen over, any small inland pond-hole will afford it food. Though generally wary, it has quickly taken advantage of the immunity offered it on the Boston Back Bay, and may be seen any day in winter on each side of the Harvard Bridge.
The Whistler’s flight is rapid and characteristic, and is accompanied by a sharp, whistling sound. When in the air, the white under parts and the white patches in the wing are conspicuous. From the Red-breasted Mergansers, which also show white below and on the wing, the short thick head and short neck distinguish it. The black head and the small white spot before the eye distinguish the male. The female has a dull reddish-brown head and is often mistaken by beginners for the very rare Red-head, or confused with the female Scaup Ducks. She may be separated from the latter by the lack of any white about the base of the bill.
Hoffmann – A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York (1904)