236 BIRDS. 



narrow l3lack ring which he then wears round his neck. 

 Otherwise he is a bird of sober jjhimage, in size about the 

 same as the last. 



The Mallard is the "wild duck" of the British Islands, 



the largest of our commoner ducks, and the ^^rogenitor of 



the domesticated bird. In his full dress, the 

 Mallard. . ... 



drake is a very handsome bird, with his green 



head and neck, narrow wdiite collar, and the four blue 



curled feathers in his tail ; but during the summer months 

 he moults to a far quieter looking being, more like his 

 mate. There are two races, — the smaller birds that visit 

 us from the Continent, and the larger home-bred residents. 

 It is interesting to note that, like other domesticated 

 birds, this duck is polygamous only in the tame state, 

 being by nature content with one mate. It is also a much 

 cleaner feeder than its degenerate relatives. The quacking 

 cannot, by the ordinary ear at any rate, be distinguished. 



