316 BIRDS OF THE FARM AND THE FARM-YARD. 



command our attention. Ducks live the greater part of 

 the time upon the water, feeding upon the plants that 

 grow around their edges and borders. Hence they prefer 

 small ponds and inlets of the sea to the bay or harbor. 

 But, like almost all other species of birds, the Duck and 

 the Teal are rarely seen except in the remote lakes of 

 the forest. These wild birds are allowed no peace and 

 no security. I cannot see what is to prevent their utter 

 extirpation from the American continent. 



The Black Duck seems more nearly allied to the Mal- 

 lard than to any American species. It has been repeat- 

 edly domesticated, and mixes with the Mallard, and the 

 mixed offspring have none of the marks and qualities of 

 hybrids. The drake of this species has not the beauty 

 of the Mallard drake. Flocks of them are common in 

 the autumn in some of our solitary inlets or near our 

 harbors ; and they formerly reared their young in Massa- 

 chusetts. They have been driven away by gunners, and 

 they now breed only in the northern parts of !N'ew Eng- 

 land, especially near the lakes of Maine. Samuels found 

 the nest of one on a low stump, that overhung a small 

 spring on the side of a hill, a mile from any water. He 

 says these nests are abundant all round Lake Umbagog. 

 When the fresh ponds are frozen, the Ducks resort to the 

 salt w^ater, and are often seen, in flocks of considerable 

 size, in our harbors and salt-water creeks in winter. 



THE SWAN. 



If the Duck is the most beautifully arrayed of all 

 aquatic birds, the Swan is certainly the most graceful and 

 attractive when sailing upon the water. The Swan re- 

 sembles the Duck more than the Goose in its feeding 

 habits. It does not graze like the Goose, but takes its 

 food from beneath the water, often probing to the bottom 



