374 THE MUSK, OR MUSCOVY DUCK. 



coasts of the Mexican Gulf. It frequents ponds, marshes, the reedy 

 shores of creeks and rivers, and in winter is very abundant in th« 

 rice plantations of the South. They usually fly in small parties, 

 feeding mostly by night; associating with the Mallard, and are com- 

 monly decoyed by its call. 



Tha Teal is found in the north of Europe as far as Greenland and 

 Iceland, and it also inhabits the borders of the Caspian to the south. 

 In France and England it is said to breed. They are commonly seen 

 on the pools, in close companies of ten or twelve together, frequent- 

 ing the rivers and unfrozen springs in winter, where they subsist on 

 aquatic plants. They fly very swiftly, and utter a sort of whistling 

 cry. The Teal breeds in the fens, continuing in the temperate parts 

 of Europe the whole year. It conceals its nest among the bulrushes, 

 constructing it of their stalks, and lining it with feathers ; it rests 

 also sometimes on the surface of the water, so as to rise and fall with 

 the flood. The eggs are about ten or twelve, of a soiled white, indis- 

 tinctly marked with brown spots. The female takes the whole man 

 agement of the incubation ; tne males, at this time, seem to leave 

 them and associate for themselves in companies. 



THE MUSK, OR MUSCOVY DUCK. 



The Musk Duck derives its name from its exhaling at times a 



strong odor of that drug. The 

 term Muscovy is wholly misap- 

 plied, since it is an exclusive 

 native of the warmer and tropical 

 parts of America and its islands. 

 They exist wild in Brazil, Deme- 

 rara, and the overflowed savannas 

 of Guianna, and are occasionally 

 seen along the coasts of the Mexi 

 can Gulf, in the lower part of 

 Mississippi, and stragglers are fre- 

 quently observed along the coasts of the warmer parts of the Union. 

 They feed in the tropical savannas chiefly upon the seeds of some 

 grasses which resemble, and are called, wild rice; flying in the morn- 

 ing to those immense and overflowed meadows to feed, and returning 

 in the evening to their roosts near the sea. They are said to pass the 

 warmer parts of the day indolently perched upon trees, which over- 

 hang the rivers and marshes, in the hollows of which, like our Wood 

 Ducks, they construct their nest, and convey the young to the water 

 as soon as they are hatched. They breed at all times of the year, 

 and are very prolific, but many of the young fall victims to the Cay- 

 mans and other predatory animals with which those countries are 

 infested. The eggs are nearly quite round and of a greenish-white 

 color. The male is very ardent and readily couples with the domestic 

 Duck. In a wild state they are very shy and watchful and approached 

 with difficulty. 



MUSCOVI DUCK. 



