BUCKS AND DRAKES 891 



when AVolf or Quick chases them for fun. And any- 

 way their legs are very stiff and queer and grow very 

 far back, as if tlieir bodies were too heavy and going to 

 fall down front, and they had to hold up their heads 

 very high to keep going." 



'' Our tame Ducks are very fat and lazy, for they have 

 lived in captivity for many generations ; yet they could 

 fly very well with a little practice. The ^Mallard, which 

 is a wild River Duck and a swift enduring flyer, is the 

 one which has been domesticated and for hundreds of 

 years kept as a barnyard Duck." 



" River Ducks ? " questioned Rap ; " then are there 

 different kinds of Ducks for rivers and lakes, and for 

 salt water? " 



" There are indeed many kinds of Ducks," said the 

 Doctor, '' all of which have easy marks of identification 

 in the beauty-spot on the wings, and many other points 

 about the plumage, as Avell as the different shapes of 

 their heads, bills, and feet. Though all Wild Ducks, 

 and Geese too, belong to one general family, they are 

 divided into separate groups like cousins, instead of liv- 

 ing in one household like brothers. 



"Almost all Wild Ducks nest in the northern tier of 

 States, or altogether north of them; the hardier species 

 stay with us as winter visitors, but the others only stop 

 to feed, as they follow the rivers and coasts in their 

 migrations. 



'' There was a beautiful Duck that had a nest last 

 year in a tree up near the logging camp ; its feathers 

 were as bright as if they had been painted. That is 

 the Wood Duck — one of the exceptions to the rule 

 that Wild Ducks nest on the ground like tame ones. 



