Love Among the Birds 



summate of bird dandies. But he is tender and 

 true with it all ; his mate is the sweetest little 

 Quaker that ever won a drake's heart, and the 

 two are seldom far apart. Often they may be 

 seen tickling each other's heads in a very un- 

 duck-like manner, and it is a question which loves 

 the other most. One day I saw a drake of this 

 species in St. James's Park with a duck on each 

 side. When approached, one of the ladies took 

 wing and skimmed down the lake ; the drake also 

 sprang into the air twice, but his true mate was 

 pinioned and could not follow him, so he stayed 

 by her side. The other duck had, of course, 

 been pathetically enough seeking consolation for 

 her loneliness by associating with the married 

 couple, at the risk of an assault from the drake as 

 well as his mate, for Mandarin ducks hold very 

 strongly that two are company and three none. 

 Indeed, the drake carries the idea to the point 

 of brutality, for if penned up in a basket and 

 despatched to a poultry show with the wrong 

 duck, he is liable to kill her in his vexation at 

 such close company with a stranger. 



On her part, the Mandarin duck is more 

 affectionate than most female birds, which, to 

 tell the truth, are usually heartless to a degree. 

 One kept many years ago in an aviary in China 

 had her mate stolen, and, refusing the consolation 

 tendered by another drake, moped and neglected 



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