114 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



Most of their feeding is done in daytime, and at evening they go out to sea where they pass 

 the night often several miles from shore. 



The River Ducks, of which there are about seventy species, get most of their food by 

 searching the bottom in water so shallow that diving is not necessary. With a few excep- 

 tions — notably the Canvas-back — their flesh is more palatable than is that of the Sea 

 Ducks. Again, the Sea Ducks often go in enormous flocks, while the River Duck flocks 

 are comparatively small, rarely exceeding forty or fifty individuals. The range of the River 

 Ducks, like that of the Sea Ducks, is very wide, representatives of the group occurring in 

 both hemispheres. The plumage of both groups displays a very great variety of colors, 

 from the plain hues of the Black Duck to the remarkably gaudy and variegated Wood Duck. 

 Usually the secondary quills of the wings show patches of varied or iridescent color and 

 this patch is called the speculum. 



Excepting the Wood Duck, all of the American River Ducks build their nests, which are 

 composed of grasses, leaves, moss, and the like, on the ground, sometimes on dry land at a 

 distance from water, but more frequently in swampy land, where the grass is high enough 

 for concealment. Their eggs usually show shades of green, buff, or cream colors. The Sea 

 Ducks also build ground nests of leaves, grasses, twigs, seaweed, and the like, which are lined 

 with down from the breast of the sitting bird. The eggs number from four or five to a 

 dozen or more, and are buffy, greenish, bluish, or cream in color. 



MALLARD 



Anas platyrhynchos Linncrus 



A. O. U. Number 132 See Color Plate 12 



Other Names. — Common Wild Duck; Stock Duck; 

 English Duck; French Duck; Green-head (male) ; Gray 

 Duck (female) ; Gray Mallard (female). 



General Description. — Length, 22 to 24 inches. 

 Color of male : head, green ; back, grayish-brown ; under 

 parts, gray with purplish-chestnut breast. Color of 

 female : dusky-brown and tawny, variegated and 

 lighter below than above. 



Description. — .^dult Male in Winter .\nd Breed- 

 ing Plumage: Frequently several of the upper tail- 

 coverts curl upward. Head and upper neck, glossy 

 green, with shadings of purple and deep Prussian blue; 

 around neek, a it'hite ring: back, grayish-brown, more 

 brown in center and on shoulders ; lower back, rump, 

 and tail-coverts, glossy black ; tail, mostly whitish with 

 center feathers long and recurved; speculum, violet, 

 purplish, and greenish, framed in black and i(<hite tips 

 of greater coverts and secondaries, forming all together 

 two black and two white bars ; lesser wing coverts, plain 

 grayish ; breast, rich purplish-chestnut ; rest of under 

 parts, silvery-gray finely zigzagged with dusky ; bill, 



olive ; feet, orange-red ; iris, brown. Adult Male in 

 Summer: Similar to female. Adult Female: Entire 

 body, variegated with dusky-brown and tawny, with 

 yellowish-brown edges to most of feathers, lighter in 

 color below than on back ; head and neck, quite buffy 

 with streaks of brownish; zving as in male; feet, dull 

 yellow ; bill, dusky spotted with orange ; iris, brown. 

 Immature: Similar to adult female. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : On the ground in a tussock 

 of grass or weeds; built of fine reeds, grass, or leaves; 

 well lined with down. Eggs: 6 to 10, pale olive or 

 buffy-green. 



Distribution. — Northern hemisphere; in North 

 America breeds from Pribilof Islands and northwestern 

 .\laska across British America to Greenland, south to 

 Lower California and across the United States on about 

 the parallel of 37° ; winters from Aleutian Islands, 

 Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, southern Wisconsin, 

 Ohio, Maryland, and Nova Scotia (rarely) south to 

 Mexico, the Lesser Antilles, and Panama ; casual in 

 Bermuda and Hawaii. 



Asked to name the one duck most important to 

 the human race, the economist would reply at 

 once — " The Mallard." Other ducks are 

 numerous in certain lands but the Mallard occu- 

 pies most of the northern hemisphere and is 



abundant wherever it has not been destroyed or 

 reduced in numbers by man. Wild Mallards 

 have furnished mankind with countless tons of 

 food from time immemorial and domesticated 

 Mallards have provided our race with vast 



