48 BULLETIN 126, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



ANAS NOVIMEXICANA Huber. 

 NEW MEXICAN DUCK. 



HABITS. 



Coiitrihulrd bjf Whnrlon Hvher. 



Ill the valley of the Kio Grande River from El Paso, Texas, north 

 to Albuquerque, New Mexico, this northern form of the diazi group 

 makes its home. Whether on the mud flats in the river, the numer- 

 ous alkaU j)onds,. or cat-tail swamps through the valley this duck is 

 ever watchful and wary of man. 



I have observed several New Mexican ducks about 3 miles north 

 of the city of El Paso, Texas, hence they probably range down the 

 river possibly as far as the Big Bend countrj' in Texas. In June, 

 1915, I saw five individuals at Belen and two at Albuquerque, New 

 Mexico, on the mud flats in the Kio Grande Kiver. 



Conrt.9/tip. — During the months of A})ril and early May, 1920, 1 

 watched the courtship of several jiairs of these ducks along the Kio 

 Grande Kiver A\est of Las Cruces, New Mexico. In April, two, three, 

 and sometimes five New Mexican ducks could be seen on the mud 

 flats in the middle of the river, as often with flocks of mallards as 

 alone. When with a flock of mallards they would stay together and 

 not mix with the former. The male could be seen bowing to the 

 female and occasionalh' pecking and pulling at her wing feathers. 

 When in the water the male would swim close to the female he had 

 chosen, generally behind her, swim close up and j)ull at her feathers 

 quacking all the while. If another (presumably a female) came too 

 close he would swim ra})idly at the intruder until she was driven to 

 a safe distance. Keturning to his i)rospective mate he would bob 

 his head up and down a number of times quacking contentedly. 

 Early in May these ducks were evidently mated as they %\ere always 

 seen in pairs or single birds. 



On May 7, 1920, while watching a pair of the ducks on a mud 

 flat in the middle of the Kio Grande Kiver west of Las Cruces, New 

 Mexico, I witnessed a very interesting performance. Both ducks 

 took flight simultaneously, rising in the air at an angle of about 30°. 

 They were flying slowly, their wings seeming to raise higher than in 

 ordinary flight, both quacking incessantly. The}' passed the point 

 where I was concealed about 400 feet away and about 300 feet high, 

 the male (as I afterward learned) directly above the female. Making 

 a large circuit over the land the male all the while keeping his j^osition 

 directly above the female, the}^ swung again over the river coming 

 head up into the light wind, whereupon they set their wings and de- 

 scended to the water, the female slighth" in the lead. Immediately 

 upon alighting copulation occurred. 



