766 



THE MALLARD. 



walls of the sfdiiiacli wcri- fati-n awaw ami the larger inlesliiics were Sd hailh' 

 leailed as tn lia\e becunie nuirli e< ml racteil. 



Altliii the Mallard is aniniii; the niii>t \\ar\ dl' mir dueks, their lii\e fi ir 

 their (H-igiiu'd nesting' place often brings them into onr \ery nii<lst. [-"ew people 

 realize that almost every little ponil and marsh, e\'en well inside the city limits, 

 has at least one pair of these handsome ducks nesting in its immediate vicinity. 

 Thev are seldom in e\'idence, as at this season their natural caution is most 

 acute, and at the approach of a human being the\- instantly conceal themselves 

 in the nearest c(")\er. 



Talccit at Brook Lake'. 



NKST AND EGGS OF TIIIv MAI.I.ARD. 



I'lioto bv the Autl-c 



By the first of Febrtuiry nearl\- all ha\e selected their ]>artners for the 

 nesting" season. The\- still tra\el in large companies, but \vatch a flock of them 

 after the}- have settled down in the open water. .At once they separate into 

 ]iairs, everv handsome "(^ireen-head" swimming in close attendance wherever 

 his niodesth- garbed mate shall lead. Should one of the pair be killed, the 

 other will not mate again that seas(in, — this being true also of the entire Duck 

 family. Nevertheless, the wisdom of our lawmakers permits ducks to be 



