MALLARD 3 



where the species is rare, may be found associating with other 

 kinds of duck. 



The habits of this duck are thoroughly well known, as almost 

 everyone, even if not a sportsman, has had ample opportunities 

 of observing the bird in a protected state in parks. It is not 

 highly specialized in any way, but a thoroughly robust and 

 vigorous bird ; it swims, walks, and flies, with ease and efficiency, 

 but in no separate department equals some other species — 

 for instance, it cannot fly so well as a gadwall, run so well as 

 a sheldrake, or swim so fast as a pochard. It dives fairly well 

 to save its life, or in play, but seldom does so to get food ; 

 when I have seen this done it has always been by females or 

 young birds, never by old drakes ; but the action is a rare one 

 even with the other sex when adult. Females, however, are also 

 said to be more cautious and cunning in concealing themselves 

 after being wounded than males. 



When a pair are together on the water, the drake waits for 

 the duck to rise first ; his note, a faint wheezing quaijkh, is very 

 distinct from the duck's well-known quack or rather quaak ; but 

 though this was pointed out by White of Selborne more than a 

 century ago, it does not seem to have been fully realized even 

 now that the same distinction of voice applies to a large number 

 of the ducks, and that the two notes in these cannot be inter- 

 changed, the drake having a large bulb in the windpipe at its 

 bifurcation towards the lungs, which absolutely modifies the 

 sound and prevents him giving the female call, while similarly 

 she cannot imitate his. In the breeding season the mallard 

 drake whistles as well as wheezes, and the duck talks affection- 

 ately to him in short staccato quacks, with sidelong noddings of 

 the head ; he for his part plays up to her by rearing up with his 

 head bent down, then dropping on the water and jerking up 

 his stern, at the same time displaying by a slight expansion of 

 the plumage the bar on his wings. Anyone may see these antics 

 among domestic ducks — common ones, I mean, not Muscovy 

 ducks, which have very different ways, and are descended from 

 the South- American Cairina moschata. 



Mallard, in conformity with their usual unspecialized ways, 

 are not particular about the water they frequent so long as it 



