WOOD DUCK. 



/^F all the members of the Duck tribe scattered 

 throughout the world, the present species is easily 

 the most beautiful. The Mandarin Duck of China 

 x^x galcriculata), has a more bizarre appearance and is 

 provided with curiously shaped feathers of various hues, 

 and has altogether a most singular and unusual dress; 

 but, though it may truly be considered a handsome bird, 

 it cannot compete with this beautiful species, robed in a 

 costume of harmonious colors so chaste and attractive 

 as to find its most fitting expression in the name the 

 bird possesses — the Bi'ide of the Anatidse. 



The Wood Duck, Wood Widgeon, Branchier and 

 Squealer, or Acorn Duck, as it is called in Louisiana, 

 ranges throughout North America from Hudson Bay to 

 the Gulf of Mexico, and breeds pretty much throughout 

 its dispersion. It is a fresh-water bird, frequenting the 

 lakes and rivers, often, also, resorting to swamps. On 

 the seacoast, such as that of North Carolina, where, in 

 Currituck Sound, the brackish waters and inexhaustible 

 feed constitute a very paradise for Wild Fowl, the Wood 

 Duck lives in the marshes, breeding on the mainland 

 near at hand. It is one of the earliest of the water birds 

 to start on its southern migration from the northern 

 part of its habitat, leaving before the Blue-winged 

 Teal, and often does not wait for the weather to become 

 frosty, so anxious does it seem to be to get away 

 from even the suspicion of v/inter. 



The Summer Duck, as it is sometimes very appro- 

 priately called, breeds in hollow trees, and I have met 



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