INDIAN RUNNER DUCKS. 



563 



that the first Indian parents of the breed intro- 

 duced into this country were of a most out- 

 standing type, calculated to arrest the atten- 

 tion of the most casual observer and capable 

 of transmitting their peculiar characters with 

 great power to their offspring. No detailed 

 description of their colour and markings has 

 been handed down, but, in the light of what is 

 now known, it is likely that they were mostly 

 whole- or self-coloured birds, and when crossed 

 upon the common ducks of Cumberland they 

 produced the race of broken-coloured Runners 

 from which, it seems to us highly probable, 

 the evenly marked fawn and whites have been 

 cultivated by careful selection in breeding, for 

 Mr. Donald, in his pamphlet, mentions that 

 from want of selection even markings were 

 then difficult to attain and apt to come more 

 broken in colour than given in his illustration. 



" The Indian Runner is a natural utility 

 duck, specially adapted for foraging and egg- 

 laying, and the type cannot be impaired with- 

 out a corresponding decline in utility qualities. 

 It is the elevated bottle-like body, balanced 

 in such a manner as to give perfect freedom 

 of movement, and the legs pitched far back, 

 allowing the quick-running gait, which give 

 the Runner duck such an immense advantage 

 over all others and places it supreme as a 

 forager and layer. The great speed and 

 foraging instinct of the Runner enables it to 

 travel over wide areas in search of insects and 

 various forms of animal and vegetable life, 

 which form a great part of its sustenance and 

 reduces hand-feeding to a minimum. 



" When viewed at liberty, a flock of first-rate 

 specimens, with their smart appearance and 

 erect bearing, present a fine sight ; the pace at 

 which they run is surprising, and when alarmed 

 or startled it is interesting and amusing to 

 note how quickly they line up, and then, form- 

 ing into a solid block, they will mark time, 

 wheel, or advance like a company of well- 

 trained soldiers. 



" In disposition they are restless and alert, 

 always being on the move, but seldom or never 

 making any attempt to fly. The wings are 

 carried higher up and much more closely 

 packed than in ordinary ducks, and, from long 

 disuse, they seem almost incapable of the 

 power of flight. 



"Runners should be symmetrically formed 

 and properly balanced, and in the best 

 specimens the legs are pitched so far back 

 that the bird is compelled to elevate the body 

 to such as extent as to bring neck and body 

 into an almost direct line, the profile being 

 somewhat suggestive of the outline of an 



old-fashioned soda-water bottle set at an 

 angle of 60 to 70 degrees. The hea:d is 

 carried high, and must be clean and keen- 

 looking, with a strong, well-set bill, eyes 

 placed very high in the skull, and the neck 

 should be very fine and of good length. 

 Many judges at present seem to have a 

 tendency to attach undue importance to mere 

 strength and length of head and bill. The 

 head and bill must be in keeping with and 

 proportionate to the neck and body. The legs 

 are short and strong, with small but very 

 supple feet, and the colour should be in 

 keeping with that of the bill. The bill varies 

 in colour according to age, season and con- 

 dition, and though yellow or pale green when 

 young, it darkens with age, the bill of an 

 old duck usually turning to a deep cucumber- 

 green. 



"Ducks usually range from 3j4 lbs. to 

 4,^2 lbs. in weight and from 24 ins. to 28 ins. 

 in length, and drakes 4 lbs. to 5 lbs. and 

 from 27 ins. to 30 ins. or more, but they are 

 deceptive in appearance, and usually appear 

 smaller than they really are on account of their 

 compact build and the remarkable tightness 

 and closeness of the plumage. 



" The eggs are large for the size of the 

 birds, and mostly white in colour of shell. 

 They are practically land ducks, and require 

 little water — sufficient to drink, and a bath now 

 and again keeping them in excellent condition. 

 The ducklings are easy to rear, and require 

 no special food or treatment beyond what is 

 usual in duck-rearing. 



" Mr. Ludlow's fine coloured plate will 

 give readers a good general idea of the 

 characters, form, colour and markings con- 

 sidered most orthodox up to the present time, 

 save that the head and rump markings of the 

 drake should be darker in colour (a dark 

 bronze, with greenish lustre), except in July 

 and August, when the male assumes the female 

 plumage. However, it would seem that a good 

 Runner duck, like a good horse, is never a bad 

 colour, for the Indian Runner Duck Club 

 standard lays it down that, ' above all, type 

 must receive the chief attention of judges, and 

 on no account must evenness of markings and 

 colour be considered in preference to correct 

 shape.' 



" The judging of Indian Runners, as we 

 before remarked, has in many cases not been 

 altogether satisfactory in the past, and we 

 would therefore counsel those who are to take 

 on the duty in future to carefully study the 

 lines upon which the true type is built up. For 

 this purpose no better guide than the Indian 



