664 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



MALLARD DUCKS NESTING TOGETHER. 



down, with the exception of the heads, wliich 

 were bare and reddish in color. The photo- 

 graph was taken by Mr. Kinney on June 25, 

 when the birds were 

 probably about five- 

 weeks old. Unfortu- 

 nately, no record was 

 kept of the date at 

 which the youngsters 

 took flight, but this 

 event finally took 

 place, late in the sum- 

 mer. 



It will be most in- 

 teresting to note if the 

 birds return to their 

 nesting-place in 1910. 

 and it is to be hoped 

 that a more accurate 

 account will be kept of 

 the important points in the life-histories of the 

 young. L. S. C. 



NEST OF A MALLARD IN THE MULE-DEER SHELTER 



mallard, and not least strongly in the selection 

 of nesting sites. 



The flock of mallards in the Zoological Park, 

 .starting from a very unpretentious few, now 

 numbers several hundreds, the majority of 

 which are un-pinioned and hence have the lib- 

 erty of the Park, even exceeding its limits, 

 sometimes disastrously, for the ubiquitous small 

 hoy is ever ready with the proverbial "rock" 

 for the straying bird. Tlie nesting sites within 

 the confines of the Wild Fowl Pond are neces- 

 sarily limited and are usually claimed early in 

 the year by the pinioned females, that cannot 

 "gad" about as freely as their full-winged sis- 

 ters. Most of the latter, therefore, must seek 

 temporary homes elsewhere, and some of their 

 selections are well worth notice. A better exam- 

 ple of protective coloration than a female 

 mallard would be difficult to find. The dark 

 brown mottled feathers seem to blend admirably 

 into every color scheme 

 of nature. One bird 

 made her nest on a 

 narrow bit of s o d 

 which has grown in a 

 crack in the face of a 

 large rock west of the 

 Wild Fowl Pond. The 

 crack is horizontal and 

 about one foot f r o m 

 the ground, protected 

 only by a stray branch 

 or two ; yet only the 

 sharpest eye can de- 

 tect the sitter. An- 

 other has wedged her- 

 self between the roots 

 of a giant elm. There is absolutely no cover, yet 

 it is almost impossible to make out the patient 

 mother. When intruders are near, a leaf blown 



NESTING OF THE MALLARD. 



THAT the great readiness which the mallard 

 evinces for putting on the empty cloak of 

 civilization was appreciated and taken ad- 

 vantage of by our very remote ancestors, is evi- 

 denced by the innumerable multitudes of tlie 

 effete descendants of these splendid birds, rang- 

 ing from the lowly "puddle-duck" of the coun- 

 try roadside to the great Rouen, which lias 

 retained the original color of plumage. To thus 

 endure the vicissitudes of captivitj', a wild 

 creature must possess adaptability in an extreme 

 degree. This is admirably developed in tlie 



