48 INDIAN DUCKS 



thus domesticated it is a curious fact that they seem never to use 

 their wings as a means of ioeomotion, but will walk very long 

 distances to and from water. A duck belonging to a planter whose 

 house was nearly half a mile from water invariably loalked there 

 and back every evening, returning to the house for the hot hours of 

 the day and for the night. This particular Duck was the object of 

 a wild infatuation on the part of a small domestic drake, who 

 followed her about wherever she went, and as the Wood-Duck 

 could walk at, at least, thrice the rate the drake could, he eventually 

 succumbed to sheer exhaustion and want of time to feed in. She, 

 however, totally ignored all his advances, and in April flew away to 

 find a wild mate. 



They are very impatient of heat, and the birds in my aviary 

 always retired indoors as soon as the sun was up, and even in the 

 cold weather they always kept under cover from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

 Those I sent down to the Calcutta Zoo died very quickly, except one 

 fine drake, who lived about eighteen months before dying of the 

 same disease that carried off all the rest — an affection of the stomach. 



My birds were practically omnivorous, but would touch no dead 

 animal food. Every other day a pail-full of small fishes was emptied 

 into their tank, and by nightfall these were generally all accounted 

 for ; but any that died during this period were never eaten. In the 

 same way, worms that ceased to struggle were discarded, and grai5S- 

 hoppers, frogs, and snails would only be taken if alive. 



They ate paddy and husked rice freely, and I have kept birds for 

 some weeks on this alone, and they kept fat and well upon it, but, at 

 the same time, when they were offered animal food they preferred it 

 to the grain. Green food of all sorts they refused unless very hungry, 

 and I could never induce them to eat any sort of water weed, though 

 one would expect them to eat such in a wild state. 



They were extremely expert in catching fish ; as a rule, they 

 skimmed along the top of the water with the head and neck immersed, 

 but when necessary would dive and chase the fish under water. Of 

 course, their speed when doing so was not comparable to that of cor- 

 morants, or the diving ducks under the same circumstances, but it 

 was sufficient to ensure the capture of almost any fish. They are 

 very mild, well-behaved birds, and not, as a class, at all quarrelsome. 



