BUCKS AND DRAKES 



401 



A Citizen of Xortli America, who lives iu the woods, unlike 

 most other Ducks, and nests in a hole in a tree, like a Woodpecker 

 — but it has to be a much larger, natural hollow. This beautiful 

 Duck is not very plentiful now, and should not be shot for the 

 table, though its meat is excellent. It is by far the handsomest of 

 its tribe, and is sometimes kept in cages for its beauty. 



The Black Duck 



Length twenty or twenty-two inches. 



Male and female (Drake and Duck) alike, which is the exception 

 to the rule in this family. 



Plumage all over mottled and streaky with dusky shades and 

 buff or tan colors, except the beauty-spot or mirror on the wing. 



Black Duck. 



which is shining purple with a black border — almost all Ducks 

 have such a spot, which is called a mirror because it reflects many 

 glittering hues in different lights. There is no white on the out- 

 side of the winofs of this Duck, and vou can tell it from the female 

 ^lallard by this character ; but the lining of the wings is mostly 

 white. 



A Citizen of eastern North America, common along the Atlantic 

 coast from Florida to Labrador. It nests on the ground, like most 

 Ducks, and is one of the best for the table. 

 2d 



