MALLARD. 161 
MALLARD. 
ANAS Boscas, Linnzeus. 
The Mallard, or Wild Duck as it is usually called, is 
a common resident, breeding in all parts of the county. 
The nest is often placed amongst brambles or bushes 
in the vicinity of meres, ponds, or streams, but many 
pairs breed in coverts at a considerable distance from 
any water. On the Hills, the eggs are laid under the 
shelter of the ling on the open moors, as was also the 
case on Carrington Moss prior to its reclamation. The 
Rey. C. Wolley-Dod states that at Edge a pair or two 
generally breed in the trees, and this is doubtless not 
an uncommon habit of the bird in other localities. 
When the females are sitting, we have often seen 
a dozen or more drakes swimming in company on 
a mere or secluded reservoir. Many newly-hatched 
young fall victims to the voracity of the pike, 
which attain an immense size in the larger sheets 
of water. 
In winter the numbers of our resident birds are 
largely augmented by immigrant Mallards from the 
Continent, and at this season flocks, often consisting 
of over a hundred birds, frequent those waters where 
protection and privacy afford them a sanctuary. These 
flocks are largest when the meres are partially frozen, 
for the birds are then driven from the ice-bound ponds 
to the open waters. Large numbers of Mallards resort 
to the tidal waters of the estuaries, and Mr. R. Newstead 
has observed that they are much more plentiful on the 
Mersey than on the Dee.! 
1 Dobie, op. cit. p. 323. 
L 
