ANATLN^E — THE DUCKS — AIX. 9 



less, and with the first shades of evening goes in quest of food, being essentially a 

 night-feeding bird. In disposition it is gentle and affectionate, often evincing a fatal 

 unwillingness to leave its wounded mate. The parent birds are always very solicit- 

 ous about the safety of their young. Mr. St. John once overtook an old Teal with 

 eight newly-hatched young ones crossing his path ; he got off his horse, lifted the 

 little ones up, and carried them a short distance down the road to a ditch, the old 

 bird constantly fluttering about him, within reach of his riding-whip. 



According to Naumann, the Teal visits during the day the shallow shores among 

 the weeds, in morasses or shallow pools, the bottoms of which it can reach without 

 diving, frequenting in preference small pools, flooded meadows, marshes, and marshy 

 ponds, and the swampy green shores of small streams. Toward evening it flies rest- 

 lessly from pool to pool, hunting after worms or grain, and feeding on barley, oats, or 

 the seeds of several species of Panicum. This bird is particularly fond of the seeds 

 of certain rushes and grasses, and it visits the places where these grow in abundance, 

 remaining there all night, and fattening on this nourishing food, so that its flesh 

 becomes very delicate. While swimming on the water it may often be seen carefully 

 picking up small articles of food, with neck and head held down or pushed forward. 

 It feeds on all sorts of small worms, larvae, water-insects, small fresh-water shellfish, 

 shoots of tender plants, seeds of many water-plants, and, very rarely, on spawn or 

 tadpoles. 



Mr. Dresser repeatedly procured the nests of this species in Northern Finland, 

 where lie found them on the ground, among the grass and usually under some low 

 bush, by which they were concealed, often at a considerable distance from the water. 

 The eggs — usually from eight to ten in number — are described as being oval in 

 shape, measuring 1.77 inches in length by 1.30 in breadth, and pale yellowish-white 

 in color. Only the females incubate ; but during the breeding-season the males are 

 never very far distant from the sitting female. When the young are hatched, both 

 male and female appear to be equally unremitting in their attention to them. 



Genus AIX, Boie. 



Aix, Boie, Isis, 1828, 329 (type, Anas galcriculata, Linn.). 

 Dendronessa, Swains. F. I!. A. IT. 1831, 410 (type, Anas sponsa, Linn.). 

 Lampronessa, Wagl. Isis, 1832, 282 (type, Anas sponsa, Linn.). 



Char. Bill small, much shorter than the head, all the lateral outlines gradually converging 

 toward the end, the nail very large, broad, and prominent, forming the tip of the bill ; lamellae 

 completely hidden. Adult male with the head crested, the colors rich and varied, and the mark- 

 ings elegant, tertials exceedingly broad, truncate. 



The above characters are framed so as to include the Chinese Mandarin Duck (Aix galcricu- 

 lata), 1 the only species closely related to our Wood Duck (A. sponsa). This Duck is quite similar 

 to the American species in style of coloration and in general appearance, but differs in so many 

 points of external anatomy as to render it extremely doubtful whether the two species should be 

 kept together in the same genus. They differ in form as follows : — 



A. galericulata. Feathering at the base of the maxilla extending farther forward on the side 

 of the forehead than at the rictus, and forming a straight line between these two points ; 

 depth of the bill through the base about equal to its width. Feathers of the sides of the 



1 Aix galericulata. The Mandarin Duck. 



Anas galcriculata, Linn. S. N. ed. 10, I. 1758, 128 ; ed. 12, 1. 1766, 206. 

 Aix galericulata, Boie, Isis, 1828, 329. — Gray, Handl. III. 1871, 80, no. 10627. 

 VOL. II. — 2 



