60 



Birds of Xorth Carolina 



consregate in great minihcis. ]')cin>i; \ini\('rsally esteemed as chuict' birds for the 

 talilc. it is little wonder that this siw-cies has long been domesticated. Our tame 

 dueks, however, rarely exhibit the fine a])])earanee of plumage and activities so 

 characteristie of their wild kiudn-d. The Mallard is supposed not to nest in Xorth 

 Carolina, although one need not be greatly surprised to find a pair of cripples thus 

 engaged. A reliable farmer of Guilford County reported that he found a Mallard's 

 egg late in the spring of 1909 on a creek bank much frecjuented by the birds just 

 before their departure for the season. The weight of a wild Mallard is about two 

 and one-half pounds, and exceptionally large and well-conditionetl specimens will 

 sometimes tip the scales at three povnMJs or more. 



Fid. :)4. .M.M.l.AKli (uilult male). 



A favorite among fresh-water duck shooters, the Mallard comes readily to decoys, 

 but usually it is a susi)icious l)ird, and the blind and the decoys shouhl be properly 

 jilaced and the gmnier well hidden and motionless to insure success. 



43. Anas rubripes (Brewster). Bl.\ck Duck. 



.•lf/.<!.— Top of lu-iul ridi fuscous, sliglitly streaked with i);ilc l>ulTv; sides of tlip lioad and 

 tln-oat pale l>ufTv, tliickly slrcvikod willi" l)Iackisli; rest of umlcri)arts fu^cous-hrown, tlio 

 feathers all hordi-rcd \>y ochraeeous-hufT; hack slightly darker and narrowly marttincd with 

 liufTv; speculum rich piirple. Ixmlercd by l)lack, and, at the end only, narrowly by white. 

 L.. 22.00: \V., 11.00; Tar., 1.7."); B., 2.20. 



lidnnrl.-x. — .Vhvays to be distinguished from the female Mallard by its darker colors and 

 smaller amount of white in the wing. 



Jiiingc. — Eastern \orlh .\merica, broodinK somewhat more southerly than the Mallard. 



Range in \orlh raro/iH«.— Whole State in winter, and apparently also breeds in portions 

 of the coastal region. 



