150 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 
Merganser.—The ‘‘saw-billed”’ ducks are well known and 
are generally regarded by fishermen as destroyers of fish. 
The red-breasted merganser nests on rivers and lakes 
throughout the wooded regions of Canada, from the Gulf 
and River St. Lawrence and northern Quebec to British Co- 
lumbia. The hooded merganser breeds from Ontario to 
British Columbia; the centre of its abundance appears to 
be in northern Manitoba. It is common in British Colum- 
bia and has been found wintering on Okanagan Lake. 
Mallard.—Forbush has truly called the mallard ‘the 
wild duck of the world.’ It is a cosmopolitan species, 
progenitor of our domestic breeds of ducks, a joy to the 
naturalist and sportsman, and in every way our best wild 
duck. Its chief breeding-grounds are the western provinces, 
the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia. It is 
not common east of the St. Lawrence, but it breeds in some 
of the marshes in western Ontario. West of the Great 
Lakes it may be found everywhere. Almost every little 
slough has its pair of mallards. But nowhere does it exist 
in the countless numbers that were formerly found when 
individual gunners killed them by the hundred per day, 
until they tired of the slaughter. They respond readily 
to protection and encouragement and are easily propagated. 
Black Duck.—In the Maritime Provinces, in Quebec, and 
in Ontario, this species takes the place of its near relative, 
the mallard. West of the Great Lakes it is not common. 
Gadwall.—In eastern Canada this species is not common; 
migrants are rarely seen on the Atlantic coast, but it breeds 
more commonly on the prairies, although it appears to be 
the rarest of our ducks, having a wide distribution. 
Baldpate or American Widgeon.—Like the gadwall, this 
fresh-water species is a valuable food duck, and consequently 
has suffered from excessive hunting. In eastern Canada it 
occurs as a migrant, becoming less common from Ontario 
eastward. It breeds abundantly in Manitoba and north- 
