76 The M^ater-fowl Family 



recurved. Length 23.50, wing 10.75, culmen 2.05. 

 Iris brown, feet dull orange. 



I once shot a black duck in which the head was 

 marked with a few green feathers, the plumage 

 otherwise resembling Anas obscura. These 

 hybrids with the black duck are more frequent 

 than supposed. 



No duck has a wider geographical range than 

 the mallard. In the Old World it is found through- 

 out Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, breeding 

 from Spain to Lapland and Siberia; in North 

 America, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic 

 Sea and from coast to coast. Generally abundant 

 throughout the United States, it is uncommon 

 along the Atlantic Coast, north of the Chesa- 

 peake. The mallard breeds sparingly through 

 most of its range, abundantly in the United 

 States from the northern border north ; in the 

 Rocky Mountains, from Montana to Alaska; in 

 the interior, from Dakota and Manitoba along the 

 watercourses to Hudson Bay; in the country 

 west from Hudson Bay and north to the Arctic 

 sea. 



The marshy ponds and sloughs of the prairie 

 are the nesting-grounds of vast numbers. The 

 nest is placed among the rushes on the ground, 

 and is composed of grass and weeds, lined with 

 feathers. The eggs number from twelve to fif- 

 teen, and are covered with down. In the far 



