88 DUCK SHOOTING. 



upper tail-coverts are black, and the tail white, each 

 feather being grayish along the shaft. The breast is 

 deep glossy chestnut, and the other under parts gray, 

 waved with narrow black lines. The under tail-cov- 

 erts are black. The bill is yellow-green, with a black 

 nail, the eyes dark brown and the feet orange. The 

 length is about 2 feet and the wing from 11 to 12 

 inches. The summer dress of the male closely resem- 

 bles that of the female, but is darker. This plumage 

 is assumed in June and is lost again in August, when 

 the winter dress is resumed. 



The female is colored much as the female of the 

 tame duck; the feathers generally are dusky, with 

 broad, pale yellow or buff edges. On the upper parts 

 the dark color predominates; on the lower, the buff, 

 often almost to the exclusion of the blackish streaks. 

 The wing patch is colored as in the male, as are the 

 bill, feet and legs. The chin is almost white and the 

 throat is buff. 



No one of our ducks has a wider range than the 

 mallard, which, as has been said, is the progenitor of 

 the common domestic duck. It is found over the en- 

 tire northern portion of the world; and, in America, 

 as far south as Mexico, while in Europe it breeds in 

 Southern Spain and Greece. It is believed to be com- 

 mon throughout Asia, except in tropical India, and it 

 is more or less abundant in Northern Africa. Al- 

 though a migratory bird, the mallard may usually be 

 found throughout its range in winter, provided there 

 is open water, and so a place where it may feed. In 



1 



