DUCKS 



2109 



The True 

 Ducks 



WII.D DUCK. 



The beautiful wild duck or mallard (Anas boscas] is the typical 

 representative not only of true ducks of the genus to which it be- 

 longs, but likewise of all the fresh-water nondiving ducks of the 

 present subfamily, the general char- 

 acteristics of which have already 

 been mentioned under the head of 

 the sheldrakes. The true ducks 

 are characterized by having the 

 broad and depressed beak about 

 equal in length to the head, with 

 its sides either parallel or partially 

 dilated, and both mandibles pro- 

 vided with well-marked transverse 

 lamellae on their inner edges, the 

 oval nostrils being situated in ad- 

 vance of its base. The legs are 

 shorter than in the sheldrakes, 

 and placed nearly under the centre 

 of the body, with the metatarsus 

 somewhat rounded in front. The 

 wings are rather long and pointed, 



while the tail, which may be either pointed or wedge shaped, is comparatively 

 short. Of the true ducks there are numerous species, with a cosmopolitan 

 distribution; and while in the wild duck the plumage of the two sexes is very 

 distinct, this is not the case in some species, such as the Indian spot-bill duck (A. 

 pizrilorhyncha ) . 



Such a familiar species as the British wild duck the ancestral 

 stock of most of our domesticated breeds might seem to require 

 little or no description, but the omission of such a notice would entail confusion 

 later on. The mallard, then, is characterized by the male being more brightly 

 colored than the female, except during the breeding season, and by the brilliancy 

 of the wing speculum in both sexes at all times. In winter the adult male has the 

 four middle tail feathers curled upward; the head and neck are a brilliant velvety 

 green, and separated by a white collar from the rich chestnut of the breast, while 

 the wing speculum is a brilliant metallic violet, bounded in front by a black and 

 then a white bar, and behind by two similar bands. The beak is yellowish green, 

 and the legs and feet orange red. In length the bird measures about twenty-two 

 inches. On the other hand, the female at all times, and the male in the breeding 

 season, have the wings colored as above, and the whole of the rest of the plumage 

 variegated with dusky and ochre, the former appearing in the centre of the feathers 

 and on the upper parts, and the latter on the edges of the feathers and lower parts. 

 Such characteristics suffice shortly to distinguish this handsome species from its allies. 

 As regards its distribution, the mallard may be said to inhabit the whole of the 

 Northern Hemisphere, although its chief range is restricted to the zone lying 

 between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic. 



Mallard 



