WOOD DUCK. 89 



warmth of which they are deprived by her absence. The 

 young, when following the female, either upon land or 

 water, continually utter a soft, low Pee-pee, a sort of pro- 

 longation of a chick's cry, and the mother answers with 

 an equally gentle Pee-pee, something of the character of a 

 whistle. Sometimes two ducks will take a fancy to the 

 same nest, and much altercation then goes on, not so 

 vociferous though as when the claimants happen to be 

 both of different genera and species. A Wood Duck 

 and a Hooded Merganser, as related by Brewer, con- 

 tended for a nest, and fought continually for several days, 

 and when the nest was examined it was found to contain 

 eighteen eggs, all fresh, two-thirds of which belonged to 

 the Wood Duck. The birds had been so persistent in 

 their struggles to eject each other that neither had been 

 able to sit. 



This species is easily domesticated and breeds in con- 

 finement, provided it is afforded suitable locations for 

 building its nest. It has a very gentle disposition and 

 soon becomes tame and accustomed to new surroundings. 

 It alights readily upon the branch of a tree, and also 

 walks without difficulty upon the larger ones, and I have 

 seen it alight upon the topmost rail of a fence surround- 

 ing a cultivated field, upon which it perched as comfort- 

 ably, and seemed as much at home, as if it had stopped 

 to rest upon the bosom of the lake which was close at 

 hand. The Wood Duck, when moving over open water 

 or marshes, in fact anywhere except in the woods, gen- 

 erally flies in a direct line, seldom altering its course or 

 seeming to vacillate in its mind about the proper route to 

 take. It flies swiftly, and when in the air looks a good 

 deal like the Widgeon. It comes readily to decoys, and, 

 if permitted, will alight among them. 



Nothing in bird life can be much more beautiful than a 



