THE WOOD DUCK. 145 



about half way in size between the Teal and the Mallard; 

 the short and well-shaped bill is finely shaded with yellow, 

 carmine, and green; the top of the head, and space between 

 the eye and bill, dark, glossy green; the long crest, dark 

 green and deep bronze-purple, elegantly edged and streaked 

 with white; cheeks and sides of the neck, deep purplish- 

 brown, almost black; arches above the eyes, throat and 

 fore-neck, with points extending across the cheeks and sides 

 of the neck, pure white; breast light purplish-brown, with 

 triangular white spots, and shading into bronze-green on 

 the upper back; wing blue, black, and violet, edged with 

 white; feathers at the shoulder of the wing white, edged 

 with black; tail greenish-black, with rich purplish-brown 

 on each side of the base; femoral and side-feathers, gray- 

 ish-yellow, delicately penciled with black, and tipped with 

 white and black bands; under parts, white. He is decidedly 

 the most beautiful bird of our waters. 



The female is a little smaller than the male, has the crest 

 much smaller, and is altogether plainer in color; the upper 

 parts being generally grayish or brownish, tinged and glossed 

 with green and purple; space around the eyes, throat, and 

 under parts, white; breast similar to that of the male in 

 marking, but much plainer in color. 



Having performed their amorous caresses, the happy pair 

 spring out of the water on wing and alight in the top of a 

 tall tree, perching as readily as any land-bird, and thus 

 differing widely from most others of their kind. Here 

 they are still beautiful, but not so charming as on the 

 water. 



The Wood Duck breeds here, as it does in similar retreats 



throughout the Union; not on the ground, however, 



after the usual manner of Ducks, but in the ends of large 



hollow limbs which have been broken off, the nest being 



10 



