great and small. The young Mallards appear to have acquired 

 their full plumage before arriving in this country. Though often 

 found at the sea-side, even in open weather, they like to come to 

 the fresh waters in the evenings ; and this propensity is well- 

 known to the seaside gunners, who watch at nights for their 

 coming to the fresh-water springs, where they run into the sea. 

 They seem to fly in winter every evening with great regularity 

 as to time, but irregularly as to the course of flight : sometimes 

 they will go to a particular field at a considerable distance from 

 where they have rested during the day, and as they arrive after 

 dusk and depart again before daylight, many places are visited 

 by them without its being known. A very favourable place 

 seems to be a barley stubble which has remained a long time un- 

 ploughed, and especially if a considerable portion of the grain has 

 been shaken out. Many gentlemen have a sort of half -wild breed 

 of Mallards, which remain in the neighbourhood during the whole 

 year. They are generally though perhaps difficult to distinguish 

 from their wild relations on the wing, when the colour remains 

 true pretty easily known when dead: the feet are coarser, and 

 the birds themselves clumsier : they do not show the clean pure 

 breed of the real wild birds, whose condition is adapted by nature 

 to meet all emergencies ; and when they have been accustomed 

 to cater for themselves, and rove where they please over land and 

 water, they will not at man's bidding become tame all at once. 

 Notwithstanding the Mallard in his wild state is so much more 

 wary and difficult to approach in the daytime than many other 

 sorts of wildfowl, it is surprising how tame some of these semi- 

 domesticated birds do become. It is probable our ancestors long 

 since tried to domesticate many other species, but found it im- 

 practicable to make them useful, and abandoned the experiment. 

 In the Mallard you find the wings, when closed, reach to nearly 

 the end of the tail. If you look at a large tame Duck you will 

 find the body much longer, or the wings much shorter, in pro- 

 portion, and the consequence is, the tamr bird cannot fly : this 

 appears to show that, it being unnecessary for the tame bird and 

 its intermediate ancestors to use the wings to procure food through 



