CHAPTER SIXTEEN WILD DUCKS 



put to in collecting dead leaves and straw to cover her 

 eggs, when they are laid in a well-kept Hower-bed. I often 

 have a handful of straw laid on the grass at a convenient 

 distance from the nest, which the old bird soon carries off, 

 and makes use of. The drakes, though they take no por- 

 tion of the nesting labours, appear to keep a careful watch 

 near at hand during the time the duck is sittinp-. The half- 

 bred birds have a peculiarity in common with the wild 

 duck — which is, that they always pair, each drake taking 

 charge of only one duck — not, as is the case with the tame 

 ducks, taking to himself half a dozen wives. The young, 

 too, when first hatched, have a great deal of the shyness 

 of wild ducks, showing itself in a propensity to run off and 

 hide in any hole or corner that is at hand. When in full 

 plumage my drakes also have the beautifully mottled 

 feathers above the wing which are so much used in fly- 

 dressing. With regard to the larder, the half-wild ducks 

 are an improvement on both the tame and wild, being 

 superior to either in delicacy and flavour. Their active 

 and neat appearance, too, make them a much more orna- 

 mental object (as they walk about in search of worms on 

 the lawn or field) than a waddling, corpulent barn-yard 

 duck. 



There is a very pretty and elegant little duck, which is 

 common on our coast — the long-tailed duck, Anas glacial- 

 is* Its movements and actions are peculiarly graceful and 

 amusing, while its musical cry is quite unlike that of any 

 other bird, unless a slight resemblance to the trumpeting 

 of the wild swan may be traced in it. Lying concealed on 



*The long-tailed duck is named in modern classification Hartldaglacialis. — Ed. 

 211 



