342 FIELD ZOOLOGY. 



hollow which it makes in some cliff side. The wood duck 

 chooses some old nest built by an owl, a woodpecker, or a 

 squirrel; or it may build its own nest but never on the 

 ground, nor necessarily near the water. And part of the 

 duties of the mother duck is to see that the ducklings 

 reach water, carrying them in her bill as far as it may be 

 necessary. (Fig. 114.) Her mate, who has been very de- 

 voted up to this time, will not ' ' raise a finger " to help ; only 

 when the fat little ducklings are fairly launched for their 

 first swim, does he appear, and even then his chief aim 

 seems to be to look handsome. He remains on guard, 

 however, during the whole period of incubation, not 

 feeding the sitting bird, indeed, but doing sentinel duty, 

 warning of danger, and singing to her in duck language, 

 often and long at a time. 



The mallard is the ancestor of our common domestic 

 duck ; and in the wild state, the mallards are monogamous ; 

 it is believed that the birds pair for life. In their southern 

 haunts during our winter, the birds go in pairs, and 

 assemble in pairs at the feeding-grounds. But with 

 domestication, and the easier, sheltered life, came the 

 degeneracy of polygamy; hence in our poultry- yards, 

 we see the flocks of ducks. 



