218 THE SHELDUCK AND SURFACE-FEEDING DUCKS 



their young to the sea, have a choice of routes by fields and ditches, 

 yet they commonly choose to pass through the village street of 

 Wolferton, much to the delight of the inhabitants. 1 Having reached 

 the sea, two or three broods seem to combine to form " troops " of 

 from thirty to forty, accompanied by their parents. If approached, 

 the adults display considerable anxiety for the safety of their young, 

 but if hard pressed, Mr. Abel Chapman tells us, they leave them to 

 seek safety by squatting among the stones and tide-wrack on the 

 shore. When older they seem well able to take care of themselves, 

 resorting to diving if pursued, and dispersing themselves in all direc- 

 tions. Not until they are at least two years old are these youngsters 

 sexually mature, by which time they have assumed the adult dress, 

 though this lacks something of the brilliancy of older birds. 



MALLARD 

 [W. P. PYCRAFT] 



Of all our native ducks the mallard has surely the highest claim 

 to our regard, for it is one of the handsomest members of its tribe, 

 and certainly the most valuable, since it is the parent stock from 

 which our domesticated breeds have been derived, while in a wild 

 state it yields us still a by no means inappreciable portion of our food- 

 supply. Why the mallard alone among the Ducks has proved capable 

 of domestication is a matter which seems beyond our powers of 

 divination, yet the fact remains. But it is significant to note that 

 when they are not molested, mallard display a very trustful disposi- 

 tion. Thus I have seen numbers feeding and disporting themselves 

 in the midday sun, from the bridge which crosses the Tay at Perth, 

 despite the fact that tramways were continually passing overhead, 

 and people were always watching them from the parapet. But no 



1 In litt. 



