tcttonarg of 



197 



" the plane " of the others ; hence the divi- 

 sion containing it is named NOTOPODA. 

 They are each furnished with two sharp 



8FONOE CRAB. (DROMIA VDLQAEtlS ) 



curved claws, which enable the crab to hold 

 fast by pieces of sponges, medusae, or other 

 marine productions, under which it conceals 

 itself. In the British Museum collection are 

 some very interesting specimens of a common 

 West Indian species (Dromia lator) with 

 pieces of sponge so attached, into which the 

 convexity of the 



nicely fitted. 



back of the carapace is very 



DRONE. The name of the male honey- 

 bee. [See BEE.] 



DRUMMER. [See BLATTA : FTERO- 



NAKCYS.] 



DUCK. {Anas.) A very extensive and 

 natural genus of water-birds, found in all 

 parts of the world. They feed in great part 

 upon animal matter, such as insects and 

 mollusca ; as well as upon vegetables and 

 grain : they are generally seen upon the 

 lakes and rivers of the interior, though they 

 occasionally resort to the sea-shore. Ducks 

 can all swim and dive with facility; they 

 can all fly well ; and they can all walk, 

 though frequently with difficulty. They 

 feed on soft substances, such as fresh-water 

 insects and tender aquatic plants, which 

 they procure near the surface, or at the bot- 

 tom in shallow muddy places, and worms 

 and slugs, which they search for among the 

 grass. Their distinguishing characters are 

 these : the beak is shorter in proportion than 

 that of the goose, strong, flat, or depressed, 

 and commonly furnished with a nail at the 

 extremity. The feet are proportionably 

 larger than those of the goose kind, the 

 middle toe being the longest ; the legs are 

 I shorter, and placed farther backwards ; the 

 back is flatter ; and the body is more com- 

 pressed. The nostrils are small and oval ; 

 and the tongue is broad, the edges near the 

 base being fringed. There are numerous 

 species of this genus, some inhabiting the 

 fresh water, and others the sea. 



The COMMON WILD DUCK, or MAL- 

 LARD (Anas boschas\ is the original stock of 

 the tame or domesticated Duck, and appears 

 to have been reclaimed at a very early period. 

 Thic bird measures about twenty-three 

 inches in length, thirty-five in breadth, and 

 is two pounds and a half in weight. The 

 bill is of a yellowish green colour, and the 

 head and neck are a deep shining green : a 



circle of white surrounds the neck, to about 

 three-fourths of its circumference: the upper 

 part of the breast and shoulders is of a deep 

 vinous chestnut ; the breast and belly are 

 gray, marked with transverse speckled lines 

 of a dusky hue ; and the scapulars are white, 

 elegantly barred with brown. The spot on 

 the wing is a rich purple ; and the tail is 

 composed of twenty-four feathers. The 

 male of this species is distinguished by four 

 middle feathers,which are black, and strongly 

 curled upwards ; but of these the female is 

 destitute. Indeed the plumage of the female 

 partakes of none of the male's beauties, ex- 

 cept the spot on the wings. She makes her 

 nest, lays from ten to sixteen greenish-white 

 eggs, and rears her young generally in the 

 most sequestered mosses or bogs, far from 

 the haunts of man, and hidden from his sight 

 among high grass, reeds, and bushes. Like 

 the rest of the Duck tribe, the Mallards, in 

 prodigious numbers, quit the north at the 

 end of autumn, and, migrating southward, 

 arrive at the beginning of winter in large 

 flocks, and spread themselves over all the 

 loughs and marshy wastes in the British 

 isles. They pair in the spring, when the 

 greater part of them again retire northward 

 to breed ; but many straggling pairs stay 

 with us : they, as well as preceding colonists 

 of their tribes, remain to rear their young, 

 who become natives, and remain with us 

 throughout the year. 



WILD DUOK. (ANAS BOSCHAS.) 



The flesh of the Wild Duck is held in 

 general estimation, and various methods are 

 resorted to, in order to obtain these birds in 

 quantities. To describe even a tithe part of 

 these various contrivances is not our pur- 

 pose ; but it is necessary to state that the 

 decoy is by far the most favourite method, 

 and is likely long to continue so, as by that 

 species of stratagem Wild Ducks are taken 

 by thousands at a time ; whereas all the 

 other schemes of lying in ambush, shooting, 

 baited hooks, wading in the water with the 

 head covered, &c., are attended with much 

 watching, toil, and fatigue, and are also 

 comparatively trifling in point of success. 

 They abound in Lincolnshire, and are there 

 taken in great numbers. These decoys are 

 usually thus prepared and conducted : It 

 is generally made where there is a large 

 pond surrounded with wood, and beyond 

 that a marshy and uncultivated country. 

 On the south and north sides of the pond, 

 two or three ditches or channels should be 

 made, broader towards the water, and gra- 

 dually narrowing till they terminate in a 

 point : these channels should be covered 



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