HYBRIDS. 301 



breeds of wild fowl, under such compulsory circum- 

 stances as being unable to obtain a mate of their 

 own species, will breed with another race, and thus 

 produce hybrids which are apt to be mistaken for 

 new specimens. On several occasions I have shot 

 most peculiarly marked and oddly-formed ducks with 

 the characteristic of the mallard and dusky-duck 

 strongly defined, and from observation and inquiry 

 I am inclined to believe that these were crosses 

 between the two species. 



