THE DUCK 95 



domestication, notwithstanding the numerous varia- 

 tions of plumage that captivity has caused it to 

 undergo. ' ' 



"The head superbly clothed in green," observed 

 Emile, "the little curly tail-feathers, and the spot of 

 blue in the middle of the wing I have noticed all 

 these lots of times in tame ducks. ' ' 



1 ' The wild duck is strong of wing and a passionate 

 lover of travel. Consequently it is found nearly 

 everywhere ; but it does not stay long anywhere, un- 

 less it be in the most northerly regions, Lapland, 

 Spitzbergen, and Siberia, where it delights in the 

 solitude so favorable for nesting undisturbed and 

 passing the summer. Twice a year it visits us : in 

 the spring on its way to the North, and in the autumn 

 on its return from the Pole, when it goes as far as 

 Africa to take up its winter quarters in warmer coun- 

 tries. On a gray November day when it threatens 

 snow you can see, passing from north to south, at 

 a great height, migrating birds arranged one behind 

 another in two files which meet in a point, like the 

 two arms of a V. It is a flock of ducks emigrating. 

 They are fleeing the approach of cold weather and 

 seeking a milder climate, perhaps beyond the sea, 

 where they may find assured nourishment in waters 

 that do not freeze. The better to cleave the air 

 and husband their strength on such a long journey, 

 the flying squadron arranges itself in the form of a 

 wedge, the point of which opens the way through 

 the resisting air. The post at the tip is the hard- 

 est, since the leader of the file, being the first, 



