SWANS, GEESE AND DUCKS 



RIVER AND POND DUCKS 



or 

 SURFACE-FEEDING DUCKS 



Subfamily Anatinae 



There are, distributed throughout the world, about 100 forms of 

 Surface-feeding Ducks, of which 16, including the visiting European 



Widgeon and the European Teal, are found 

 regularly in North America. 



The characteristics which separate the 

 ducks of this Subfamily from the Diving 

 Ducks and Mergansers are: 



(a) These are fresh-water ducks of the 

 interior; feed in the shallow waters by tip- 

 ping and by dabbling along the edges of 

 lakes, ponds and smaller bodies of water; 

 rarely dive except to escape danger; eat in 

 general more vegetable matter; and are, 

 with few exceptions, more palatable. 



(b) Both the Surface-feeding Ducks and 

 the Diving Ducks have the bill broad and 



flat and the lamellae file-like or comb-like; the Mergansers have the bill 

 narrow and cylindrical and the lamellae saw-toothed. 



(c) The hind toe of the Surface-feeding Ducks is small and without 

 the flap or lobe present in the Diving Ducks 



and Mergansers; the feet are generally smaller 

 than in the Diving Ducks; the legs are placed 

 somewhat nearer the centre of the body. 



(d) The speculum, or coloured patch on 

 the secondary flight-feathers, is generally 

 highly coloured and iridescent, more so than 

 in the Diving Ducks. 



(e) In rising from the water or land the 

 ducks of this Subfamily do so with a strong, 

 vertical, upward bound, whereas most of the 

 Diving Ducks and Mergansers patter along 

 the surface for some distance before clearing. 



FIG. 6. Typical Surface- 

 feeding Duck 



FIG. 7. Typical bill and 



foot of Surface-feeding Duck, 



showing hind-toe without 



lobe 



BAY, SEA 



or 

 DIVING DUCKS 



Subfamily Nyrocinae 



There are, distributed throughout the world, about 43 forms of Div- 

 ing Ducks, of which 20 are found regularly in North America. 



