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OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS 



The Call Ducks are so named because their persistent quacking 

 makes them valuable for calling wild ducks within range of the 

 guns of hunters, and they are much used as decoys. They are 

 very small and were produced by dwarfing common ducks. The 

 name " gray," to describe the colored variety, is misleading. The 

 color is like that of the Mallard but of a lighter shade. Some 

 Mallards are quite as gray as the average Gray Call Duck. The 

 Black East India Duck is a dwarf black duck differing so little 



FIG. 128. Blue Orpington Ducks. (Photograph from owner, Sunswick Farm, 

 Plainfield, New Jersey) 



from the Call Ducks as to leave no doubt, in the mind of any 

 one acquainted with the mysteries of making and naming breeds 

 of poultry, that, like the Call Ducks, it is of European origin. 

 There are many ornamental ducks of other species, the most 

 interesting of which are the brilliantly colored Wood Duck 

 (sometimes called the Carolina Duck) and the Mandarin Duck, 

 which, besides being gorgeously colored, has a peculiar crest and 

 has some of the feathers on its wings oddly curved and spread, 

 giving it a singular appearance. Specimens of these ducks are 



