THE MALLARD. 



583 



they can content themselves with a little six by eight puddle, when the whole 

 world lies before them. 



While on the water the birds spend much time "tipping" for food. Heads 

 under water and tails pointing skyward, they search the bottom for molluscs 

 and crustaceans, or feed upon various kinds of aquatic plants, which choke 

 sluggish streams or line the edges of ponds. When hunger is satisfied they 

 frequently disport themselves upon the water, diving, throwing water over 

 their backs, and splashing about with great ado, much like boys in the old 

 swimming hole. Nights, especially in thickly settled regions, are habitually 

 spent feeding, either by dabbling, or in long forays to stubble-fields, and woods 

 where acorns abound, so that much of the daytime is spent sleeping just on 

 shore, with one leg drawn up and the head tucked comfortably under the wing. 

 Upon being surprised the Ducks rise with a great outcry, in which the female 

 voice is recognized as being a little the loudest, and they make off with rapid 

 strong wing-strokes, which can carry them, it is believed, a hundred miles 

 an hour. 



It is diffi- 

 cult, owing 

 to the ex- 

 treme caution 

 displayed by 

 the parent 

 birds, to esti- 

 m a t e the 

 n u m b e r 

 breeding at 

 present in our 

 state. Cer- 

 tainly it bears 

 no compari- 

 s o n with 

 those to be 

 observed fifty 

 years ago ; 

 but as cer- 

 tainly, Mallards do breed with us still, and in unexpected localities. A swift- 

 winged female crossing a principal street in Oberlin on a June evening, gave 

 me a momentary sense of the existence of an underworld, whose craft and 

 cunning are hidden from the eyes of men. 



The Mallards mate in March or early April, the female depositing her 

 eggs in some grass-lined depression of a low-lying meadow, or at the edge 

 of the woods, never far from water, but seldom at the water's edge, as is the 

 habit of some. With the completion of the set. the male proceeds into volun- 



Taken near Sandusky. Photo by the Authc 



VIEW LOOKING WEST FROM THE NEW LAKE BIOLOGICAL 



LABORATORY. 

 (Under the auspices of the Ohio State University.) 



MANY SPECIES OF DUCKS USED TO NEST HERE. 



