THE DUCK. 279 



docks have been produced ; the pintail, with the two 

 middle feathers of the tail three inches longer than any 

 of the rest ; the pochard, with the head and neck of a 

 bright bay ; the widgeon, with a lead-coloured bill, and 

 the plumage on the back marked with black and white 

 lines ; and, lastly, the teal, the smallest of this tribe, 

 with a bill black, and the head and upper part of the 

 neck bright bay. 



These are the most common birds of the duck kind 

 which happen to be known amongst us; but if we ex- 

 tend our view to foreign parts of the world, the list of 

 course would be greatly increased. The most striking 

 amongst these is the muscovy, or more properly speak- 

 ing the musk duck, from a supposition that it possesses 

 a musky smell ; this bird is a native of the African 

 clime : the Brasilian duck, which is the size of a goose, 

 and entirely black, except the tips of the wings ; the 

 American wood duck, with a variety of beautiful co- 

 lours, and a plume of feathers that fall from the back 

 of the head. 



All these live in the same manner as our domestic 

 ducks, keeping together in flocks in the winter, always 

 flying in pairs during summer, and bringing up their 

 young ones by the water side : their nests are usually 

 built among heath or rushes, and they lay from twelve 

 to fourteen eggs. In the arctic regions, nothing can 

 exceed the great care which birds of this species take 

 to prevent their young from feeling inconvenience from 

 the cold ; but the eider duck is particularly remarkable 

 for the method she adopts to supply her offspring with 

 an artificial heat. The external materials of which the 

 nest is composed are such as are used by the rest of the , 

 kind ; but the inside lining, on which the eggs are de- 

 posited, is warmer and softer than can be conceived ; 



T4 



