150 CONSERVATION OP CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



Merganser. — The ''saw-billed" ducks are well known and 

 are generally regarded by fishermen as destroyers of fish. 

 The red-breasted merganser nests on rivers and lakes 

 throughout the wooded regions of Canada, from the Gulf 

 and River St. Lawrence and northern Quebec to British Co- 

 lumbia. The hooded merganser breeds from Ontario to 

 British Columbia; the centre of its abundance appears to 

 be in northern Manitoba. It is common in British Colum- 

 bia and has been found wintering on Okanagan Lake. 



Mallard. — Forbush has truly called the mallard "the 

 wild duck of the world." It is a cosmopoUtan species, 

 progenitor of our domestic breeds of ducks, a joy to the 

 naturalist and sportsman, and in every way our best wild 

 duck. Its chief breeding-grounds are the western provinces, 

 the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia. It is 

 not common east of the St. Lawrence, but it breeds in some 

 of the marshes in western Ontario. West of the Great 

 Lakes it may be found everywhere. Almost every little 

 slough has its pair of mallards. But nowhere does it exist 

 in the countless numbers that were formerly found when 

 individual gunners killed them by the hundred per day, 

 until they tired of the slaughter. They respond readily 

 to protection and encouragement and are easily propagated. 



Black Duck. — In the Maritime Provinces, in Quebec, and 

 in Ontario, this species takes the place of its near relative, 

 the mallard. West of the Great Lakes it is not common. 



Gadwall. — In eastern Canada this species is not common; 

 migrants are rarely seen on the Atlantic coast, but it breeds 

 more commonly on the prairies, although it appears to be 

 the rarest of our ducks, having a wide distribution. 



Baldpate or American Widgeon. — Like the gadwall, this 

 fresh-water species is a valuable food duck, and consequently 

 has suffered from excessive hunting. In eastern Canada it 

 occurs as a migrant, becoming less common from Ontario 

 eastward. It breeds abundantly in Manitoba and north- 



