WILD PASTURES 

 the baby. But the blackbird's election 

 is sure anyway. 



Another loved and lovely denizen of 

 these bogs is the wood duck. These 

 breed in the swamp, the mother bird 

 building a grassy nest in a hollow tree, 

 where she lays from eight to fourteen 

 buff-white eggs, and leads her yellow 

 fluffy ducklings to a nearby secluded 

 pool for their first swim. Later they 

 come out into the bog, and ultimately 

 make the pond, where they learn to for- 

 age for themselves. By the first of 

 August the mother bird has sent them 

 adrift, in the main, to paddle and flap 

 their way about as best they may. They 

 are " flappers/' as the boys call them. 

 That is, they can make good speed along 

 the surface by half running and flapping 

 vigorously, but they cannot yet fly 

 enough to rise into the air. 

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