Plate-billed Swimmers 



River and Pond Ducks 



(Subfamily Anatince) 



The hind toe of these ducks is without a flap, or lobe, and 

 the front of the foot is furnished with transverse scales, which 

 are the two features of these birds which have led scientists to 

 separate them into a distinct subfamily. But to even the un- 

 trained eye other peculiarities are also noticeable. The feet of these 

 ducks are smaller than those of the sea-ducks, the toes and their 

 webs naturally not being so highly developed, owing to the calmer 

 waters on which they live; although some few species do associ- 

 ate with their sea-loving kin. They do not dive to pursue food like 

 the mergansers and sea ducks, but nibble at the aquatic plants they 

 live among, and dabble with their bills on the surface of the water 

 for particles of animal matter; or, with head immersed and tail in 

 air, probe the bottom of shallow waters for small mollusks, crus- 

 taceans, and roots of plants. Their bill acts as a sieve or strainer. 

 From the more dainty character of their food, their flesh is superior. 

 These drakes undergo a double moult; generally the sexes are 

 distinct in color; the young resemble the female; but the wing- 

 markings, in which a brilliant speculum is usually conspicuous, 

 are the same in both sexes. When the males are not polyga- 

 mous, they devote themselves to one mate, leaving the entire 

 care of the young, however, to her. The speed of these ducks 

 on the wing has been estimated anywhere from one hundred to 

 a hundred and sixty miles an hour. 



Mallard Duck. 



Black or Dusky Duck. 



Gadwall, or Gray Duck. 



Baldpate, or Widgeon. 



Green-winged Teal. 



Blue-winged Teal. 



Shoveler. 



Pin-tail. 



Wood Duck. 



Sea and Bay Ducks 



(Subfamily Fuligulince) 



The lobe, or web, hanging free on the hind toe is the charac- 

 teristic looked for by scientists to separate these birds from the 



84 



