WILD DUCK. 273 



four hundred together. They remain in considerable num- 

 bers among the islands on the western coast of Sweden till 

 the sea freezes." The Wild Duck is common also over 

 the other parts of the Continent of Europe ; is found east- 

 ward as far as Japan; westward over North America and 

 the United States, and was obtained by Captain Beechey 

 during a voyage to the Pacific and Behring's Straits ; it is 

 probably indigenous to the greater part of the northern 

 hemisphere. 



The Wild Duck is the undoubted origin of many of the 

 varieties of our domestic ducks ; but in these one curious 

 difference of habit is observable: the Wild Duck is strictly 

 monogamous ; our most common Domestic Ducks, on the 

 contrary, are polygamous ; they are also very prolific, one 

 Duck has been known to produce one hundred and eighty 

 eggs in one season. The Common Duck has bred with the 

 Egyptian Goose, the Shelldrake, the Muscovy Duck and 

 the Pintail Duck. 



In the adult male the bill is yellowish-green ; the irides 

 hazel ; all the head and the upper half of the neck rich 

 glossy green ; below that a narrow ring of white ; the 

 neck behind and the back greyish chestnut brown, becoming 

 dark on the lower part of the back, and bluish black on 

 the rump and upper tail-coverts ; the four middle tail- 

 feathers velvet black, and curled upwards ; the rest lancet- 

 shaped, ash-grey in the middle, margined with white, the 

 most outer feathers having the broader margins ; scapulars 

 a mixture of brown and grey ; the small wing-coverts ash- 

 brown ; the greater coverts with a bar of white near the 

 end, and tipped with velvet black ; primaries ash-brown ; 

 the secondaries the same on the inner web, the outer 

 portion towards the end of the outer web rich shining pur- 

 ple, forming a speculum, but bounded by a bar of velvet 



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