Harris Birds of the Kansas City Region. 231 



It remains during open winters in favorable localities and 

 has been known to breed in the county. The dates of its occur- 

 rence here cover the entire year, though lately it is seen only 

 during migration. 



A flock of six nearly full-grown young were seen on Mill 

 Creek, between Independence and Courtney, on June 17, 1892. 



Subfamily Anatinae. River Ducks. 



ANAS PLATYRHYNCHOS Linn. Mallard. 



Abundant migrant, fairly common winter resident and occasional 

 summer resident. 



The Mallard is present in some numbers during every winter 

 that the Missouri River remains open. The first birds from the 

 north begin to arrive early in September, though the great 

 flocks do not come through until the middle of October, when 

 they are here in varying numbers until the last days of Novem- 

 ber and the first half of December. Unless the winter be ex- 

 ceptionally severe, the northward movement begins late in Janu- 

 ary and early February. By the last week in March the crest 

 of the migratory wave has passed, though stragglers may be 

 seen as late as the middle of May. 



In former times the Mallard nested commonly along the 

 Missouri River bottoms from its mouth, and Widmann states 

 that a few still find safe breeding grounds in the large tracts 

 of spartina grass in the marshes of north Missouri. Smithson 

 found Mallards breeding near Warrensburg in 1903 and 1904. 

 They have been known to breed also during recent years near 

 Bigelow. 



During the past two or three years there has been a very 

 noticeable increase in the numbers of these and other ducks. 

 The autumn flight of 1916 was decidedly larger than any seen 

 for many years. 



On January 29, 1917, there was a surprising southward 

 flight of thousands of Mallards and Pintails. A severe blizzard 

 followed the ducks, accompanied by a temperature of twelve 

 degrees below zero. These birds had spent the winter up to 

 this date in northern Missouri, although there had been periods 

 during which all lakes and streams, except the Missouri River, 

 had been frozen solid. The closing of the river during this bliz- 

 zard probably accounts for this movement. 



