344 FLAMINGOES, DUCKS, AND SCREAMERS. 



Such a familiar species as the British wild-duck the ancestral 

 Mallard. 



stock of most of our domesticated breeds might seem to require 



little or no description, but the omission of such a notice would entail confusion 

 later on. The mallard, then, is characterised by the male being more brightly 

 coloured than the female, except during the breeding-season ; and by the brilliancy 

 of the wing-speculum in both sexes at all times. In winter the adult male has the 

 four middle tail-feathers curled upwards ; the head and neck are brilliant velvety 

 green, and separated by a white collar from the rich chestnut of the breast ; while 

 the wing-speculum is a brilliant metallic violet, bounded in front by a black and 

 then a white bar, and behind by two similar bands. The beak is yellowish green, 

 and the legs and feet orange-red. In length the bird measures about 22 inches. 

 On the other hand, the female at all times, and the male in the breeding-season, 

 have the wings coloured as above, and the whole of the rest of the plumage varie- 

 gated with dusky and ochre, the former appearing in the centre of the feathers 

 and on the upper-parts, and the latter on the edges of the feathers and lower-parts. 

 Such characters suffice shortly to distinguish this handsome species from its allies. 

 As regards its distribution, the mallard may be said to inhabit the whole of the 

 Northern Hemisphere, although its chief range is restricted to the zone lying 

 between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic. 



The dusky duck (A. obscura), of eastern North America, may 



be taken as an example of a second group of the genus in which 

 the sexes are alike at all seasons, and there is no white at the base of the wing. 

 In this bird the prevailing colour of the plumage is dusky, with the feathers bordered 

 with dull ochre ; the head and neck being deep dull buff streaked with dusky, and 

 the wing-speculum usually deep violet. 



This British duck ( A. strepera) is a small more markedly distinct 



species, sometimes separated as a distinct genus, under the name of 

 Chaulelasmus. Structurally it is distinguished from the preceding by the narrower 

 and shorter beak, in which the edges are not quite parallel, the lamellae are visible 

 externally, and its upper border is not convex in front; while it is further 

 distinguished by the dull coloration of the speculum, which is simple black and 

 white mainly the latter. The gadwall is a very widely spread species, occurring 

 in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America ; and is represented in an island of 

 the South Pacific by the somewhat smaller Coues' gadwall (A. couesi). 



Limits of space preclude any detailed account of the habits of 



the various species of ducks of this genus, but the following excellent 

 account, referring to the mallard, may be quoted from Macgillivray, who writes 

 that " marshy places, the margins of lakes, pools and rivers, as well as brooks, rills, 

 and ditches, are its principal places of resort at all seasons. It walks with ease, 

 even runs with considerable speed, swims, and on occasion dives, although not in 

 search of food. Seeds of grasses and other plants, fleshy and fibrous roots, worms, 

 molluscs, insects, small reptiles, and fishes are the objects of its search. In shallow 

 water it reaches the bottom with its bill, keeping the hind part of the body erect 

 by a continued motion of the feet. On the water it sits rather lightly, with the 

 tail considerably inclined upwards ; when searching under the surface, it keeps the 

 tail flat on the water ; and when puddling at the bottom with its hind-part up, it 



