7o6 



THE NATURE BOOK 



head, white neck-ring, beautifully vermicu- 

 lated flanks, curly black feathers above the 

 tail, and orange feet and legs, are unmis- 

 takable, and are too well known to be con- 

 founded with the brown head and wide 

 white neck stripe of the long-tailed male 



The female Wigeon, though smaller 

 still than the Shoveller, is somewhat like 

 the Wild Duck, but the back is nearly a 

 whole-coloured brown, and the breast and 

 belly nearly white. In shape and colour 

 the female Teal, the smallest of all our 



MALLARD ON NEST. 



P'lolo^yaf'h by J. T. Xfwntaii, BtT/:ha.Jit/>stt:UiL 



Pintail. The latter is a comparatively rare 

 bird, but is not to be confounded with the 

 rarer true Longtail, which is a sea-duck, 

 and much smaller. The female Shoveller, 

 too, does not differ much at first sight from 

 the Wild Duck, except in its smaller size 

 and the spatulate extension of the beak. 

 Tlie sides of the beak, too, are furnished 

 with much more highly developed fringes 

 of slender lamellce ; those on the upper 

 mandible fit into those situated on the 

 lower \yd\-\. of the beak, and thus make 

 an excellent strainer for sifting out minute 

 forms of animal life from the surface of 

 the water in which the Shoveller delights 

 to bibble. Whilst on the wing, the adult 

 male shows much white on the shoulders 

 and under parts. 



ducks, approximates more nearly to the 

 female of the Mallard. 



The Shoveller is not at all a loquacious 

 bird, but the " tharp " of the Mallard, 

 " quack " of Wild Duck, " crick " of 

 Teal, and "wheoh" of Wigeon, are well- 

 known sounds to all flight-shooters, whilst 

 the most proficient of marsh gunners will 

 identify all the commoner species of 

 duck in the dark by their various wing 

 sounds, and even by the specific splash 

 which they make on rising from the water. 

 Generally speaking, all ducks feed chiefly 

 at night, and rest liy day, except, of 

 course, when frost compels a change of 

 custom. 



The male \\'igeon carries a cream- 

 coloured crest. In fact, in full plumage 



