CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 8. NATATORES. 



315 



HuTCiiixs's Goose, A. Hutchinsi — called Mud Goose on Long Island — is twenty-five inches 

 long; breeds along the Arctic Sea, and is common upon our coasts. Some have supposed it a 

 hybrid between the Brant and Wild Goose. Mr. Linsley, in his Catalogue of the Birds of Con- 

 necticut, states that it is not unfrequently taken there in spring, and is called the Southern Goose, 

 because it does not winter there. 



The following are in the catalogue of the Smithsonian Institution : White-headed Goose, A. 

 ccerulesccns ; found in North America: A. frontalis, interior of North America: White-cheeked 

 Goose, Bernicla leucopareia, west coast of North America : Black Brant, B. nigricans. Pacific 

 coast of North America; rare on the Atlantic coast: Painted Goose, Chloephaya canagica, 

 Aleutian Islands. 



MALLARDS. 



THE TRUE DUCKS. 



These closely resemble the preceding group in their general conformation, and in the form of 

 the bill. They all frequent fresh water, where they feed upon the worms, mollusca, and larvae 

 which they pick out of the mud. A considerable portion of their food, liowever, consists of vege- 

 table matter, such as grass, roots, seeds, <fec. They are gregarious in their habits, and generally 

 migrate in large flocks. The males are larger than the females, and often adorned with beautiful 

 colors, while the females are usually of a more uniform and sober tint. In winter, most of them 

 resort to the borders of the sea. 



They moult twice in the j'ear, in June and November ; in June, the males acquire the female 

 plumage to a certain extent, but they regain their proper dress at the second moult, and retain it 

 during the breeding season. The nest is usually placed on the ground among reeds and sedges 

 near the water, sometimes in holes or in hollow trees, but rarely among the branches. The eggs 

 vary from about eight to fourteen in number, and the young are active from the moment of their 

 exclusion, and soon take to the water, where they are as much at home as the old birds. As the 

 flesh of ducks is greatly valued, immense numbers of the wild ones are shot or taken in other 

 ways. In England large quantities are captured by decoys, consisting of a piece of water situated 



