The True Ducks. 263 



after the mud has been washed away 

 through the lamellae with which the edges 

 of its bill are provided must be made 

 entirely by feeling." 



I string together some interesting re- 

 marks from Mr. Abel Chapman's " Bird- 

 Life of the Borders " : " By nature the 

 Mallard is essentially and absolutely a 

 night-feeding bird (far more so than the 

 Wigeon) ; is almost omnivorous in its 

 taste, but with a partiality for fresh water 

 if easily accessible ; has a strong inclination 

 to rest by day, but careless as to whether 

 it rests ashore or afloat. Well aware of 

 the danger of remaining inside harbour 

 by day, the Mallards, with the Wigeon, 

 take flight from their feeding grounds, as 

 a rule, before a sign of daylight has 

 appeared. Their most favoured resorts 

 for whiling away the hours of daylight 

 are either (i) on the open sea, opposite 

 their feeding grounds if smooth, or, other- 

 wise, some sheltered bay or roadstead 

 along the coast, possibly several miles 

 away ; or (2) among the tidal channels 

 and shallow backwaters, formed by the 

 tide, in the sand-bars which inclose most 

 large estuaries, or wildfowl resorts, both 

 in this and other countries. . . . Consider- 

 ing the well-known fact that the Mallard 



