Wood-Duck 



191 



New Brunswick, and Ontario northward to British Columbia, and southward 

 through the United States to its southern border and Cuba. On account of its 

 beauty and lack of shyness, it is one of the best-known Ducks in the whole 

 country, but its numbers have been sadly depleted in recent years, a condition 

 largely traceable to the unfortunate laws in many states that permit spring 

 shooting. "It is not seclusive," says Dr. Fisher, "often making its abode near 

 towns, or perhaps in the vicinity of farmhouses, when it may be found feeding 

 or associating with barnyard Ducks. It takes kindly to domestication, is easily 

 tamed and induced to breed in captivity. Its favorite haunts are small lakes, 

 weedy ponds, or shady streams in the midst of, or, in close proximity to, scattered 

 woodlands, and, except during migration, is rarely met with about open bays 

 or large bodies of water." It is swift and graceful in flight, rivaling the Grouse 

 and Quail in the ease and facility with which it glides through the woods and 

 among the branches. The food of the Wood-Duck consists of various kinds of 

 insects, the seeds and leaves of aquatic plants, as well as beechnuts, chestnuts, 

 and acorns. Its fondness for the latter, on which it feeds largely in autumn, 

 gives it in some localities the name of Acorn Duck. 



It commences to breed in the South early in March, and in the more northern 

 parts of its range some four or five weeks later. " The nests are almost invariably 

 placed in cavities in trunks or limbs of trees, often at a considerable height from 

 the ground, and are occasionally quite a distance from the water. The eggs, 

 which vary in number from six to fifteen, according to the age of the bird, re- 

 semble old ivory in color." The nesting cavity is often sparsely lined with small 

 sticks, grass, and feathers from the breast of the sitting bird, or from various other 

 birds. As soon as the female begins the duty of incubation, she is abandoned 

 by the male, the drakes of a neighborhood banding together and flying about 

 and feeding in company. There are differences of opinion, according to Fisher, 

 as to whether these bands remain unbroken and aloof from the females and young 

 through the entire breeding season or separate at intervals during the day to 

 visit their mates. 



Bay or Sea Ducks. We now come to the so-called bay or sea Ducks (Sub- 

 family Fuligulin(B\ which are distinguished from the last group by having the 

 hind toe broadly lobed or webbed. They are mainly large birds, frequenting 

 the open water of our large lakes, bays, and seacoasts, and they obtain their 

 food, which consists of mollusks, crustaceans, and the seeds and roots of aquatic 

 plants, by diving, often to a surprising depth. Thus Mosley records that in 

 Lake Erie large numbers of Old Squaw Ducks were brought in by fishermen 

 that had been caught in their nets in a depth of water varying from eighty to 

 one hundred feet, and greater depths than these have also been recorded. 



Red-head. The first group we shall consider is represented by the genus 

 Aythya, of which the Red-head (A. americana) may be taken as a good example. 

 It is about twenty inches long, the male having the head and upper neck bright red- 

 dish chestnut, the lower part of the neck, chest, upper part of the back, rump, and 

 upper tail-coverts black, the back, scapulars, sides, and flanks finely barred with 

 wavy lines of black, the wing-coverts gray, while the abdomen is pure white. 



