292 THE KEEPERS BOOK 



high duck is sufficient to satisfy even the most exacting 

 sportsman. 



The common wild duck are fairly plentiful all over 

 the British Isles ; they are generally to be found in 

 lakes, ponds, rivers, or other watery places. The male, 

 commonly known as the mallard, is a singularly beautiful 

 bird. The head and upper part of the neck are of a dark 

 green hue ; the lower part of the neck, which is separated 

 from the upper part by a white ring, is of a greyish 

 brown colour ; the breast above is of a deep chestnut, 

 below of a greyish white ; the back is greyish brown. 

 The wings, which extend to nearly 3 ft, are of a rich 

 purple colour merging into black ; the greater wing 

 coverts have tips of a velvet-black, with a bar of white 

 near the end, and the lesser wing coverts are of a greyish 

 brown. From the end of May till the beginning of 

 August the male adopts the dress of the female, and 

 does not completely assume his own brilliant plumage 

 till the beginning of October. The female is smaller 

 than the male and is of a brownish hue, the back being 

 blackish brown and the breast pale yellowish brown ; 

 the wings brown, with a little green. The male bird 

 has a tail of twenty feathers, the four centre feathers 

 of which are curled up : they are of a greenish black 

 colour, the others being greyish white. The female 

 has a tail of brown, the feathers margined with reddish 

 white. The young birds, male and female, known as 

 flappers, resemble each other till after the first moult. 



The young wild duck is easier to rear than the young 



