'.'ii' .^ : 



I 



498 



LAMELLIllOSTRAL SWIMMERS — ANSERES. 



rises obliquely to a considerable height, and Hies off with great speed, the wings pro- 

 ducing a whistling sound. It Hies by rci)eated flaps, without sailing or undulations ; 

 and when in full flight its speed is hardly less tiian a hundred miles in an hour. 



The Mallard pairs early in the spring, and soon disperses, each pair seeking its 

 breeding-place, and nesting on the ground, in the midst of marshes or among ■water- 

 plants, occasionally on higher ground, but always in the vicinity of water. Its nest 

 is usually large, and rudely constructed of sedges and coarse grasses, rarely lined 

 with down (n' feathers. It has been known in rare instances to nest in a tree ; in such 

 cases occu])ying the deserted nest of a Hawk, Crow, or other large bird. The eggs, 

 usually six or eight in number, are pale dull green or greenish white, and measure 

 2.25 inches by l.(!0 inches. 



The female alone incubates, the nuile leaving her to imdergo his annual moult. 

 The female sits very closely, and will sometimes even allow herself to be taken on the 

 nest, or permit the eggs to be removed Avhile she is sitting. When she leaves the 

 nest she conceals the eggs with hay, down, or any convenient material. The period 

 of incubation is four weeks. The young, when hatched, immediat-dy follow their 

 mother to the water, where she attends them di^votedly, aids them in procuring food, 

 and warns them of the api)roach of danger. While they are attempting to escape, she 

 feigns lameness, to attract to herself the attention of the enemy. The young are 

 extremely a<'tive, dive with siu'iirising celerity, and remain under the water with only 

 the bill above the surface. When the young are full-grown, the male rejoins the 

 brood ; and several families unite to form a snudl flock. 



The breeding-season lasts from April to June, though few nest south of 40° north 

 latitude after the middle of May. Dr. E. Hey, of Leipzig, informed !Mr. Dresser that 

 he has known as many as tifteen eggs in a nest. 



The j\tallard, both in the wild and in the domesticated state, readily hybridizes 

 with other species. The Aims niii.iiinn of (Josse is a hybrid between this species and 

 the Muscovy Duck. A highly esteemed race of Domestic Duck, known to fanciers as 

 the Cayuga Duck, is uni[uestionably the ])i'oduct of a luiion between a male ISIallard 

 and a female JFuscovy. Hybridisms between the Malku'd and the Godwell, the 

 Shoveller and the Dusky Duck, and other s])eeies, are on record. 



Tlie following statements in regard to this species are abridged from the very full 

 Arctic notes of the late Mr. Kol)ert Kennicott : — 



The Mallard is found as far north as the .shores of the Arctic Ocean. Being a 

 strictly fresh-water Duck, it does not breed immediately upon tlie sea-coast, but pre- 

 fers the inland livers and lakes. Nor does it frequent the great lakes and rivers as 

 much as it does the smaller streams and grassy lakes and marshes. It breeds sjiaringly 

 as far south as Mexico, and its nests are not rare in the Xortlujrn Ignited States, but 

 occur in greatest abundance between the Xoi'thern United States and the Arctic 

 Circle. In summer this is the most common Duck from the United States northward 

 to Great Slave Lake. It is also abundant on the Yukon and at IVel's River, and 

 Mr. MacFarlane also found it common at Fort Anderson, ncu-th of Bear Lake. 



At Great Slave Lake and on tht> Yukon it arrives among the first of the Water 

 Birds, the earliest comers being seen in tiie latter part of April, though the greater 

 number do not appear until early in May. At Fort Good Hope it arrives a little later. 

 When it reaches Slave Lake, about the 10th of May, it is already paired. A few 

 begin to nest before the middle of May ; but there and on the Yukon the greater 

 number nest early in June, the ycmng hatching about the 1st of July. It leaves its 

 northern breeding-grounds for the south, without collecting in large flocks, about the 

 last of September. 



