104 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



witted and will often take advantage in a 

 remarkable way of fortunate changes in their 

 environment. 



A few words as to the kind of ducks to 

 procure. The mallard, Anas hosclias — the wild 

 progenitor of the obese inhabitants of our 

 barn-yards — is a first-rate variety to start 

 with. The drake is a beautiful bird, with a 

 glistening green head and neck, and a white 

 neck-ring separating the color above from 

 the rich chestnut of his breast. The female 

 is an inconspicuous brown-colored bird. A 

 wing-tipped pair, or young birds taken from 

 some reed-hidden swamp, will make them- 

 selves at home under almost any conditions. 



These wild birds differ in manv ways from 



M.ALLAKll DUCKS. 



their degenerate domesticated relations, and, 

 no matter how cozy a house is arranged for 

 them, the nest need not be looked for within 

 its walls. One day in spring, when the 

 sombre-colored duck is not to be seen, a 

 careful search among the high grass or weeds 

 which may have grown up in the enclosure, 

 will reveal her brown back, almost hidden 

 beneath a cover of carefully arched grass 

 stems. Here she will be sitting on her six 

 to twelve pale greenish eggs. All around 

 the nest is a neat roll of down from her 

 breast, and, when she leaves her treasures to 

 snatch a hasty drink or a nibble of grain, she 

 ingeniously unrolls this pearly grav coverlet 

 and spreads it over all the eggs. 



When she leads her brood of tiny pufT- 



balls to the water, the amateur duck fancier 

 may congratulate himself on his first tri- 

 umph. Let the little fellows have all the 

 earth-worms and insects they can eat, and, 

 until they begin to pick up grain, give them 

 a dish of hard-boiled egg and lettuce chopped 

 fine, mi.xed up with oatmeal and bread- 

 crumbs. Aside from this they can take care 

 of themselves. 



Next, the black duck, Anas ohsciira, may 

 be given a trial, and although not nearly so 

 conspicuous a bird as the mallard, both sexes 

 somewhat resembling the female of that spe- 

 cies, yet they are not homely birds by any 

 means, and are as hard\- and easy to breed 

 as the others. 



Our country is rich in ducks, there being 

 some forty good species, and no doubt all 

 of these can be kept successfully. A glance 

 at the fine flock of pintail ducks (Dafila acuta] 

 in the aviaries of the Zoological Park will 

 show the ornamental value of this beautifully 

 colored and graceful species. The marbled 

 breast of the gadwall drake {Anas strcpcra) 

 is exquisite, and the delicate blue in the 

 wing-mirror of the blue-winged teal {Anas 

 discoi's) is a tint seldom found in nature. An- 

 other type to choose, if we wish, is the mer- 

 ganser {Merganser scrrator), narrow of bill, 

 the toothed edge of which hints that grain 

 would not satisfy this bird, whose appetite 

 must indeed be appeased with fish. 



The sea-ducks are more difficult to pro- 

 cure, but there is no reason why eider-ducks 

 and the other beautiful sea-going species 

 should not thrive in confinement. Ruddy 

 ducks {Erisniatiira rnliida) are the most com- 

 ical of their class, their infantile show of de- 

 fiance when cornered being ludicrous. When 

 swimming, their absurd tails seem at times 

 to spread to all points of the compass. Get 

 the ruddy duck, by all means. 



The sprightly red-head {Aythya amcricand) 

 is a duck worth keeping, and it soon becomes 

 tame. The very sight of this bird or its 

 cousin, the canvas-back {Aythya vallisneria), 

 quickens the pulse of a hunter or gourmand. 



Those readers who have visited the Zoo- 

 logical Park are probably scanning these 

 lines impatiently to find mention of the two 

 most beautiful of all ducks, which I have re- 

 served until the last — the mandarin duck of 

 China {Aix galcrindata), and the summer or 

 wood duck {Aix sponsa), native of our own 

 ])onds and streams. The daring contrasts of 



