Nest, &c. 
308 NATATORES. ANAS. Witp Duck. 
in a state of domestication they are observed to be polyga- 
mous. This pairing takes place towards the end of Fe- 
bruary or beginning of March, and they continue associated 
till the female begins to sit, when the male deserts her, join- 
ing others of his own sex similarly situated; so that it is 
usual to see the Mallards, after May, in small flocks by 
themselves. About this time also they begin to undergo 
the changes of colour that assimilate them in a great degree 
to the female, and which is retained till the period of the 
autumnal or general moult. The care of the young thus 
devolves entirely upon the Duck, and is not partaken by the 
male, as Witson and others appear to think; and this fact 
I have had frequent opportunities of verifying, as many 
Wild Ducks annually breed upon the edges of our Northum- 
brian moors, and the young broods are of course frequently 
under inspection as they descend the rivulets to the lower 
marshy parts of the country.—The nest of the Wild Duck 
is generally made in some dry spot of the marshes, and not 
far from water, to which she can lead her progeny as soon 
as hatched. It is composed of withered grass, and other 
dry vegetable matter, and usually concealed from view by a 
thick bush, or some very rank herbage; though other and 
very dissimilar situations are occasionally chosen, as several 
instances have been recorded where they have deposited 
their eggs on the fork of a large tree, or in some deserted 
nest. Such an instance once occurred within my knowledge, 
and near my own residence, where a Wild Duck laid her 
eggs in the old nest of a crow, at least thirty feet from the 
ground. At this elevation she hatched her young; and, as 
none of them were found dead beneath the tree, it is pre- 
sumed she carried them safely to the ground in her bill, a 
mode of conveyance known to be frequently adopted by the 
Eider Duck. When disturbed with her young brood, the 
Wild Duck has recourse to various devices to draw on her- 
self the attention of the intruder, such as counterfeiting 
lameness, &c. which manceuvres are generally successful; and 
