THE WOOD DUCK 



By WILLIAM DUTCHER 



^^t il^ational Si0&omtion of Audubon ^otktit0 



SPECIAL LEAFLET NO. 10 



(Supplement to Bird-Lore, Vol. X, No. 4, July-August) 



The object of this leaflet is to call the attention of the American public 

 to a condition that now exists, but which it is hoped may be remedied by 

 concerted and prompt action on the part of all those who love the beauti- 

 ful in nature and are willing to guard it. 



When Audubon wrote his account of the Wood Duck in 

 Former o i i r i i • 



., , I035. only seventy-two years ago, he referred to their very 



great abundance in such statements as follows : "At Boston, 



where I found them rather abundant during the winter"; ''I knew a person 



in South Carolina who caught several hundreds in the course of a week" ; 



"For my own part, I assure you, I have seen hundreds in a single flock." 



That they were abundant even as late in the last century as in the seventies 



is well established by reference to Dawson's 'Birds of Ohio,' published in 



1903, in which it is stated "Thirty years ago Wood Ducks were killed by 



wagon -loads every spring." 



Dr. A. K. Fisher, Ornithologist of the Biological Survey, 

 Present 

 g . United States Department of Agriculture, was the first to 



call attention to the growing scarcity of the Wood Duck in 



an article entitled 'Two Vanishing Game Birds,' published in igoi. He 



said, "Unless strong protective measures are soon adopted, the Woodcock 



and Wood Duck, two popular and valuable game birds, will become extinct. ' ' 



In order to secure late data, inquiries were made in all parts of the 

 continent, and the information received came from so many points that 

 it can be relied on to fairly represent the present status of the Wood Duck. 

 The consensus of opinion is that the Wood Duck has become alarmingly 

 scarce. Many reports were received showing that this species has entirely 

 disappeared as a breeder in the sections referred to, while others used such 

 terms as "Absolutely disappeared," "None," "Very rare migrant," "Have 

 seen but one in twenty years," "Decrease 6o per cent — 70 per cent — 90 

 per cent." Quotations from the reports might be continued indefinitely, 

 but they would all be of the same general tenor; although, in some localities 

 near the center of distribution of the species, the reports were not quite so 

 alarming. However, nearly every report showed in the most emphatic 

 manner that the time has arrived when the most heroic means must be 

 taken to stop the decrease. 



There are several very potent reasons for the rapid decrease in the 

 numbers of the Wood Duck which are worth careful examination. Some 



