FOOD HABITS OF MALLARD DUCKS. 3 



increasin,g the numbers of the mallard and whatever is done to protect 

 and preserve it undoubtedly will prove of benefit to many other species 

 of wild ducks. 



FOOD HABITS. 



A total of 1,725 gizzards of the mallard, many of them accompa- 

 nied by well-filled gullets, have been examined. Twenty-five 

 were collected in April, August, and September, but not being 

 enough fairly to represent the food in these months were not tabu- 

 lated. One hundred and forty-seven stomachs were examined ^ 

 after ascertaining the percentages, which as quoted in the following 

 pages are derived from analyses of the contents of 1,578 stomachs. 



These were collected in 22 States and in 2 Canadian Provinces. 

 Louisiana is much more heavily represented than any other State, 

 with Arkansas, Wisconsin, Texas, and Florida next in rank in the 

 order named. The over-representation of Louisiana and Arkansas 

 tends to give undue importance to the duck foods common in those 

 States. This is especially noticeable with regard to products of 

 plants of cypress swamps. 



Some of the stomachs of mallards were interesting on account of 

 the large numbers of individual objects they contained. For in- 

 stance, one collected at Hamburg, La., in February, revealed 

 about 28,160 seeds of a bulrush (Scirpus cubensis), 8,700 of another 

 sedge {Cyperus ferax) , 35,840 of primrose willow (Jussisea sp.), and 

 about 2,560 duckweeds (Lemna sp.) as the principal items, a total of 

 more than 75,200. 



Another stomach collected at the same locality in December con- 

 tained no fewer than 102,400 seeds of primrose willow (Jussixa lepto- 

 carpa), besides a number of other items in smaller numbers. The 

 seeds in this stomach if sowed one in a place and a foot apart each 

 way would suffice for 2 J acres of ground. 



About one-tenth (9.47 per cent) of the food of the mallard is 

 derived from the animal kingdom and nine-tenths from the vegetable. 



Vegetable Food. 



Approximately nine-tenths (90.53 per cent) of the entire con- 

 tents of the 1,578 mallard stomachs examined was derived from 

 the vegetable kingdom. The largest proportion of the food di-awn 

 from any single family of plants came from the sedges and amounted 

 to 21.62 per cent of the total. Grasses rank next in importance, 

 supplying 13.39 per cent; then follow smartweeds, 9.83; pondweeds, 

 8.23; duckweeds, 6.01; coontail, 5.97; wild celery and its aUies, 4.26; 

 water elm and hackberries, .4.11; wapato and its alHes, 3.54; and 

 acorns 2.34 per cent. Numerous minor items make up the remainder. 



I By E. G. Holt and D. C. Mabbott. 



