in size, and by this alone may be readily distinguished from each other. That of the Mallard is the 

 largest, measuring about 2.25x1.72; next, the egg of Wood Duck, about 1.90x1.50; and last, that of 

 the ^Blue-winged Teal, measuring about 1.85x1.30 inches. The Teal's eggs are decidedly buff tinted 

 the Wood Duck's less so, while the Mallard's arc usually greenish or brownish in color. 



REMARKS : 



The three eggs illustrated, Fig. 4, Plate LXII, are part of a set of seven taken in Ottawa county, 

 in 1879. The coloring is that of blown specimens about five years old, but as they fade but little it is 

 sufficiently near in tint to the fresh eggs. 



With the exception of the Wood Duck, the Mallard is the handsomest of all the Ducks that are 

 found in Ohio, or even our entire continent ; and were not the old adage true, that familiarity breeds 

 contempt, "would be considered much more beautiful than it is at present. Let any one observe for a 

 short time a full plumaged drake, how proudly he stands among his soberly attired companions, for he 

 is no believer in furbelows and gewgaws of fancy colors as ornaments to the female form. For himself 

 on the contrary, nothing can be too fine, provided always it is in good taste, for he is not of the common 

 herd. Now see him change his position and pose upon one leg — even this is a feat not gracefully 

 performed by every one — while he turns slightly to one side his metallic-green head. Now he lovingly 

 strokes the feathers upon his beautiful back, and wriggles from side to side the jaunty curled feathers 

 of his tail. Now he stretches his gorgeous wing to its full extent along his orange-colored leg and foot 

 twisting and bending it till in turn each part sparkles in the sunlight as if set in costly gems. "Awkward 

 as a Duck." Nonsense! In repose or upon his native element there is not among Nature's store a 

 more graceful bird. He rivals the Peacock in his plumage, and outdoes him in the way he wears it. 

 The one is a vulgar upstart, the other an elegant gentleman. 



The Mallard is without doubt the progenitor of our common domestic Duck, but when or where it 

 was first domesticated is never to be answered. So far as we know the domesticated Duck was a stranger 

 to the Greeks and Romans as late as the Christian era, but the Egyptians were certainly familiar with 

 it; and it is a well established fact that the Chinese have reared and cultivated Ducks from time 

 immemorable. The Chinese Duck is not however our Mallard, consequently our domestic Mallard did 

 not come from this eastern stock, or if it did it has lost its old characteristics by mingling with the 

 wild Mallard. It is much simpler and more probable to suppose that our tame Ducks descended from 

 the wild Mallard. Cultivation would change their plumage and size some, and intermixing with Eastern 

 stock would change them still more. All through the country are to be seen tame Ducks almost exactly 

 like the Mallard in size and plumage, and knowing that the wild bird is easily domesticated I see no 

 reason to go farther for the origin of our tame Mallards. 



254 



