THE WOOD DUCK. 



{Aix sponsa.) 



"Few if any more exquisitely beautiful 

 creatures have been fashioned in the 

 workshop of Nature than the Wood 

 Ducks of America." These are the words 

 of Dr. Dawson, and to them we may add 

 the words of Mr. Chapman, "Woodland 

 ponds and forest-bordered streams make 

 a proper setting for the grace and beauty 

 of these richly attired birds." 



The range of these Ducks is quite ex- 

 tensive, covering temperate North Amer- 

 ica. From Florida to Hudson Bay they 

 build their nests and seek their food in 

 unfrequented woods in the vicinity of 

 water. The favorite nesting sites are 

 hollow branches of trees, an old wood- 

 pecker's hole, or a hollow stump. Those 

 holes that overhang the water or are near 

 to it are preferred by these birds. They 

 will, however, find acceptable sites away 

 from the water when those that they pre- 

 fer are not at hand. In the absence of 

 suitable holes, the Wood Ducks will place 

 their homes among the branches, fashion- 

 ing the nests out of grasses, twigs, strips 

 of bark, leaves and feathers, all of which 

 are loosely woven together to form a bul- 

 ky structure. But their nesting in trees is 

 not the only characteristic which marks 

 these Ducks as peculiar among the birds 

 of their kind. They perch easily upon 

 the branches of trees and walk upon 

 them ; they do not quack, but have a 

 pleasing and musical call; they are not 

 dependent on aquatic food or even that 

 which is found upon the ground, but also 

 eat flying insects, young buds and, in the 

 fall, quantities of acorns. 



It seems too bad that because of a 

 number of unscrupulous hunters, this 

 gem of the Woodlands should be in clan- 

 ger of extermination. Then, too, the 

 open season for ducks does not favor in 

 the least the perpetuation of this hand- 

 some waterfowl. Its tendency is to as- 

 sist in its extermination. The open or 



hunting season for ducks varies in the 

 different states, in general, the opening 

 ranging from September first to fifteenth, 

 and the closing from April fifteenth to 

 May first. Thus the hunting season 

 opens before the southern flight of most 

 of the water fowls which nest in the far 

 North. The first hunters are seldom sat- 

 isfied with bagging mud and rice hens, 

 but seek the native ducks, not waiting 

 for the migrating species. A majority of 

 the native birds are immature, and be- 

 cause of their unwary disposition, many 

 broods of Wood Ducks are destroyed dur- 

 ing the month of September. These birds 

 are often victims of gunners on whose 

 lands the birds may have been raised. 

 Still more fatal to the successful propaga- 

 tion of the Wood Duck is the spring 

 shooting, which might better be abolished 

 in all states north of the Ohio River. 

 Among the first of the spring migrants, 

 are the Wood Ducks which arrive early 

 in March, usually already mated, and by 

 the tenth or fifteenth of April the females 

 have laid their first eggs. This is a week 

 or two before the expiration of what is 

 called the open season in many states. 

 Therefore it is not surprising that the 

 Wood Ducks are threatened with exterm- 

 ination, when not even the law protects 

 them during the breeding season. 



When the young Ducks are hatched, 

 if the nest is over the water, they are 

 tumbled into it, where they seem to be 

 as much at home as are the older birds. 

 If, however, the nest is at a distance from 

 any body of water, the young birds must 

 be gotten out of the nest and assisted to 

 the water. This problem the mother 

 bird must solve. Authorities differ as to 

 the mode adopted by the old birds. Some 

 writers state that the young are taken to 

 the edge of the body of water, one at a 

 time, in the mother's bill. Other natur- 



alists believe that the youngsters are turn- 



i:ti 



