THE MALLARD DUCK. 



(Anas boschas.) 



Few of the ducks and, in fact, few 

 other birds are more beautiful than the 

 Mallard as it swims easily and with well 

 poised head in the waters of our streams 

 and lakes. Mr. Langille has well 

 described the beauty of its plumage. 

 He says: "The rich glossy-green of the 

 neck of the male, his yellow bill and legs, 

 the rich vinous-brown of his breast, and 

 the gray of his under parts, the pure 

 white tail of gracefully-pointed feathers, 

 ornamented by the recurved upper tail 

 coverts of glossy-green or purple, are 

 simply resplendent in the bright morning 

 sun, so intensified by the reflection from 

 the pure sparkling sheet of snow." His 

 beauty is greatly enhanced when he is 

 near his plainer mate. Her plumage is 

 brownish dusky above, the feathers hav- 

 ing pale ochre colored edges. Beneath, 

 the plumage is also of a pale ochre color 

 with dusky colored centers on the feath- 

 ers. Its bill is dark olive-greenish in 

 color except along the edges, where it is 

 more yellow. 



The Mallard is quite a cosmopolitan 

 species, its range including the northern 

 hemisphere. It is quite generally dis- 

 tributed in North America, and breeds 

 from the Southern States northward 

 though much more commonly north of 

 Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. It winters 

 from those States and Delaware, south- 

 ward to Cuba and Panama. In open win- 

 ters, the Mallards often remain quite far 

 north, and wherever there is plenty of 

 open water and food they may become 

 winter residents. They migrate north- 

 ward early in the spring and are some- 

 times caught by a severe period of cold 

 weather when the streams and lakes 

 become frozen over, then from "swim- 

 mers, they become skaters." Mr. Amos 

 W. Butler says in his Birds of Indiana : 

 "Mr. Ruthven Deane informs me that 

 March 13, 1892, a rough, cold day, when 

 boatmen were compelled to break ice 



over a mile to get their boat through, 

 boat paddles and men were coated with 

 ice, and English Lake (Indiana) marshes 

 were mostly ice bound, there were thou- 

 sands of ducks and geese sitting around 

 in droves on the ice." 



Early in the spring, the Mallards mate 

 and, leaving the flocks, seek a site on 

 which to establish their home. The nest 

 is usually placed on the ground of 

 marshes or in the midst of water plants. 

 Occasionally it is built on higher ground, 

 but never at any great distance from 

 water, for it is absolutely essential to the 

 welfare of the newly hatched young that 

 they should be led immediately to the 

 water. There the wonderfully devoted 

 mother guards them and assists them in 

 ;he procuring of food. On the near 

 approach of danger the fond mother will 

 give a warning cry and endeavor to 

 attract attention to herself^ while the 

 young' are hiding, by feigning injury. 

 The young are very active, dive readily 

 and quickly, and will remain under water 

 for some time with only their bills pro- 

 truding above the surface. The male is 

 not very useful to his mate during the 

 period of incubation, for at that time he 

 leaves her in order to moult. She, alone, 

 has not only to perform the duties of 

 incubation but also those of caring for 

 and raising the young. He does not 

 appear in their company again until the 

 young are fully grown and various fam- 

 ilies are gathered in flocks. In the spring, 

 however, the gallant drake is very watch- 

 ful over his mate and shows her every 

 attention. Some authorities claim that 

 they remain paired for life, and that he 

 does not help during the time of nesting, 

 and in the care of the young, simply 

 because he is unable to do so on account 

 of the moulting of his plumage toward 

 the last of June. At that time he loses 

 the power of flight for a short time and 

 only regains his plumage in the early 



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