MALLARD 
29 
dark nights the feeding is necessarily done by the sense of touch, which is very 
delicate. The nerve-endings in the bill have been studied by Szymonowicz (1897). 
Mallards feed chiefly by puddling in the mud or shallow water, and also by skim- 
ming animal matter off the surface. The young are very adroit in catching insects as 
they pass. Audubon, at an early date, called attention to the practice of the old 
birds of enticing worms from their holes by patting on the ground with their feet. 
Another trick to move aquatic worms is pictured and described by Millais (1902). 
The birds are shown standing upright and “treading water” rapidly with their feet, 
so as to cause a disturbance in the mud and thus bring up the animals. I have seen 
Black Ducks working up food in just the same way and then “tipping” for it. 
Courtship and Nesting. The sexual life of Mallards as well as of many other 
species begins as soon as the breeding plumage is complete in the autumn, but birds 
of the year are less active than the older birds. Instances of Mallards displaying 
while yet in eclipse or even immature plumage have been mentioned (Wormald, 
1914). During October and November the male sex-organs begin to increase in size, 
but they do not actually function until December (Seligmann and Shattuck, Proc. 
Zool. Soc. London, 1914, p. 23). The birds do not begin to separate into pairs until 
December. This association becomes more common in late January and February, 
depending more or less on latitude and weather conditions. Pairing is a gradual 
process and is preceded by many social games (display), but by March almost all 
individuals are in couples, though the young probably do not mate until long after 
the old ones. These habits must always be taken into consideration in forming 
protective laws, for it goes without saying that ducks should be left in peace as soon 
as they are permanently paired. 
It is not at all probable that a pair stays together for more than one season, that is, 
from January to May, nor is it likely that attachments formed very early in the 
season are permanent ones; but in the wild state the Mallard is, roughly speaking, 
monogamous, though these habits are easily upset in confinement. Even in the 
natural state the males are far from being model husbands, and particularly during 
the nesting season they will often pursue strange females. None of the true ducks is 
as strictly paired as are Sheldrakes, Tree Ducks, geese or swans. Nevertheless, 
during the mating season the males appear to be more attached to the females than 
vice versa. If the duck is shot down the drake is more likely to return than would 
the duck in a similar situation. 
I think the word courtship should be used as Sir Ray Lankester has suggested, to 
include the whole sequence of events in the pairing of the sexes, as seen in all classes 
of animals. It may include the search for, the seizure of, or the carrying off of the 
female by the male, and the fascination of the female by various types of “display ” 
which are often extraordinarily complex, and include song, odor, and strange 
