34 
ANAS BOSCHAS 
become exceedingly troublesome. An extreme case of this kind was studied by 
Huxley (1912). His observations were made at Tring Reservoir, in England, where 
twelve hundred pairs were breeding. Each year about seventy females were killed 
by drowning, — in other words about 6% of the total number were destroyed by 
the males. Conditions similar, but not so serious, have been commonly cited. The 
fact is that the sexual instinct in the male continues up to and beyond the period 
when the duck is sitting, and if pairs are closely crowded a certain amount of trouble 
is bound to result. The sex organs of the male begin to atrophy at the end of May. 
After the young are hatched they stay in the nest about a day, and then are taken 
directly to the water. In cases where the nest is at some elevation the female nearly 
always coaxes the young to jump down. The bird when in down weighs only 6.5 
grams (Collett, 1893-94) and can fall even on hard pavement without sustaining 
injury. In certain instances reliable observers (Hartert, 1887) and numerous less 
responsible observers, have seen the mother transporting the young in her bill or 
even in her feet. At best such cases are very unusual. The question has been entered 
into with some detail by Naumann (1896-1905). It seems also that the female is 
able to carry eggs by tucking them up between her chin and breast. Four eggs were 
seen to be removed in as many seconds and to a distance of eighteen inches in this 
manner. This incident has been recorded by a photograph (E. L. Turner, 1910). 
The care of the young and the marvellous ruses of the female in distracting at- 
tention from her brood are common to all ducks, and are familiar to any one who has 
visited their breeding grounds. It is not so well known that the mother will put to 
death with a stroke of her bill a duckling that is sick or injured (W. Thompson, 
1851; Millais, 1902). Naumann (1896-1905) speaks of a semi-wild male who shook 
to death and ate six of his offspring, but in the wild state such cannibalistic ten- 
dencies are probably never developed. For the first few weeks the young are very 
delicate and must be protected from cold, storms, and hail. Millais (1902) has well 
depicted the means adopted by the mother to protect the brood against a sudden 
cold shower: she stands with baek to the wind and with wings outstretched over the 
young. The broods for the most part remain separate, and females are rather 
jealous of each other. This is quite different from the behavior of Eiders, Sheldrakes, 
and especially Mergansers, where one female may have a whole raft of young follow- 
ing her about. 
The young are capable of flight at the age of about eight weeks. At this time the 
female goes through her moult, but does not as a rule become flightless. The young 
stay together in family groups and probably migrate separately from the old birds, 
but this is not certain. It does not seem to be known how long the female stays with 
her brood, or, if she leaves them, whether she rejoins them after completing her 
moult, and eventually migrates with them. I think it is probable that she merely 
retires for a short time during moult and later finds her brood again. In some cases 
