BLACK DUCK 
87 
persons are forbidden to molest him in his experiments by ‘shooting any gun 
within half a mile of the ponds’ where by the regulations of the town he shall be 
allowed to place the decoys.” The Court afterward granted to other towns liberty 
to set up duck-coys but it is doubtful whether these prospered for long as they 
savored too much of special privilege. 
Behavior in Captivity. In spite of a general impression to the contrary, Black 
Ducks are not at all easy to rear in confinement. They are as different as possible 
from Mallards in this respect. One hears frequently of well-established strains of 
Black Ducks, all but domesticated. When investigated these are often found to be 
Black Ducks with Mallard blood, or various sorts of “puddle” ducks of the Black 
“East India” type. When I was in Holland I asked Mr. F. E. Blaauw what luck 
he had had with our Black Ducks and he told me that he had reared them, but 
considered them a difficult bird to breed, which bore out my own experience. 
Ducklings reared from crosses with Mallards are shy, and more difficult to rear 
than pure wild Mallards, and the three-fourths Black Duck is still shyer. Black 
Ducks kept in my ponds have never laid eggs. 
The species was first brought to Europe in 1850 (London Zoological Gardens) 
and bred there until 1867. The maximum age in captivity seems to be about twelve 
years (P. C. Mitchell, 1911). They are bred at times in this country, but rarely in 
small enclosures. They can usually be purchased for about $5.00 or $6.00 a pair, 
but they are not exhibited in large numbers, because they lack the ornamental 
coloring of most ducks. 
Hybrids. Wild-killed hybrids with the Mallard are so numerous as hardly to 
require special mention. It seems to me that most of these are the result of mixtures 
between wild male Black Ducks and domestic or semi-domestic Mallards. These 
specimens are of course mostly males because the females are rarely noticed, differ- 
ing as they do so very little from either the Mallard or the Black Duck female. I 
saw a female specimen recently in the collection of Mr. Charles R. Lamb of Cam- 
bridge. 
In captivity the Black Duck has been crossed with the African Yellow-bill {Anas 
undulata), the Pintail (Dafila acuta) and the Common Pochard {Nyroca Jenna) 
(Poll, 1911). 
