﻿1 
  86 
  NEAV 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  and 
  has 
  a 
  bill 
  marbled 
  with 
  dusky 
  and 
  yellowish, 
  while 
  the 
  Black 
  duck 
  

   has 
  a 
  plain 
  olive-green 
  or 
  3-ellowish 
  green 
  bill. 
  

  

  Length 
  20-25 
  inches; 
  extent 
  32-38; 
  wing 
  10. 
  5-12; 
  tail 
  3.5-4.5; 
  tarsus 
  

   1. 
  5-1. 
  8; 
  bill 
  2-2.4; 
  weight 
  2.7-3.5 
  pounds. 
  

  

  Distribution. 
  The 
  Black 
  duck 
  is 
  the 
  commonest 
  of 
  all 
  our 
  river 
  ducks 
  

   and 
  is 
  fairly 
  abundant 
  both 
  on 
  Long 
  Island 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  marshes 
  of 
  western 
  

   New 
  York 
  during 
  migration 
  season. 
  It 
  breeds 
  in 
  suitable 
  localities, 
  when 
  

   left 
  undisturbed, 
  in 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  but 
  is 
  much 
  more 
  common 
  as 
  a 
  

   summer 
  resident 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  counties. 
  On 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Long 
  Island 
  

   it 
  is 
  abundant 
  throughout 
  the 
  winter 
  and 
  is 
  common 
  on 
  the 
  central 
  lakes 
  

   as 
  long 
  as 
  they 
  remain 
  open. 
  On 
  Canandaigua 
  lake 
  even 
  when 
  frozen 
  over 
  

   for 
  its 
  entire 
  length 
  this 
  duck 
  remains, 
  often 
  in 
  large 
  flocks, 
  sitting 
  on 
  the 
  

   ice 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  lake 
  and 
  feeding 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  shallows 
  of 
  the 
  outlet 
  at 
  

   night. 
  The 
  Black 
  duck 
  is 
  commonest, 
  however, 
  from 
  the 
  time 
  the 
  marshes 
  

   are 
  open 
  till 
  the 
  last 
  of 
  April, 
  when 
  the 
  greater 
  number 
  have 
  passed 
  to 
  their 
  

   breeding 
  grounds. 
  The}^ 
  return 
  in 
  force 
  in 
  October 
  and 
  are 
  common 
  until 
  

   late 
  in 
  November 
  when 
  the 
  last 
  which 
  are 
  to 
  pass 
  farther 
  southward 
  have 
  

   departed. 
  It 
  is 
  an 
  exceedingly 
  wary 
  bird 
  and 
  soon 
  learns 
  to 
  give 
  decoys 
  

   and 
  "blinds," 
  or 
  "hides," 
  a 
  wide 
  berth, 
  and 
  when 
  disturbed 
  on 
  its 
  feeding 
  

   grotmds 
  will 
  remain 
  all 
  day 
  on 
  the 
  open 
  lake 
  or 
  ocean 
  and 
  return 
  to 
  feed 
  

   only 
  when 
  darkness 
  has 
  settled. 
  Like 
  the 
  Mallard, 
  the 
  drake 
  of 
  this 
  

   species 
  has 
  a 
  low 
  reedy 
  quack, 
  while 
  the 
  duck's 
  note 
  is 
  a 
  loud 
  resonant 
  

   quack, 
  quack, 
  quack. 
  When 
  frightened 
  she 
  will 
  shout 
  quack 
  slowly 
  and 
  

   sharply 
  many 
  times 
  in 
  succession. 
  

  

  Like 
  the 
  Mallard 
  the 
  Black, 
  or 
  Dusky 
  duck, 
  feeds 
  on 
  wild 
  rice, 
  buck- 
  

   wheat, 
  weed 
  seeds 
  and 
  nearly 
  all 
  manner 
  of 
  vegetable 
  substances, 
  also 
  

   devouring 
  snails, 
  frogs 
  and 
  other 
  aquatic 
  animals 
  with 
  a 
  gluttonous 
  greed, 
  

   especially 
  in 
  the 
  springtime. 
  On 
  the 
  morning 
  of 
  October 
  26, 
  1901, 
  I 
  shot 
  

   a 
  Black 
  duck 
  from 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  75 
  birds, 
  which 
  were 
  returning 
  to 
  Canandaigua 
  

   lake 
  from 
  a 
  flooded 
  cornfield. 
  From 
  its 
  gullet 
  and 
  gizzard 
  I 
  took 
  23,704 
  

   weed 
  seeds, 
  which 
  together 
  with 
  a 
  few 
  pebbles, 
  snail 
  shells 
  and 
  chaff 
  were 
  

   the 
  sole 
  contents 
  of 
  its 
  stomach. 
  Of 
  these 
  seeds 
  13,240 
  were 
  pigweeds 
  

   (Chenopodium 
  and 
  Amaranthus), 
  7264 
  were 
  knot 
  grass 
  (Polygonum), 
  

   2624 
  were 
  rag^veed 
  (Ambrosia), 
  and 
  576 
  were 
  dock 
  (Rumex). 
  

  

  