FLYERS, SWIMMERS, AND DIVERS 239 



mussels, clams, or scallops. Naturally such athletic birds 

 are very tough. 



With the exception of the wood duck, all ducks nest on 

 the ground. Twigs, leaves, and grasses form the rude 

 cradle for the eggs, and, as a final touch of devotion, the 

 mother plucks feathers from her own soft breast for the 

 eggs to lie in. When there is any work to be done the 

 dandified drakes go oflf by themselves, leaving the entire 

 care of raising the family to their mates. Then they moult 

 and sometimes lose so many feathers they are unable to fly. 

 But by the time the ducklings are well grown and strong of 

 wing, the drake joins the family, one flock joins another, 

 and the ducks begin their long journey southward. But 

 very few people, even in Canada where many ducks nest, 

 can ever hope to know them in their inaccessible swampy 

 homes. 



The Shoveler 



Length — 18 to 20 inches. 



Male — ^Head and neck rusty, glossy bluish green; back 

 brown, paler on the edges of the feathers, and black on 

 lower back and tail; patches on sides of base of tail; 

 lower neck, upper breast, and some wing feathers white; 

 lower breast and underneath reddish chestnut; shoul- 

 ders grayish blue; wing patch green. Bill longer than 

 head, twice as wide at end as at base, and rounded over 

 like a spoon; teeth at the sides in long, slender plates. 

 Tail short, consisting of fourteen sharply pointed feath- 

 ers. Feet small and red. 



Female — Smaller, darker, and duller than male. Head 

 and neck streaked with buflF, brown, and black; throat 



