70 



Field Marks. Long, slender head and neck and long, pointed tail make good field 

 marks. The dark head and white foreneck and underparts are recognition marks for the 

 male. 



Nesting. On the ground, sometimes at a considerable distance from water. 



Distribution. Rare on the Atlantic coast, becoming commoner towards the west. 

 Breeds from the prairie provinces north to the Arctic and formerly east to lake Erie. 



Genus — Aix. Wood Duck. 



144. Wood Duck, bummer duck. thl bride, pr. — le canard huppe. ve 

 canard branchu. Aix sponsa. L, 18-50. Plate V A. 



Distinctions. With the illustrations as a guide there should be no difficulty in 

 recognizing this species. The male even in eclipse plumage always retains a suggestion of 

 the cheek markings. 



Field Marks. This is the only common summer Duck in our southern sections having 

 a pure white underbody. The white eye-ring of the female is quite conspicuous. 



Nesting. In hollow trees or stumps in the vicinity of quiet water. 



Distribution. Temperate North America as far north as southern Canada and across 

 the continent; more common in the lower Great Lakes region than on either of our coasts 

 or in the prairie provinces. 



This is the brightest coloured and most beautiful Duck in America 

 and perhaps in the world. The only species that can approach it is the 

 Mandarin Duck of China which is often seen in confinement with it. The 

 Wood Duck was originally the "Summer Duck" of our southern borders 

 and almost every woodland stream and backwater pond had at least 

 one pair; but, since the clearing of the land, the farmer's-boy-shot-gun 

 combination has been too much for it. Its bright colours, the relative 

 conspicuousness of its nesting places, and the ease with which it can be 

 stalked or "jumped" in its more or less wooded haunts have made it an 

 easy prey for even the inexperienced shooter and it is in great danger of 

 being exterminated. A Duck that alights in trees is more or less paradoxical 

 to most European sportsmen, but this species does so commonly. It 

 builds its nest in a hollow tree some distance from the ground, usually 

 overlooking a quiet oxbow pond or other dead water. How the young are 

 brought to the ground is not known, and many conflicting reports are 

 circulated regarding it; such as the old birds carrying their young in their 

 bills or on their backs, or shoving them out to take chances with their 

 little unfledged wings in fluttering to the ground. In some way they 

 reach the ground at an early age and follow the mother about the reaches 

 of the streams or other quiet waters, the male keeping nearby to give 

 his family the benefit of his moral support in times of danger. Later 

 they seek the marshes, which they inhabit through the autumn, leaving 

 for the south before the first frost has chilled the waters. 



The Wood Duck takes readily to nesting boxes prepared for the 

 purpose and its numbers could probably be increased in this way. 



Subfamily — Fuligulinae. Bay, Sea, or Diving Ducks. 



General Description. Heavily or compactly built Ducks with typically flattened or 

 spatulate duck-like bill sometimes swollen or high at base (Figure 9, p. 19), but always 

 with flattened nail at tii (Figures 8 and 9, p. 19). Hind toe modified into a flat, paddle, 

 or fin-shaped lobe. 



Distinctions. Bill will separate the Sea Ducks from Mergansers; and hind toe from 

 River and Pond Ducks. v 



