68 



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 ground, sometimes at considerable distance from water. 



Distribviion. 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. 



144. Wood Duck, summee duck, the bhidb. pb. — le canabd hupp£. 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 back-water 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 quiet oxbow pond or other dead water. How the young are 

 brought to the ground is not authoritatively settled yet, and many con- 

 flicting 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. 



As the Wood Duck takes readily to nesting boxes prepared for the 

 purpose it would seem probable that its numbers could be increased in 

 this way. 



Subfamily — Fuligulince. 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 tip (Figures 8 and 9, p. 19). Hind toe modified into a flat, 

 paddle, or fin-shaped lobe. 



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

 River and Pond Ducks. 



Field Marks. Bill, when observed, wUl separate these from Mergansers though they 

 are more easily recognized in life as species than as a subfamily. 



Nesting. Usually on ground, though sometimes in trees. 



