MALLARD. 303 



MALLARD. 

 wild duck. 



Anas boschas. 



Char. Male : head and neck glossy green, with some purple reflec- 

 tions, and followed by a narrow ring of white ; back brown, shading to 

 gray on the wings and to black on the rump ; wing-bar purple, bordered 

 by black and white ; upper tail-coverts black ; the longest feathers curling 

 upwards at the tips, rest of tail gray ; lower neck and breast rich chestnut ; 

 belly dull white, and marked with fine waved lines of gray; bill greenish 

 yellow; feet orange. Female: general plumage dark brown, varied with 

 buff ; wings similar to the male. Length about 24 inches. 



Nest. Usually on the ground, amid tall grass or under a bush, upon 

 a dry knoll near a pond or stream, sometimes in a tree, — a loose, bulky 

 structure of grass and leaves, lined with down. 



Eggs. 6-12, sometimes 16; greenish buff of various shades; average 

 size 2.30 X i.5o. 



The Mallard, or original of our Domestic Duck, like so many 

 other species is common to most parts of the northern hemi- 

 sphere. As a bird of passage, in spring and autumn it is seen 

 in every part of the United States, and indeed inhabits more 

 or less the whole continent, from the Gulf of Mexico to the 

 '>8th parallel, in the fur countries of the Canadian wilderness. 

 In Europe it is met with everywhere, and many pass the 

 greater part of the winter in the dreary climate of Greenland. 

 Avoiding the sea-coast, it is but rarely that the Mallard visits 

 this vicinity, retiring south by an interior route. 



These birds breed in the inland woody districts of the fur 

 countries, and more or less through all the intermediate space 

 as far south as Pennsylvania. They nest commonly on the 

 borders of rivers and lakes, sometimes at a considerable dis- 

 tance from water, amongst reeds, grass, or in fields and copses, 

 according to the convenience of the locality, and occasionally 

 even upon trees impending over waters. For its nest it scrapes 

 together a small quantity of such dry weeds as happen to be 

 contiguous. At the time of incubation the female plucks the 

 down from her breast to line the nest, and frequently covers 

 the eggs when she leaves them. 



