338 Wonders of the Bird World 



hope to find out the real Hnes of flight pursued by the 

 birds during their journeys to and from their breeding- 

 grounds. 



Writing of our Wild Duck or Mallard {Anas boscas), 

 which also inhabits North America, Dr. Cooke says — " At 

 Moss Point, Missouri, only a few miles from the Gulf, the 

 first Mallards arrived on November 15, 1883, and the bulk 

 from December i to December 13. They were present by 

 thousands during their short ' winter,' and the bulk left the 

 coast about the middle of Januar)'. All were gone by 

 February I, at which date the bulk had hardly passed north 

 of the Gulf States, so that during the latter part of January 

 and the first half of February the great mass of the 

 Mallards was gathered between parallels 33° and 37°. In 

 Southern Louisiana the movements of Ducks in general 

 began somewhat later, but they were fairly under way by 

 February. Probably few Mallards were included in this 

 flight, which was principally composed of the coast Ducks 

 rather than river Ducks. Before this, in the latter part of 

 January, and the first few days in February, the warm wave 

 had caused great movements among the river Ducks. 

 They returned to Southern Illinois, and to those parts of 

 Southern Missouri up to Saint Louis, from which they had 

 been driven early in January. The limit of this movement 

 was at Odin, Illinois (Lat. 38° 39'), and on the Mississippi 

 river, at Alton, Illinois (Lat. 38° 55'). In the west the wave 

 was scarcely felt north of Caddo, in Indian Territory, and 

 not at all in the northern part of the Territorj', where the 

 moisture, which fell in copious rains in the southern portion, 

 was precipitated in snow and sleet. Then followed a month 

 of constant swaying to and fro, the flight advancing one 

 day, to be driven back the next one by fierce north blasts. 

 During the entire month practically no headway was made. 

 A few stragglers managed to force their way northwards for 

 a short distance, but the bulk made little movement, 



