188 



DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 



whose look of approval is a blighting curse to every living 

 creature upon which it is bestowed. Because of this, the 

 unfortunate Canvas-Back is now little more than a bird of 

 history. It is now rarely seen outside of museums and 

 the zoological parks and gardens which have been so fortu- 

 nate as to secure a very 

 few specimens. Unfor- 

 tunately, it has been im- 

 possible for even the most 

 energetic duck-fanciers to 

 secure a sufficient num- 

 ber of unwounded speci- 

 mens to carry out the ex- 

 periments necessary to 

 determine the precise 

 conditions under which 

 this species will breed in 

 captivity. No one ever 

 sees more than two or three living Canvas-Backs together 

 in an aviary, and thus far, I believe, none have bred. 



It is unnecessary to describe this species, for it is probable 

 that less than one per cent of the readers hereof ever will see 

 one wild and unlabelled. Its range was once the same as that 

 of the redhead, and its habits also were quite similar. Its one 

 chance of survival rests upon the integrity of the federal migra- 

 tory bird law and its protection from spring and market shoot- 

 ing. If those two evils are stopped for all time, the succulent 

 Canvas-Back will eventually return to us in large numbers; 

 and already there are signs that it is trying hard to do so. 



THE CANVAS-BACK DUCK. 



