154 



POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 



DUCKS FEEDING: WILD FOWL POND. 



soft brown and gray tones which fairly rival the more 

 gaudy color-pattern of the wood duck. The species is yet 

 found occasionally along the Atlantic Coast, but like all 

 other edible birds, its numbers are rapidly diminishing. 

 A large flock of these birds will be found on the Wild-Fowl 

 Pond. 



The Gadwall, {Chaulelasmas strep era), is a handsome gray 

 bird, well known to gunners along the Mississippi Valley, 

 but rarely seen along the Atlantic coast. Its chief breeding 

 grounds are in the great marshes of central Canada. 



The Baldpate, (Mareca americana), on of the finest of 

 water-fowl, is now so scarce that it is difficult to obtain speci- 

 mens for exhibition. These birds are poor divers, but gain a 

 good livelihood by feeding on floating sea lettuce, disturbed 

 from the bottom by the better equipped canvas-backs and 

 redheads. 



The bill of the Shoveller, (Spatula clypeata), has become so 

 specialized for mud-sifting that it has actually assumed the 

 shape of a shovel, and is out of all proportion to the size of 

 the bird's body. The sides of the bill are equipped with 

 bony plates, through which the mud is strained, the particles 

 of food being caught and swallowed. 



The Canvas-Back (Aythya vallisneria) , and the Red-Head, 

 {A. americana) , two prime favorites with the sportsman and 

 epicure, are exhibited on the Wild Fowl Pond. Of the latter, 



