THE MALLARD. 609 
and a halt; the bill 1s greenish yellow ; irides, hazel; head, and part 
of the neck, deep glossy changeable green, ending in a narrow collar 
of white; the rest of the neck and breast are of a dark purplish chest- 
nut; lesser wing-coverts, brown ash; greater, eg near the ex- 
tremities with a band of white, and tipped with another of deep velvety 
black; below this lies the speculum, or beauty spot, of a rich and 
splendid light purple, with green and violet reflections, bounded on 
every side with black; quills, pale brownish ash; back, brown, skirted 
with paler ; scapulars, whitish, crossed with fine, undulating lines of 
black ; rump and tail-coverts, black, glossed with green ; tertials, very 
broad, and pointed at the ends; tail, consisting of eighteen feathers, 
whitish, centred with brown ash, the four middle ones excepted, which 
are narrow, black, glossed with violet, remarkably concave, and curled 
upwards to a complete circle; belly and sides, a fine gray, crossed by 
an infinite number of fine, waving lines, stronger and more deeply 
marked as they approach the vent; legs and feet, orange red. 
The female has the plumage of the upper parts dark brown, broadly 
bordéred with brownish yellow; and the lower parts yellow ochre, 
spotted and streaked with deep brown; the chin and throat, for about 
two inches, plain yellowish white; wings, bill, and legs, nearly as in 
the male. : 
The windpipe of the male has a bony labyrinth, or bladder-like 
knob, puffing out from the left side. The intestines measure six feet, 
and are as wide as those of the Canvass-Back. The windpipe is of 
uniform diameter, until it enters the labyrinth. 
This is the original stock of the common domesticated Duck, 
reclaimed, time immemorial, from a state of nature, and now become 
so serviceable to man. In many individuals, the general garb of the 
tame drake seems to have undergone little or no alteration; but the 
stamp of slavery is strongly imprinted in his dull, indifferent eye and 
grovelling gait, while the lofty look, long, tapering neck, and sprightly 
action of the former bespeak his native spirit and independence. 
The Common Wild Duck is found in every fresh-water lake and 
river of the United States in winter, but seldom frequents the sea- 
shores or salt marshes. Their summer residence is the north, the great 
nursery of this numerous genus. Instances have been known of some 
solitary pairs breeding here in autumn. In England these instances 
are more common. The nest is usually placed in the most solitary 
recesses of the marsh, or bog, amidst coarse grass, reeds, and rushes, 
agd generally contains from twelve to sixteen eggs, of a dull greenish 
white. The young are led about by the mother in the same manner 
as those of the Tame Duck, but with a superior caution, a cunning 
and watchful vigilance peculiar to her situation. The male attaches 
himself to one female, as among other birds in their native state, and 
is the guardian and protector of her and her feeble brood. The Mal- 
lard is numerous in the rice-fields of the Southern States during winter, 
many of the fields being covered with a few inches of water; and, the 
ing knoll of heather, jutting from an ivied cliff, and the tenants must often have seen 
cach other in their passage to and from their precious deposits. In this species we 
have the type of the genus Boschas. The centre feathers of the tail are lengthened, 
but assume a different form, in being regularly rolled or curled up. Some speci- 
mens want the white ring round the neck, and in some parts this variety is so com- 
mon, as lo be distinguished by the herds and country people. — En. 
