River and Pond Ducks 



eggs are laid near the water, but in dry, grassy land, where the 

 mother, who bears all the family cares, forms a slight depression 

 in the soil, under some protecting bush, if may be, and lines it 

 with feathers from her breast. 



Wood Duck 



{Aix sponsa) 



Called also: SUMMER DUCK; BRIDAL DUCK; WOOD WID- 

 GEON; TREE DUCK; ACORN DUCK 



Length — 17 to 19 inches. 



J/«/,f— Crown of head, elongated crest, and cheeks golden, metal- 

 lic green, with purple iridescence; a white line from base 

 of bill over the eye, and another behind it, reach to the end 

 of crest; throat, and a band from if up sides of head, white; 

 breast rich reddish chestnut spotted with white; white un- 

 derneath, shading into yellowish gray on the sides, which are 

 finely marked with waving lines of black; strong black and 

 white markings on long feathers at back of the flanks on the 

 sides. Upper parts dark, iridescent and purplish, greenish 

 brown; a white crescent and a black one in front of wings, 

 which are glossed with purple and green and tipped with 

 white; wing patch purplish blue edged with white; spot at 

 either side of base of tail, chestnut purple. Bill pinkish, red 

 at the base, black underneath and on ridge and tip. Legs 

 yellow. 



Female — Smaller. Crest and wing markings more restricted; 

 head dusky with purplish crown ; throat, patch around eye, 

 and line backward, white ; breast and sides grayish brown, 

 streaked with buff; underneath white; back olive brown 

 glossed with greenish and purple. Young drake resembles 

 the female. 



Range — "North America at large, but chiefly in the United States, 

 breeding throughout its range, wintering chiefly in the 

 south." (Coues.) 



Season — Summer resident. 



This most beautiful of all our ducks, if not of all American 

 birds, in the opinion of many, that Linnseus named the bride 

 (sponsa), although it is the groom that is particularly festive in 

 rich apparel and flowing, veil-like crest, confines itself to this 

 continent exclusively ; neither has it a counterpart in Europe or 

 Asia as most of our other ducks have. It is an independent little 



III 



