30 A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DUCKS 



males of our northern ducks stay with the female and young brood; such instances 

 have been recorded among Mallards, Gadwalls, and Shovellers. 



There seems to be some rather important relation between the early desertion of 

 the females by the males and the presence of an eclipse plumage, and there is a great 

 temptation to hazard some sort of explanation to account for this. Data on the 

 movements of the sexes in those South American species where the male and female 

 plumage is the same ought to shed light on this point. We now know that males of 

 the South American Pintail, in which there is very little sex difference of plumage, 

 leave the females just as do the common ducks of the Northern Hemisphere. 



FOOD VALUE 

 In the first half of the nineteenth century the epicures of Baltimore and Philadelphia 

 made the Canvas-back of the Gunpowder and adjacent rivers famous everywhere. 

 But the Ruddy Duck, perhaps second to the Canvas-back, scarcely became known 

 as a table bird until the late nineties. Before the sale of ducks was stopped in our 

 eastern markets, Ruddies were selling at from $2.50 to $3.00 per pair, and Canvas- 

 backs at from $6.00 to $8.00, so that the Ruddy in proportion to its weight was the 

 more expensive. This was probably the highest price ever paid for ducks. In the 

 fourteenth century in England Gurney tells us that Teals sold for as little as two 

 pence each and Mallards at from three pence to five pence. 



From the epicurean viewpoint I should place our American Widgeon when shot 

 on good feeding grounds as at least third in order of merit. Indeed, Frank Forester 

 placed it as second only to the Canvas-back. The Red-head would be classed by 

 many as second to the Canvas-back, but much depends upon the food, for Red- 

 heads at times feed in salt water, along with Greater Scaup. 



With European ducks I am less familiar, but I do not understand that there is any 

 species there comparable to our best, although this statement would no doubt be 

 violently contested by our brother sportsmen across the water. 



When we come to the whole group of surface-feeding ducks there is really very 

 little choice among species, and a great many of the supposed preferences are wholly 

 imaginary. Under similar feeding conditions, few, if any, could make intelligent 

 discrimination between Mallard, Black Duck, Pintail, Gadwall, and Teal. 



Eiders, Scoters, Mergansers, the true Sheldrakes or Casarcas, and most of the 

 Spur-wing family are practically unfit for food. Young Scoters, before they have 

 reached salt water, are not "fishy," but dry and tasteless. 



Golden-eyes, Buffie-heads, and Hooded Mergansers are fairly palatable when fresh 

 from interior breeding grounds. 



A great deal of nonsense has crept into literature regarding the palatability of the 

 flesh of wild-fowl, and some species have received undue praise merely because they 

 were eaten by some meat-hungry traveler in remote regions. I myself have eaten 



