The Gadwall 



it feeds upon the leaves and roots of aquatic plants, which it obtains 

 both by diving and dabbling. It is not averse to varying its diet by 

 occasional insects and small fish, or it may resort to stubble-fields, by 

 night, to obtain its share of the fallen grain. The Gadwall is at all times 

 a clean feeder, and its flesh is highly prized for the table. 



The nesting of the Gadwall is a little later than that of the Mallard, 

 taking place with us in May or early June. Any weed-grown field or grassy 

 stretch within a hundred yards of water is suitable, and the female displays 

 great strategy in stealing to her eggs. A mere depression in the ground, 

 well sheltered by over-arching vegetation, is all the bird asks at the outset, 

 but as the deposition of eggs progresses, the duck adds grasses and soft 

 vegetable materials of various sorts, until quite a respectable accumulation 

 results. When the set is nearly complete, an abundance of dark gray 

 down is plucked from the bird's breast and distributed not only under 

 the eggs but along the sides of the nest, so that when the mother is obliged 

 to leave, a coverlet of down may be neatly and quickly drawn over the 

 whole. This downy spread appears to serve a treble purpose; it both 

 retains the natural warmth of the eggs and excludes the rays of the sun, 

 which are over-ardent at times, and it effectually screens the eggs from 

 observation. 



The bird's behavior when surprised depends altogether upon the 

 stage of incubation reached. In general, the bird sits close until dis- 

 covered; after that, if the eggs are fresh, the duck may flee upon sighting 

 her enemy a hundred yards away; but if the eggs are near hatching, she 

 will endeavor to lead the investigator astray by painfully dragging 

 herself through the grass. If too much harassed, however, she will desert 

 her eggs outright rather than wait for what she regards as an inevitable 

 doom ; and the same remark will apply to almost any of the nesting ducks. 



Gadwalls' eggs are of the creamy type, and thus closely resemble 

 those of the American Wigeon ; but are easily distinguishable from those 

 of Shovellers, which have a greenish tinge. Complete sets vary from eight 

 to thirteen, but eleven is the normal full clutch. 



Mr. Harold C. Bryant in his "Survey of the Breeding Grounds of 

 Ducks in California in 1914" found nests of the Gadwall only at Los Banos; 

 and though he found four such nests he concluded: "We must consider 

 this species as comparatively uncommon during the nesting season in 

 this vicinity." 



1760 



