CAROLINA DUCK 53 



"North Woods," so called, it was probably always uncommon. Audubon's vivid 

 account of this duck has never been approached in interest by any of the later writ- 

 ers, and from it one gains an excellent idea of the habitat in Louisiana and Kentucky. 

 Farther south they love the old cypress swamps. I have seen them in large numbers 

 in such a swamp near the head of the Santee River in South Carolina. But they are 

 by no means always found in the vicinity of woods, and often feed on shallow 

 sloughs in open meadows near but not with other ducks. 



In spite of the superficial similarity between this duck and the Mandarin of China, 

 the females being almost alike, there is probably no close relationship. Repeated 

 efforts to hybridize the two have always resulted in failure. I think it is perhaps 

 worth while to enumerate a few important differences in the skeletons which may 

 not have been noticed before. In the Mandarin the bill is shorter and the nasal 

 orifice higher and more rounded; the forehead also is a good deal narrower. The 

 whole profile of the forehead is more convex, a character which does not show at all 

 in the flesh, because the feather crest of the Carolina makes its forehead look much 

 rounder than it really is. Probably the most important skull difference, however, is in 

 the lachrymal bone which in the Mandarin is inflated and broader and approximates 

 much closer to the squamosal process, forming a more nearly complete orbital ring. 

 Comparing the sternums it will be found that the posterior lateral process is shorter 

 in the Mandarin and the included opening smaller. The tracheal bulbs are by no 

 means alike for the Mandarin's is nearly circular in outline but compressed dorso- 

 ventrally while the Carolina's is elongated more or less transversely (elliptical). 

 Another rather striking difference is in the length of the legs for the smaller-bodied 

 Mandarin actually has the longer leg, his femur, tibiotarsus and tarsus taken to- 

 gether exceeding the Carolina's by about fifteen millimeters. 



Wariness. Carolina Ducks are pathetically tame and are easily approached 

 by the embryo sportsman either on foot or by canoe. Very often in paddling down- 

 stream a pair or small company will flutter ahead around one or two bends and settle 

 down again, repeating the manoeuvre several times and allowing the canoeist to come 

 within twenty-five or thirty yards each time. William Brewster (1924) thought 

 their hearing acute, but their sight inferior. This is true, at least in the daytime. I 

 have seen what appeared to be an old female return to a spot where a flock of young 

 birds had been shot at and either killed or separated, showing almost no fear from her 

 recent experience and calling lustily. In spite of their lack of wariness they are not 

 easy to shoot over decoys, on account of their independent behavior toward other 

 ducks. 



On the nesting grounds Carolina Ducks often seem rather shy, or at least retiring by 

 nature, and are apt to roost in retired or shady places. Although the female usually 

 leaves the nest when the tree is approached without caution, there are instances of a 



