CAROLINA DUCK 55 



ment in each individual, for when the bird is alarmed or about to fly the tail is carried 

 particularly high. The young and half-grown birds escape readily by diving as do 

 also the old when wounded or cornered. Ordinarily the Carolina Duck does not dive, 

 except during the play before bathing, yet they are well able to dive and Heinroth 

 has seen his Berlin Garden birds diving and picking up acorns from the bottom of a 

 pond. Like most other surface-feeding ducks they probably dive more commonly 

 while still immature. The young are capable, when pursued, of swimming under 

 water at least ten feet shortly after they are hatched (Dixon, 1924). 



The gait of this species on land is nimble, and is accompanied by a pigeon-like 

 nodding of the head, but the head movement is lower and is not carried out at each 

 step. The head is brought forward rapidly, remains stationary for a moment and in 

 the meantime the body advances a bit beneath it. Heinroth suggests that the pause 

 in the head movement may be made in order that the bird may see more clearly. In 

 their walking attitude they are more erect than in the case of the Mallard or other 

 true ducks, and they perch well on trees, preferring rather large limbs, though it is 

 possible for them to keep their balance even on very small branches. Dixon has 

 shown that females can fly up to a nest-tree and assume an almost upright "flicker- 

 like" position, clinging to the bark with their claws and bracing themselves by de- 

 pressing the stiff tail against the trunk. One of his photographs shows a wild bird in 

 this position. Indeed, some observers have mistaken Carolinas in such a position for 

 one of the larger woodpeckers. 



I am unable to decide just how much of its time this duck spends perching in trees, 

 but am inclined to think that except in the nesting season they roost on stumps, 

 dead limbs, and partly submerged logs rather than in tall woods. 



Flight. On the wing these ducks are swift, though silent. The wing-beat is 

 rapid and nearly noiseless, and as seen against the sky the Carolina has a Widgeon- 

 like appearance with its short chunky neck, while the long tail is very characteristic. 

 They rise from the water with a considerable upward spring, though without the 

 powerful splash or the altitude attained by the Mallard or Black Duck. They show 

 remarkable abihty in flying through thick woods, even when it is almost dark, and 

 they often shoot down from a considerable height on to a very small pool. If they are 

 used to coming to a certain pool they will dive into it without preliminary circling, 

 and do not show the embarrassment which other ducks exhibit under similar circum- 

 stances. As a rule they do not fly at any great height when flushed, and conse- 

 quently they are lost to sight much sooner than other water-fowl, for they are apt to 

 dip behind or through the nearest clump of trees. Heinroth says he never saw a 

 Carolina Duck struck down by the European Peregrine, although he has frequently 

 seen these falcons pursue the species. Nevertheless they are not reckoned as very 

 fast fliers, comparatively speaking. 



