﻿MALLARD. 
  23 
  

  

  of 
  May 
  in 
  northern 
  Indiana, 
  to 
  early 
  June 
  in 
  the 
  Mackenzie 
  Valley 
  

   and 
  the 
  Yukon 
  Delta, 
  and 
  the 
  last 
  week 
  of 
  June 
  in 
  Greenland. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  common 
  ducks 
  of 
  the 
  Old 
  World, 
  breeding- 
  in 
  the 
  

   Northern 
  Hemisphere 
  and 
  ranging 
  south 
  in 
  winter 
  to 
  central 
  Africa 
  

   and 
  southern 
  Asia. 
  

  

  Winter 
  range. 
  — 
  The 
  mallard 
  is 
  a 
  fresh-water 
  duck, 
  and 
  in 
  general 
  it 
  

   winters 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  open 
  fresh 
  water 
  is 
  found. 
  The 
  greater 
  num- 
  

   ber 
  spend 
  the 
  winter 
  in 
  the 
  southern, 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  Valley, 
  

   and 
  for 
  many 
  years 
  this 
  was 
  the 
  source 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  market 
  

   supply. 
  The 
  numbers 
  killed 
  were 
  almost 
  incredible. 
  Big 
  Lake, 
  

   Arkansas, 
  was 
  and 
  still 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  favorite 
  resorts, 
  and 
  during 
  

   the 
  winter 
  of 
  1893-94 
  a 
  single 
  gunner 
  sold 
  8,000 
  mallards, 
  while 
  the 
  

   total 
  number 
  sent 
  to 
  market 
  from 
  this 
  one 
  place 
  amounted 
  to 
  120,000. 
  

   Fortunately 
  both 
  Arkansas 
  and 
  Missouri 
  now 
  forbid 
  market 
  shooting, 
  

   and 
  this 
  deplorable 
  slaughter 
  has 
  been 
  decidedly 
  lessened. 
  

  

  This 
  species 
  winters 
  casually 
  in 
  eastern 
  Massachusetts 
  and 
  central 
  

   New 
  York, 
  accidentally 
  in 
  Nova 
  Scotia, 
  and 
  regularly 
  from 
  Virginia 
  

   to 
  northern 
  Florida. 
  It 
  is 
  less 
  common 
  in 
  central 
  Florida, 
  and 
  has 
  

   been 
  recorded 
  in 
  the 
  Bermudas, 
  Bahamas, 
  Cuba, 
  Jamaica, 
  Grenada, 
  

   Carriacou, 
  Panama, 
  and 
  Costa 
  Rica. 
  Most 
  of 
  these 
  localities 
  have 
  

   only 
  one 
  record 
  each, 
  showing 
  that 
  the 
  mallard 
  is 
  only 
  a 
  straggler 
  to 
  

   the 
  southeast 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  There 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  no 
  record 
  for 
  

   Central 
  America 
  from 
  Costa 
  Rica 
  to 
  Mexico. 
  The 
  species 
  is 
  a 
  com- 
  

   mon 
  winter 
  resident 
  of 
  northern 
  Mexico 
  and 
  ranges 
  south 
  to 
  Jalapa, 
  

   the 
  Valley 
  of 
  Mexico, 
  Colima, 
  and 
  southern 
  Lower 
  California. 
  

  

  The 
  northern 
  winter 
  limit 
  in 
  the 
  interior 
  is 
  in 
  Ohio, 
  northern 
  Indi- 
  

   ana, 
  southern 
  Wisconsin, 
  Nebraska, 
  Wyoming, 
  and 
  central 
  Montana. 
  

   The 
  species 
  is 
  common 
  in 
  winter 
  along 
  the 
  whole 
  Pacific 
  coast 
  as 
  far 
  

   north 
  as 
  the 
  Aleutian 
  Islands. 
  

  

  Spring 
  migration. 
  — 
  It 
  is 
  among 
  the 
  earliest 
  of 
  ducks 
  to 
  move 
  

   northward 
  and 
  forms 
  a 
  large 
  proportion 
  of 
  the 
  early 
  flocks. 
  The 
  

   portion 
  of 
  the 
  central 
  Mississippi 
  Valley 
  that 
  forms 
  the 
  extreme 
  

   winter 
  range 
  is 
  invaded 
  by 
  the 
  spring 
  migrants 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  

   Februaiy; 
  Frankfort, 
  Ind. 
  (average 
  for 
  ten 
  years), 
  February 
  21; 
  

   central 
  Illinois 
  (twelve 
  years),. 
  February 
  22; 
  central 
  Missouri 
  (six- 
  

   teen 
  years), 
  February 
  26; 
  Keokuk, 
  Iowa 
  (nine 
  years), 
  February 
  24; 
  

   southern 
  Kansas 
  (eleven 
  years), 
  February 
  18; 
  southeastern 
  Nebraska 
  

   (live 
  years), 
  February 
  19. 
  Just 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  range 
  average 
  

   dates 
  of 
  spring 
  arrival 
  are: 
  Erie, 
  Pa., 
  March 
  5; 
  central 
  New 
  York, 
  

   March 
  23; 
  Oberlin, 
  Ohio, 
  March 
  21; 
  southern 
  Michigan, 
  March 
  9; 
  

   southern 
  Ontario, 
  March 
  24; 
  Ottawa, 
  Ontario, 
  March 
  27; 
  Chicago, 
  

   111. 
  (eleven 
  years), 
  March 
  19; 
  southern 
  Wisconsin 
  (twelve 
  years), 
  March 
  

   21; 
  Spirit 
  Lake, 
  Iowa, 
  March 
  10; 
  Heron 
  Lake, 
  Minn., 
  March 
  ll; 
  

   central 
  South 
  Dakota 
  (fourteen 
  years), 
  March 
  16; 
  Larimore, 
  N. 
  

   Dak. 
  (twelve 
  years), 
  March 
  28; 
  Terry, 
  Mont. 
  , 
  March 
  26. 
  The 
  mallard 
  

  

  