DUCKS.— EIDERS. 109 



They liv^e almost constantly on great humid prah'ies and vast 

 marshes. Wild geese live in numerous troops and always have 

 some of them on the watch : they are extremely suspicious. 

 The males are not distinguishable from the females by the colour 

 of their plumage ; they moult but once a year ; their voice is 

 strong and clamorous. They breed on the ground, swim little, 

 and do not dive at all. They fly in flocks, in two lines in the form 

 of an angle, or in a single line, when the troop is numerous ; the 

 one which is at the point of the angle, or at the head of the line, 

 falls into the rear when fatigued, and they all succeed each other 

 in turn. 



35. Ducks properly so called, — Anas, — {Plate 6, fig. 6.) 

 comprise species almost all of Avhich resemble each other, but still 

 differ in slight particulars. They differ from Swans and Geese, 

 not only in their beak, but also in being much smaller and having 

 a shorter neck ; their trachea is inflated at its bifurcation. 



36. Ducks are spread through all the marshy or maritime 

 countries of the globe. They are aquatic and migratory, and 

 approach the sea coast in flocks during autumn and winter, but 

 frequent fresh water ponds, lakes and rivers, particularly those 

 with grassy and sedgy borders ; they prefer shallow places in 

 which they can fathom the bottom with the beak without the 

 necessity of diving deeply, to which they only have recourse in 

 the breeding season, or to avoid their enemies. The species are 

 numerous, but they are most abundant in temperate regions. 



37. Ducks are divided into Sea-ducks y Eiders^ Common Duckst 

 Teals, &c. 



The Common Duck has been long domesticated, and inhabits 

 all our poultry yards. 



38. [The Canvass Backed Duck^ — Anas valisneria, — so well 

 known as a delicacy of the table, is a species peculiar to the con- 

 tinent of America. It is of a steel-gray; beak straight, nearly 

 two and a half inches long, its sides parallel. The Male is white 

 waved with black ; the head tinged with black anteriorly, and 

 the neck glossy chestnut : a black pectoral belt. Female, dull 

 whitish, waved with black ; head, neck, and breast, brownish.] 



39. The Eider, — Anas mollissima.—( Somateria,) is a species 

 of Duck celebrated for the down which it furnishes, known under 

 the name of Eider down. The male is nearl y two feet long, and 



35. What are Ducks properly so called ? What is the peculiarity of the 

 trachea in Ducks properly so called ? 



36. What are the habits of Ducks ? 



37. How are Ducks divided ? 



38. How is the Canvass Backed Duck characterised ? 



39. What are the characters of the Eider ? How is Eider down obtained ? 



