The Mallard ii 
her brood together, and turning her back to the pelting storm, she spreads 
out her wings so that not a single drop may fall upon them. I have seen 
no less than ten wild ducks all sitting together in a shower protecting their 
offspring with the umbrellas with which Nature has provided them. 
If you constantly watch female wild ducks with young, you will notice 
how highly strung is their sense of intelligence and observation at this period 
of their lives, and how keenly discriminating their judgment of human char- 
acter. Londoners need go no further than the Round Pond in Kensington 
Gardens to satisfy themselves on this point. Let them by slow degrees win 
the mother's confidence so far that she will allow them to sit close to her, and 
they will presently notice how she will classify and distinguish all the people 
passing to and fro, according to her judgment of their friendliness or other- 
wise. Almost every passer-by is carefully noticed—the majority probably 
without raising her suspicion ; but, suddenly (it may be afar off), appears some 
individual whose advent is not to her liking, or whose dog is objectionable 
in her eyes (even different breeds of dogs are classified in her mind) and in- 
stantly she makes a move towards the water, more or less rapid, according to 
her estimate of the danger. 
When there is a hot sun and a strong breeze, and the families are half 
grown, you may see them swimming together against the wind and catching the 
insects, after which — when their somewhat voracious appetites are appeased — 
they will go to sleep, drifting down wind from one end of the lake to the other. 
At such times family parties often unite and drift together ; but, when feed- 
ing, a wild duck with young is generally somewhat jealous, and will not 
allow other ducklings to follow her. This is curious, for both the Eider 
and the Sheldrake females habitually take charge of the children of their neigh- 
bours ; sometimes on the coast you may see an old Eider duck followed by a 
regular kindergarten. 
Where ducks are protected, one often sees them, when they have paired 
in the spring, leave the water after a shower of rain and repair to the open 
grass land ; the sunshine then brings to the top of the wet herbage all the slugs 
C 2 
