CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 8. NATATORES. 
315 
HuTCHiNs's Goose, A. HutcMnsi — called Mud Goose on Long Island — is twenty-five inches 
long; breeds along the Arctic Sea, and is common upon our coasts. Some have supposed it a 
hybrid between the Brant and Wild Goose. Mr. Linsley, in his Catalogue of the Birds of Con- 
necticut, states that it is not unfrequently taken there in spring, and is called the Southern Goose, 
becanse it does not winter there. 
The following are in the catalogue of the Smithsonian Institution : White-headed Goose, A, 
ccerulescens ; found in North America : A. frontalis, interior of North America : White-cheeked 
Goose, Bernicla leucopareia, west coast of North America : Black Brant, B, nigricans, Pacific 
coast of North America; rare on the Atlantic coast: Painted Goose, Chloephaya canagica, 
Aleutian Islands. 
MALLAEDS. 
THE TRUE DUCKS. 
These closely resemble the preceding group in their general conformation, and in the form of 
the bill. They all frequent fresh water, where they feed upon the worms, mollusca, and larvee 
which they pick out of the mud. A considerable portion of their food, however, consists of vege- 
table matter, such as grass, roots, seeds, &c. They are gregarious in their habits, and generally 
migrate in large flocks. The males are larger than the females, and often adorned with beautifnl 
colors, while the females are usually of a more uniform and sober tint. In winter, most of them 
resort to the borders of the sea. 
They moult twice in the year, in June and November ; in June, the males acquire the female 
plumage to a certain extent, but they regain their proper dress at the second moult, and retain it 
during the breeding season. The nest is usually placed on the ground among reeds and sedges 
near the water, sometimes in holes or in hollow trees, but rarely among the branches. The eggs 
vary from about eight to fourteen in number, and the young are active from the moment of their 
exclusion, and soon take to the water, where they are as much at home as the old birds. As the 
flesh of ducks is greatly valued, immense numbers of the wild ones are shot or taken in other 
ways. In England large quantities are captured by decoys, consisting of a piece of water situated 
