BIRDS OF DURHAM AND YICINITY. 
19 
Anas boschas. Mallard. 132. 
Mallard Ducks are of irregular but not rare occurrence, according 
to Mr. Shute of Newmarket, who has taken them repeatedly on Great 
Bay. A pair now in the College collection were killed there and 
mounted by him some years ago. They usually are found in com- 
pany with Black Ducks. It is a common species in the west, where 
it is considered one of the choicest ducks for the table. The green- 
headed domestic drake is of Mallard origin, its ancestors having been 
wild Mallards. The food of the Mallard consists of seeds, roots, 
moilusks, small Crustacea and insects. 
Anas obscura. Black Duck. ^ 133. 
This species is abundant on Great Bay, spring and fall, and is a 
winter resident on the coast. They begin to come from their breeding 
grounds further north, early in September, but the main flight does 
not appear till October, when hundreds resort to the fresh and brackish 
waters in this vicinity. A little after sunset they may be seen flying over, 
from the ponds back in the country, where they have spent the day 
in seclusion, to Great Bay, which is their feeding ground in this 
vicinity. I have seen not less than two hundred flying over this 
village at one time, going down to feed. Market gunners persecute 
them mercilessly and several hundred are annually killed at Great Bay 
alone. After ice begins to form they depart for the sea where they 
stay during the day, coming into the rivers nights to feed. The 
northward migration is at its height in April. Stomachs of this 
species which I have investigated have contained vegetable matter 
almost wholly. One showed bulbous grass roots ; another was filled 
with polygonum and sedge seeds, and among them was a larval 
insect, apparently dipterous. They are fond of feeding on the bottom 
where the water is shoal enough for them to reach down as they float. 
They dabble a great deal, in the same manner as domestic ducks. In 
pleasant weather they are inclined to be quiet after the sun is up, but' 
on rainy days they are active all day long, and the harder it rains the 
happier they appear to be. 
Chaulelasmus strepera. Gadwall. 135. 
This is one of the rarest ducks on our list. Mr. Shaw states that 
only a very few have been killed at Hampton during the past twenty- 
five years. Mr. George Wentworth has in his collection at Dover, a 
pair of spring birds, which were taken on Little Bay. The Gadwall is 
said to be rather solitary and retiring in its habits, never associating 
in large flocks, and generally preferring secluded shores to open water. 
