THE WOOD DUCK 
By T. GILBERT PEARSON 
The National Association of Audubon Societies 
Educational Leaflet No. 7 
When the famous naturalist Linnaeus described the Wood Duck, and 
gave it a scientific name, he called it Aix sponsa. Sponsa, we are told, 
means “the bride.” He thought that Bridal Duck would be a good name 
to apply to this, the most beautiful and wonderfully adorned of all the 
wild ducks found in America. The male is a most exquisitely colored 
creature, and in the feathers of its long crest are reflected all the 
colors of the rainbow. It is a favorite of artists, and none of our wild 
water-fowl has so often been painted. In the Southern States, wherever 
found, it seems to be a resident throughout the year. Being thus the only 
duck usually seen in summer it is quite natural that people should call it 
the Summer Duck, by which name it is usually known in that part of 
our country. 
This bird feeds along the margins of lakes and streams, and is espe- 
cially fond of staying in small ponds situated in deep woods where there is 
little danger of its being disturbed by persons passing. Most ducks make 
their nests on the ground near water, or in thick 
growths of plants where the water is shallow. Such *piaces^ 
is not the habit of the Wood Duck, however, for when 
spring comes it seeks an abode for its eggs in the hollow of some tree or 
tall snag, often at considerable distance from any water. 
One spring, while spending some time in a heavily wooded country, 
I often watched a pair of these birds flying back and forth between the 
forest and their feeding-grounds in a small lake. They always flew in 
the same manner, the female leading, the male either following a few feet 
behind or more rarely flying at her side. They moved very rapidly and 
in a few seconds would be out of sight among the tree-tops. The out- 
going trip to the woods was usually made about seven o’clock in the 
morning, and the returning trip three or four hours later. 
It was evident from these movements that the birds had a nest some- 
where back in the forest, and I spent many hours in hunting it. One day, 
by chance, I detected the male sitting on the bough of a tree fully fifty 
feet from the ground. Doubtless he saw me, but, as birds often do when 
not suspecting themselves seen, he remained perfectly quiet, not willing 
to risk so much as a movement of the head. For half an hour I waited, 
and then was rewarded by seeing the female emerge from the top of a 
tall stump. At once the male joined her and the two sped swiftly away 
in the direction of the lake. 
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