188 
ANAS BOSCHAS. 
deep bro'vn ; the chin and tliroat for about two incbeSi 
plain yellowish white ; winns, bill, and legs, nearly 
ill the male. 
The windpipe of the male has a bony labyrinth, •)'' 
bladder-like knob, puffing out from the left side. Th® 
intestines measure six feet, and are as n ide as those ® 
the canvass hack. The windpipe is of uniform diainet^'^ 
until it enters the kbyriiith. 
This is the original stock of the common doniesf' 
cated duck, reclaimed, time immemorial, from a sta^® 
of nature, and now become .so serviceable to ni.an. 
many individuals, the general garb of the tamo drak® 
seems to have undergone little or no alteration ; k'j 
the stamp of slavery is strongly imprinted in his d'jj 
indifferent eye and grovelling gait, while the lofty loek’ 
long- tapering neck, and sprightly action of the forni*^’ 
bespeak his native spirit and independence. 
The common wild duck is found in every fresh wa*^^ 
lake and river of the United States in winter, but seld'”’’ 
frequents the sea shores or salt marshes. Their suniia'^' 
residence is the north, the great nursery of this nuo’''” 
rolls genus. Instances have been known of some solitaf/ 
pairs breeding here in autumn. In England tU<’^| 
instances are more common. The ne.st is usually ]ilai'‘’“ 
in the most solitary recesses of the mai-sh, or bog, ain'!*^ 
coarse grass, reeds, and rushes, and generally conta*'*’ 
from twelve to si.vteen eg’gs of a dull greenish wh'l* 
The young are led about by the mother in the saj" 
manner as those of the tame duck, but with a super** 
caution, a cunning and watchful vigilance peculiar * 
her situation. The male attaches himself to one fe***'*}^ 
as among other birds in their native stati', and is 
guardian and protector of her and her feeble brood. 'T® 
mallard is numerous in the rice fields of the South*U 
States during winter, many of the fields being cover*, 
with a tew inches of water; and, the scattered grains * 
the former harvest lying in abundance, the ducks s«'“® 
about and feed at pleasure. j 
^ The flesh of the common wild duck is in general *■' 
liigh estimation ; and the ingenuity of man, in eV*rj 
