94 
ANSERIFORMES 
conspicuousncss of its nesting places, and the ease with which it can be 
stalked or “jumped” in its more or less wooded haunts, have made it an 
easy prey for even the inexperienced shooter and it was until lately in 
great danger of being exterminated. A duck that alights in trees is more 
or less paradoxical to most European sportsmen, but this species does so 
commonly. It builds its nest in a hollow tree some distance from the 
ground, usually overlooking a quiet oxbow pond or other dead water. How 
the young are brought to the ground is not known, and many conflicting 
reports are circulated regarding if — such as the old birds carrying their 
young in their bills or on their backs, or shoving them out to flutter to the 
ground and take chances with their little, unfledged wings. In some way 
they reach the ground at an early age and follow the mother about the 
reaches of the streams or other quiet waters. Later they seek the marshes, 
which they inhabit through the autumn, leaving for the south before the 
first frost has chilled the waters. 
The Wood Duck takes readily to nesting boxes prepared for the 
purpose and its numbers could probably be increased in this way. 
This is not the bird commonly called “Wood Duck” on the prairies 
and in the north. The birds generally so termed are the Golden-eye and 
the Buffle-head, both of which build in trees and seem fitted to the name. 
The Wood Duck is a very beautiful bird and its disappearance would 
cause profound regret. The way in which its numbers have been reduced 
in the east indicates that it cannot withstand the dangers of modern 
sporting and other conditions as do hardier, shyer, and more inaccessible 
species. It never seems to have been, except in certain localities, as com- 
mon as other ducks, even in British Columbia, and though its numbers 
there may not be dangerously reduced, today the sportsmen of that prov- 
ince and elsewhere would be well advised to confine their shooting to 
other more numerous and more commonplace species and thus extend the 
close season by a gentleman’s agreement. In the east, a long, close season, 
and the stopping of spring shooting, appear to have had the desired effect 
of increasing the numbers of this species, but it seems to many of us that 
the great value of this wonderful little bird is as an object of beauty rather 
than of sport. 
Subfamily — Fuligulinae. Bay, Sea, or Diving Ducks 
General Description. Heavily or compactly built clucks with typically flattened or 
spatulate duck-like bill sometimes swollen or high at base (Figures 155-160), but always 
with flattened nail at tip (Figures 140 and 142). Hind toe modified into a flat, paddle- 
shaped lobe (like Figure 139). 
Distinctions. Bill will separate the Sea Ducks 
from Mergansers; and hind toe from River and Pond 
Ducks (Compare with Figures 168 and 169, and 125). 
Field Marks. Rather difficult to distinguish from 
the River and Pond Ducks except as species. They 
are in general more heavily built, with thicker and 
usually shorter necks. They dive rather than tip in 
feeding; rise less steeply from the water, and alight 
more awkwardly. 
Nesting. Usually on the ground, sometimes in 
trees. 
Distribution. Cosmopolitan, common across the 
continent, but likely to be more numerous on the 
coasts than in the interior. 
