(Plate IV,) 
THE MALLARD DUCK. 
Anas boschas (Linnreus). 
It is easy to understand the circumstances of the scene of the 
opposite plate. The mists ol an October morning have van¬ 
ished into a clear sky, and, his breakfast of juicy stems and rip¬ 
ened seeds over, the Mallard has quitted the concealment ol the 
reeds and sailed out upon the smooth surface ol the pond, tak¬ 
ing his morning exercise. Behind him comes his plainly attired 
wife, rejoicing so much in the admiration her mate's fine coat is 
causing that she altogether forgets her own lack of gay feathers. 
Though seemingly taking unconcerned enjoyment, this pair are 
always vigilant, attending closely to every unusual sound or move¬ 
ment among the rushes, ready to speed away upon their strong 
pinions, or sink out of sight beneath the surface. 
Although combining somewhat the characteristics ol both sea 
and land clucks, and able to procure their sustenance, if need be, 
along the sea-shore, the Mallards choose fresh water and inland 
resorts, flocking in autumn to the broad weedy ponds and marshes 
ot the Western States, and following down the water-courses to 
the flooded rice-fields and bayous of the South, where they congre¬ 
gate in great numbers in winter, affording fine shooting, and be¬ 
coming very fat from the abundance of rich lood they find floating 
in the water. Now their flesh is most desirable lor the table. 
Autumn Mallard shooting has not substantially changed from 
the time when Wilson so graphically and succinctly described it 
on the Delaware. Wooden decoys still serve to attract to the 
hunter’s place of concealment, or, if he distrusts them, he uses 
tamed or partially tamed living ducks, which, tied by the leg to 
an anchor, swim about to attract the wild ones within range ol the 
gun. But space forbids more than an allusion to the sport to he 
derived from the hunting of these Splendid water-fowl ; and to 
attempt to describe all the wiles used to outwit the vigilance and 
native strategy of the Mallard in various parts of the world — lor 
this duck is nearly cosmopolitan — would require a volume. 
There cannot be a doubt that it is from the wild Mallard Duck 
that we have derived our domesticated variety. The two are still 
intimate and constantly breed together the world over, although it 
is beyond memory when the first were reclaimed from their state 
of nature, Charles Waterton had the finest possible opportuni¬ 
ties for looking into the habits of these ducks, having both wild 
and tame ones breeding on the lake before his window in the se¬ 
curity insured to every living thing at Walton Hall, He says: — 
“ The Wild Ducks which frequent this place may be observed to 
catch insects on the water in the daytime ; but they do not in gen¬ 
eral rove on land in quest ol food, though once or twice, in moist 
and heavy weather, 1 have seen them waddle through the pasture; 
but I marked the fact down as one of rare occurrence. When 
undisturbed, they are seen to pass much ol the lime asleep on the 
ground. At intervals they will take to the water; and while some 
float on it, with the head reclined on the shoulder, others will 
sport and dive into the deep, and there arrange and preen their 
feathers, though not with oil from the gland on the rump, as is 
generally' supposed. At the close ot day they become exceedingly 
vociferous, the voice of the female being much louder and more 
frequent than that of the male, a circumstance too notorious in the 
human species. After this uproar of tongues has continued for a 
certain time, they rise on rapid wing in detached flocks, and, to a 
bird, they r go away for the night. At early' dawn they return in 
companies, consisting of fifteen or twenty birds, and stay here to 
pass the day in peace and quiet." 
The nest ordinarily is placed on the ground close by' the side of 
a solitary pond or in a marsh, where a mass of dead rank grass, 
matted down by the winter's snow, will support it. It has hardly' 
enough framework to allow it to hold together, it you attempt to 
lift it, but it looks like a very firm structure, since it is completely 
covered with slate-colored feathers and down, such as clothes the 
breast of the mother-bird, in which the dozen or two large, olive- 
green, polished eggs are well ensconced, and thus will remain 
warm in their chilly situation for some time after the sitting bird 
has left them for food or in alarm ; while the fledglings, when 
they appear, can nestle down among the feathers, as beneath blank¬ 
ets, when the parent is absent. But sometimes. Instead of rest¬ 
ing upon the ground, the nest is placed upon an old stump, in a 
bunch of heather, jutting from the ledge of a cliff, on a ledge of 
rocks, or the top of a ruined wall, — but always near the water. 
The Mallard, however, breeds rarely in the United States, except 
among the extensive wild rice-fields along the Great Lakes, pre¬ 
ferring to go farther northward, 
