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FLAMINGOES, DUCKS , AND SCREAMERS. 
Mallard. 
Dusky Duck. 
Such a familiar species as the British wild-duck—the ancestral 
stock of most of our domesticated breeds—might seem to require 
little or no description, but the omission of such a notice would entail confusion 
later on. The mallard, then, is characterised by the male being more brightly 
coloured than the female, except during the breeding-season; and by the brilliancy 
of the wing-speculum in both sexes at all times. In winter the adult male has the 
four middle tail-feathers curled upwards; the head and neck are brilliant velvety 
green, and separated by a white collar from the rich chestnut of the breast; while 
the wing-speculum is a brilliant metallic violet, bounded in front by a black and 
then a white bar, and behind by two similar bands. The beak is yellowish green, 
and the legs and feet orange-red. In length the bird measures about 22 inches. 
On the other hand, the female at all times, and the male in the breeding-season, 
have the wings coloured as above, and the whole of the rest of the plumage varie¬ 
gated with dusky and ochre, the former appearing in the centre of the feathers 
and on the upper-parts, and the latter on the edges of the feathers and lower-parts. 
Such characters suffice shortly to distinguish this handsome species from its allies. 
As regards its distribution, the mallard may be said to inhabit the whole of the 
Northern Hemisphere, although its chief range is restricted to the zone lying 
between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic. 
The dusky duck (A. obscura), of eastern North America, may 
be taken as an example of a second group of the genus in which 
the sexes are alike at all seasons, and there is no white at the base of the wing. 
In this bird the prevailing colour of the plumage is dusky, with the feathers bordered 
with dull ochre; the head and neck being deep dull buff streaked with dusky, and 
the wing-speculum usually deep violet. 
This British duck (A. strepera) is a small more markedly distinct 
species, sometimes separated as a distinct genus, under the name of 
Chaulelasmus. Structurally it is distinguished from the preceding by the narrower 
and shorter beak, in which the edges are not quite parallel, the lamella) are visible 
externally, and its upper border is not convex in front; while it is further 
distinguished by the dull coloration of the speculum, which is simple black and 
white—mainly the latter. The gadwall is a very widely spread species, occurring 
in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America; and is represented in an island of 
the South Pacific by the somewhat smaller Coues’ gadwall ( A. couesi). 
Limits of space preclude any detailed account of the habits of 
the various species of ducks of this genus, but the following excellent 
account, referring to the mallard, may be quoted from Macgillivray, who writes 
that “ marshy places, the margins of lakes, pools and rivers, as well as brooks, rills, 
and ditches, are its principal places of resort at all seasons. It walks with ease, 
even runs with considerable speed, swims, and on occasion dives, although not in 
search of food. Seeds of grasses and other plants, fleshy and fibrous roots, worms, 
molluscs, insects, small reptiles, and fishes are the objects of its search. In shallow 
water it reaches the bottom with its bill, keeping the hind part of the body erect 
by a continued motion of the feet. On the water it sits rather lightly, with the 
tail considerably inclined upwards; when searching under the surface, it keeps the 
tail flat on the water; and when puddling at the bottom with its hind-part up, it 
Gadwall. 
Habits. 
