THE LIVING WORLD. 
403 
which it eats with avidity. The toes are only partially webbed, as seen in the 
small illustration. It is about the size of a teal duck and at certain seasons 
of the year, notably the fall, its flesh is most toothsome though at other times 
it is so rank as to be fairly nauseating. The nest of this species is admirably 
shown in the accompanying illustration. The color of this bird is a dark 
dun, only a shade lighter on the breast, with sharp pointed bill of pure white 
and legs and toes a light 
green. 
Sportsmen and epi¬ 
cures so often sing the 
praises of the Mallard 
Duck (Anas m osckus ), 
which is so fond of frequent¬ 
ing the ponds almost about 
our doors, as to furnish 
the fullest opportunity for 
its study. It is regarded 
as the progenitor of the 
common domestic duck. 
Like the eider duck it 
uses down for the lining 
of its nest. It requires 
about a month for chang¬ 
ing its plumage, shedding 
the most brilliantly col¬ 
ored feathers first. Its 
head, neck and breast English water hen. 
are of glossy green, though 
the last inclines to brown, except that it wears a narrow white collaret. Its 
back is russet, deepening into black as it approaches the tail; the tail feathers 
are brown ash with the exception of four, 
which look like black velvet, and in the drake 
are curled. The wings are brown ash till 
near the extremity where they*are black, the 
two colors being separated by a broad white 
vertical band. 
The Bridal Duck, or American Sum¬ 
mer Duck (Anas sponsa), is the American 
species of the mandarin , and deserves a more 
extended notice of its coloring, since it may 
at any time delight the eyes of such of the 
readers of The Living World as find them¬ 
selves awakened to pleasing observation of the 
animal life around them. The top of its head is green and purple, blended 
at times but generally distinct; its cheeks are fawn-colored and a cream- 
colored stripe runs from the back of the neck to the eyes; the neck on its 
sides is provided with long bright chestnut feathers, while purple prevails on 
the throat and breast. It has four shoulder-stripes, two of white and two of black, 
and its russet-colored wings have shining green margins ; the underparts make a 
AMERICA WATER HEN. 
