

Sept, 28, 1907.] 

FOREST AND STREAM. 








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[he Domestication of Wild Ducks. 
} Ar an altitude of 1,291 feet above the sea 
g@vel, and about fifty miles from Buffalo, as the 
pirds tly, lies Lake Chautauqua, the largest of 
ine inland waters of Western New York. It is 
’ beautiful sheet of clear, dark-green water, of 
{bout eighteen miles in length, which, even in 
jaid-summer, hardly ever has a temperature 
bove 62° F., on account of its high elevation, 
nd has, therefore, become a favorite summer 
sesort for hundreds of people, who flock there 
*) recruit health and strength. The basin of 
ake Chautauqua is a deep trough excavated 
jut of the. rocks of the Chemung group, and 
‘ell filled by the drainage of two low ranges 
‘f{ hills running at a short distance parallel to 
's shores. When these were covered with 
seep forests the rainfall was naturally more 
undant and the level of the lake could then 
ardly have suffered any lowering, as its evapo- 
‘ition on account of its high altitude, is even 
j2w not excessive. But with the disappearance 
j; the wilderness and the gradual deepening of 
is only outlet, the Conewango Creek, changes 
ive been wrought within our recent periods, 
‘hich are inferred from the lacrustine deposits 
zar the shores of the lake, and attest that its 
vel was once twenty or thirty feet higher. 
, We are informed by old settlers, that twenty- 
we years ago deep forests of beech, poplar 
hd chestnut covered every foot of that part oi 
-hautauqua county, where there are now only 
gattered patches of second growth timber, more 
; less separated by intervening clearings. Their 
Sappearance has in turn naturally produced 
‘any changes in the avifauna of the lake, and 
‘any species of birds, which used to breed there 
jive now deserted their ancient haunts for less 
jsturbed retreats. 
It is by kindness of one of these old residents, 
'r. Geo. Irwin, an accurate observer of nature, 
‘ing near Mayville, that I have obtained some 
formation respecting the state of affairs be- 
ire these changes happened, along with a brief 
mmary of a series of systematic efforts, which 
sre made by him for over thirty years, to do- 
Westicate several species of wild ducks which 
y2med to suit best for this purpose on account 
, their tendency to become easily tamed. 
It is from this source, supplemented by fre- 
‘ent personal investigation of his ingeniously 
\vised artificial breeding grounds, that I am en- 
led to add a few notes of interest concerning 
42. domestication of some of our wild water- 
jvl, and their habits under confinement. 
‘Nearly all of the species of wild ducks which 
fw occur about the shores of Lake Erie once 
{quented Lake Chautauqua before they were 
trassed or driven away. Among them. as the 
he conspicuous, Mr. Irwin enumerates the 
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llard, dusky-duck, shoveller, red-head, blue- 
|, widgeon, pin-tail, buffle-head, ring-necked 
*k, blue-winged and green-winged teal, ruddy- 
|:k, gadwall, golden eye, scoter, old wife and 
wasback. Their ranks were sometimes 
jelled by the occasional occurrence of the 
‘morant, Canada goose, white-fronted goose, 
pw goose and American swan. All of the 
yve species comprised at that time, as now, 
ordinary visitors, with the exception of the 
lwell and canvasback, both of which have al- 
ys been rare on the inland waters of Western 
iw York. The thick fringes of weeds and 
reeds along the shores of Lake Chautauqua 
also still the favorite haunts of the eared 
| pied-bill grebes, along with some scattered 
#cimens of the mudhen (Fulica americana), 
{ich like these two divers, breeds here. The 
‘i abundance of various species of fish, prin- 


uly perch and sunfish, attract moreover each 
jing and autumn, the goosander and hooded 
1. common mergansers, which last 
id here once in great abundance. 
species 

For the purpose of trying the final domestica- 
tion of as many of the above species as could be 
conveniently obtained, 'a small lot of about an 
acre in extent and situated on the very edge of 
the lake itself, was, at an early time, selected 
for this purpose. The heavy weeds within that 
inclosure afforded secure shelter for the natur- 
ally shy and wild birds to hide in and enabled 
them to avoid detection on part of their many 
enemies, such as hawks, owls, minks, etc., while 
a large amount of natural food supply was thus 
also incidentally provided for trom the tender 
shoots and roots of that spontaneous vegetation 
which formed the favorite diet of the wood- 
duck. A few crude and low wooden sheds, 
erected in various suitable places within the 
grounds, were designed for convenient shelter 
and served here and there for nesting purposes. 
These necessary preparations completed, the es- 
tablishment was at last in readiness for. the re- 
ception of its inmates, the first batch of which 
was obtained from young ducklings caught alive, 
or by means of eggs from the nests of the wild 
birds. From time to time old birds were added 
to this stock whenever they could be captured 
alive after having been winged in shooting them. 
The species thus confined were chiefly the 
mallard; dusky-duck, wood-duck, and _ blue- 
winged teal, since they breed here and could 
be easily obtained. Occasional experiments 
were likewise made with the pintail and Ameri- 
can swan, both of which freely bred and raised 
their young in the inclosure, although they 
were never fully domesticated, nor even trans- 
ferred from the breeding pen to the barnyard. 
They remained virtually as wild all along as if 
they never had been subjected to captivity in 
order to finally transform them into fully tamed 
birds. They lived, bred and raised their young 
here without having any more restraints put 
upon them than were necessary for safe keep- 
ing. It was observed in case of the dusky- 
duck and mallard, which proved the most tract- 
able for domestication. by which I .mean a 
complete metamorphosis into tamed barnyard 
fowl, that they resisted all efforts to this pur- 
pose if transferred to the pen when over a year 
old, while the reverse happened when they were 
captured young and raised from eggs. The ma- 
jority of them seemed to feel as much at home 
here as in any nesting ground of their own 
choice, and generally returned whenever they 
were permitted to migrate in autumn. They 
would breed the same as in the year previous, 
while others again only called for a few days, 
after which they left for localities unknown. In 
either case the females were accompanied by 
males, with which they mated while abroad, and 
these transient guests after migrating generally 
returned in late fall for a few days before their 
final southward migration. 
This indicates that our migratory ducks not 
only remain with us in spring, but also call in 
autumn on their way back to their chosen 
haunts in order to rest themselves. Of the sev- 
eral species within the grounds, which proved 
least refractory, and were therefore finally trans- 
ferred to the barnyard, none adapted themselves 
thoroughly to this state excepting the mallard. 
dusky-duck and Canada goose, the progeny of 
which prospered well and attained a greater 
weight and size than the ordinary domesticated 
stock, 
Some of them are still living and betray in 
many instances a tendency to revert, in point of 
plumage, to their original condition, while the 
majority have become completely metamor- 
phosed into ordinary barnyard fowl. No hy- 
brids from any two different wild species, which 
bred only within the inclosure, were ever ob- 
tained, excepting from crosses between the mal- 
lard and dusky-duck. 
I was unable to learn what became of them; 
whether they were ever permitted to migrate, 


or whether they were incorporated finally into 
the ranks of the farm-yard stock. Whether such 
hybrids, if propagating their kind, transmit their 
peculiarities to the next brood, or otherwise, 
are interesting problems, as we could account 
for specific variations to arise as well in a per- 
fectly natural condition, from which the birds 
here were hardly emancipated. A number of 
carefully conducted experiments with such hy- 
brids would, however, be necessary to arrive at 
definite conclusions in order to demonstrate the 
origination of a permanent new species by 
voluntary interbreeding. 
The food of all ducks under confinement was 
invariably such at they are addicted to in their 
wild state, and consisted of various grains, with 
a mixture of acorns and the shoots and roots 
of aquatic plants for the wood-ducks. This 
species, though freely breeding in confinement, 
resisted all efforts for final domestication, and 
never failed to manifest great alarm whenever 
any person besides their keeper, whom they 
quickly learned to know, happened to intrude 
upon their seclusion. They would then quickly 
skulk and try to hide themselves in the tall 
weeds, which were growing in rank luxuriance, 
for better protection and retirement. Suitable 
nesting places were ingeniously arranged for 
them by means of hollow stumps of trees with 
inclined boards toward the ground in order to 
afford the pinioned birds an easy mode of access 
to their breeding holes. It was in these that 
they made their nests, in the same fashion as 
wild birds, and raised here for many years suc- 
cessfully their young broods. In order to ob- 
tain additional information concerning the habits 
of the wood-duck and the manner in which their 
young reach the ground from their derial nests, 
I made some special inquiries of Mr. Irwin, 
which were kindly responded to by that gentle- 
man. As they embody his original observations 
upon the habits of the wood-duck in his vicinity, 
I quote the chief portion of his last note. 
Mr. Irwin states, that the wood-ducks gener- 
ally commence here to nest about the middle 
of April, and always choose trees with suit- 
able holes or hollows, in which to build their 
nests, preferring for this purpose rather high 
elevations. They deposit from nine to fourteen 
eggs, of a yellowish-white color, and their incu- 
bation lasts four weeks. The young birds, after 
being hatched, remain in the: nests only about 
twenty-four hours, and their toe-nails are then 
almost hooked like those of the birds of prey, 
and sharp as a needle at the point. When they 
are ready to descend from their nests, whether 
low or high, the old bird comes to the mouth 
of the hole, and takes for about a half hour a 
careful survey of the surroundings, to ascertain, 
as it were, that no intruder is near, and next 
utters a low call. The ducklings seem to under- 
stand its significance and now quickly make their 
appearance in front of the hole, which often 
extends to a depth of from six to ten feet. By 
means of their sharp toe-nails they easily man- 
age to climb up on the side of the deep holes, 
at the entrance of which they remain a_ few 
minutes huddled together about the old bird. 
These preliminaries completed, the mother again 
descends to the ground near the tree, and calls 
upon her young brood, -which now drop, one by 
one, from their airy perch, without any apparent 
hesitation whatever. Their bodies are already 
so thickly covered with down, that they seem 
to fall, as Mr. Irwin says, like a leaf to the 
ground. When the last duckling has accom- 
plished this feat, they all gather again about the 
old bird, who now takes the lead and guides 
them to the nearest water, which they reach in 
a few minutes. The nest of the wood-duck is 
rarely more than fifteen or seventeen rods away 
from it, and the young brood quickly hides 
under the shelter of any nearby cover for pro- 
tection against their winged and four-footed 

















































































