A dictionary of British birds : reprinted from Montagu's Ornithological dictionary, and incorporating the additional species described by Selby; Yarrell, in all three editions, and in natural-history journals / compiled and edited by Edward Newman.

George Montagu

Date:: 1866

Credit: A dictionary of British birds : reprinted from Montagu's Ornithological dictionary, and incorporating the additional species described by Selby; Yarrell, in all three editions, and in natural-history journals / compiled and edited by Edward Newman. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$pollard mllow impending the water, from whence the young might readily drop un- hurt into theii' natm’al element. 'Wild Ducks pahr; but when domesticated one male will serve several females. The number that breed in this counti-y is small in comparison, since the extensive marshes and fens have been drained and cultivated; and it is probable the greater pai’t of those caught in our decoys in winter come to us from the more northern paids at that season. Mr. Pennant men- tions thii-ty-one thousand two hundred having been taken in one season in de- coys in the neighbourhood of Wainfleet. And it ai^peai-s on record that no less than two thousand six hundi-ed and forty-six Mallards, or Drakes, wei'e taken in two days near Spalding. These appear to have been young birds before they could fly, called Flappers. Supplement. — The bony labyrinth at the lower end of the trachea of the male of this species, is an erident proof that such a confonnation is not given for the pui^pose of augmenting the voice of birds, as every one knows the Mallard’s note is remarkably low, and nothing to compare to that of the Duck. Dr. Latham remarks that the male Muscovy Duck \rill not un- frequently produce ■with the common spe- cies. Observing at a farm-house some Ducks that had the appearance of being a mixed breed between these two species, enquiry was made, and the fanner assured us he had seven young ones, the sire of which was of the Muscovy breed; two of these, of apparent different sexes, were obtained. These hybrid birds bear a greater resemblance to the common than to the Muscovy species. The bill has a Uttle reddish colour at the base, but there is no bai’e space about the eyes as in the Mus- covy, nor has the male the curled feathers in the tail like the common Mallard. The size of the male is vastly superior to that of the female; the former is black on the crown of the head and the ui^per part of the body, glossed with purple and violet; the rest of the plumage is white. The female is quite white except a single spot on the head. They have not the note of the commonispecies, at least the female note is as inaudible as that of the other sex. The male hybrid is obsen^ed to be frequently amorous, both with his own mate and •with Ducks of the common sort, but the female never laid any eggs. We cannot perceive any thing in the appearance of the young of other DueliB ■with which the male had congress, that proves them to be the fruit of such connexion; and the Ducks were not debai'red access to males of their own species. That the male hybrid possesses a strong stimulus 4o love in the spring, is evident, for the want of other connexion induced him to worry a female Whistling Swan so much, that they were obhged to be separated. The Com- mon Duck, as well as other wild fowl, becomes scarcer every year in a country like this, where agriculture makes so lead- ing a feature; few comparatively remain to breed ■with us since the more extensive fens have been drained and converted into pasture. The great fenny tracts in Lin- colnshire do not produce a dozen broods of ■wild fowl at present, where half a cen- tury back as many thousands were hatched. In a tour through that country dimng the incubating season, we observed that the Mallards congregated while the Ducks were sitting; it is therefore probable that, Ulce the domestic ones, they are mostly polygamous. Many instances are recorded of the common Duck depositiug her eggs at a considerable height from tlie ground. One mentioned by Mr. Tunstall, at Etch- ingham, in Sussex, was found sitting upon nine eggs, on an oak tree twenty-five feet from the ground. The author of the ‘ Eural Sports ’ also records an instance of a Duck taking possession of the deserted nest of a Hawk in a lai-ge oak. To these we may add, upon the assui'ance of a gen- tleman of the strictest veracity, that of a large flock of half-domesticated Ducks; one deposited her eggs in the principal fork of a lai'ge ehn tree near his house, and brought her young doM-n in safety, notivithstanding a Magpie had made a nest on the top of the same tree. Thus Mag was found to live in Mendship with his neighbour in the first story, and sought for plunder further fcom home. Duck, Cuthbert. 1 Duck, Dunter. J See Duck, Eider. Duck, Dusky and Spotted. — See Duck, Harlequin. Duck, Eider or Edder. — [Yarrell, iii. 298; Hewitson, cxv. 414.] Anas mollis- sima, Lin. Syst. i. p. 198, 15 ; Gmel. Syst. ii. p. 514; Ind. Orn. ii. p. 845, 35. Anas S. Cuthberti, Baii Syn. p. 141, A. 3. F.; Will. p. 278, t. 77, F. Anser lanuginosus, Bris. vi. p. 294, 13, t. 29, 30; Ib. 8vo, ii. p. 440. Oie k duret. Eider, Buf. ix. p. 103, t. 0. Great Black and White Duck, Edw. t. 98, M. and F. Eider, or Cuthbert Duck, Br. Zool. ii. No. 271, t. 95 ; 16. fol. 152, t.' Q.; Arct. Zool. ii. No. 480; Will. Angl. p. 362, t. 70 ; Lath. Syn. vi. p. 470, 29 ; Ib. Sup. p. 274 ; Wale. Syn. i. t. 66 ; Lewin, Br. Birds, vii. t. 244; Bewick, Br. Birds, ii. t. p. 314. Pro^sdncial: Colk; Dunter Duck. —This species is nearly double the size of the common Duck;$