"Please tell us," continued Rap, "how many different kinds of Ducks there are in our country?"
"About forty," answered the Doctor; "but I shall not trouble you to learn more than a few of the common ones. They all belong to one family, which also contains the Geese and Swans. They are divided into three groups--Fishing Ducks, River or Fresh-water Ducks, and Sea Ducks.
"The Fishing Ducks are great swimmers and divers, living chiefly on the fish they catch by chasing them under water. Their beaks are narrow, hooked, and sharply toothed, which makes it easy for them to hold their slippery prey. But this oily food makes their flesh so rank that none of them is fit food for House People. They are all called Mergansers, and we have in this country four different species.
"The River Ducks are those that we see mostly in the spring and fall migrations; they have the handsomest plumage and the most delicate flesh. They feed along shallow rivers, ponds, and lakes, after the manner of barnyard Ducks--for the Mallard is one of them, and tame Ducks are domesticated Mallards, as I told you. In feeding, they bob head downward in the water with their tails straight up in the air, to find the roots, seeds, insects, small sh.e.l.l-fish, and other things they like to eat. They build very good nests, usually on the ground, and warmly lined with their own down, which the parent plucks from her breast to cover the eggs. The color of the eggs is always greenish, gray, drab, or buff, never with any spots. Most River Ducks nest in the far North, but there are some exceptions. The Wood Duck that Rap saw by the lake is one of these exceptions, and has the most beautiful plumage of all our Ducks. It does not build its nest on the ground, like most others of its family, but in a tree hole, like an Owl or a Woodp.e.c.k.e.r."
"How can the little Ducks get down to the ground--do their wings grow strong very soon?" asked Nat.
"You have seen that most birds come from the egg quite naked, and stay in the nest till their feathers grow, like Canaries and all other song birds, while others are hatched all covered with down, the same as Chickens are. The young of those living in open exposed places, such as sea and sh.o.r.e birds, are thickly clothed with down when hatched. Such downy plumage is not exactly like the feathers that sprout after a while, but it answers the same purpose; for the little things could not run about or swim if they were naked, you know."
"Yes, Ducklings are all downy; for I remember those that came out in June up at the Farm were, and their tiny little wings were as cunning and cute as could be," said Dodo.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Wood Duck.]
"When little Wood Ducks are hatched and become quite dry, their mother takes them in her beak, by the wing, one by one, and flies down to the ground with them. As soon as her brood of ten or a dozen is thus collected, she leads them off to the nearest water, and the whole lot of Ducklings go in swimming, bobbing for food as if they were a year old instead of only a few hours. Then mamma begins to drill them in danger-signalling, so that at the slightest hint from her they dive and swim out of harm"s way.
"Sea Ducks do not always live on the ocean, as the name would lead you to expect, but prefer large open waters, either fresh like those of lakes, or salt, as in bays and sounds. They eat both animal and vegetable food, oftentimes diving deeply, and swimming far under water to find it. Of course they, in common with all other Ducks, must take a vast amount of mud and water into their mouths with their food; but instead of having to swallow this, it drains off through the little grooves on the inside edges of the bill, as a ship"s deck is drained of water by means of the scuppers. But that I have explained to you already. Some Sea Ducks are more plentiful than their river brethren; and as they spend both their days and nights offsh.o.r.e, they run less danger of extermination. Most of them nest also in the far North, in much the same fashion as River Ducks do.
"Two celebrated members of this group are the Redhead and the Canvasback, who are always welcome guests at dinner, and are so much alike in the crisp brown company dress they wear on the table, with plenty of stuffing and gravy, that very few persons can tell them apart.
But the most famous one of all is the Eider Duck--the one which yields such an abundance of exquisitely soft, warm down that we use it for making the best sort of bedquilts."
"Can you always tell a Sea Duck from a River Duck by the feathers--or how?" asked Rap.
"You can always tell them by their feet," answered the Doctor; "for every Sea Duck has a little flap of skin hanging like an ap.r.o.n from the hind toe, while the hind toe of every River Duck is round and slim, like a Hen"s."
"I should think there would always be plenty of Sea Ducks," said Rap; "for if they live so far out they ought to be able to take care of themselves and swim or fly away from everybody."
"You would think so, my boy, but when man with his many inventions sets out to kill, there is little chance of escape for bird or beast. Sea Ducks are hunted in their nesting homes, not only for their flesh and eggs, but for the downy feathers with which the nest is lined. In their migrations overland, every hand is set against them if they pause to rest or feed."
"But when they reach deep water, they must be safe; for they can fly faster than any boat can sail after them," said Rap.
"Sail--yes; but men go in gunning-punts, sneak-boats, and even steam-launches, to surround the flocks of Wild Ducks that are lying low, trusting perhaps to a covering of fog, and when it lifts these water pot-hunters commit slaughter which it would be slander to call sport."
"Oh, look!" cried Rap, "there are hundreds of Gulls over there, and Sea Swallows too. There is the island, for the breeze has come up and we have sailed ever so far without noticing it. There is a great flock of Gulls going off together--are they beginning their fall journey?"
"No, they are only going to some harbor to feed. They belong to a guild of water birds that I think we might call Sea Sweepers; for they clear from the surface of the water the refuse that the tide would otherwise throw upon the beaches. They also follow in the wake of ships for the same purpose. Neither Gulls nor Terns can dive far under water like Ducks, for their bodies are too light; but they all pounce down on wing and contrive to catch small fish swimming just below the surface.
"Look at the difference between the flight of the two! The Tern half folds his long pointed wings, and darts down like lightning; in a second he is up in the air again dashing off with capricious flight, holding his beak to his breast as the Woodc.o.c.k does. But the Gull sails more slowly, settles deliberately, and often floats quietly on the surface; then when he rises on wing, with some ceremony, he flaps off with his beak held straight before him, like a Duck. Terns are the better flyers, but Gulls are decidedly the more expert swimmers."
"Are Gulls and Terns related?" asked Dodo.
"They both belong to one family of many members. These two that you have been watching are among the best known of all--the American Herring Gull, who lives on both lake and ocean; and the Common Tern, who mostly follows the sea-coast."
"Heads down!" called Olaf. The boom swung round, the sail dropped, and the boat ran into the shallow water of the beach at Great Gull Island.
"You haven"t given us any Duck tables, Uncle Roy," said Dodo.
"You cannot stop on this hot sand to write them out; but I will remember to give them to you as soon as we get back to the cabin."
"When shall we ever see these Ducks?" sighed Dodo, thinking of the long list there would be to write; "because I can remember better when I see things than if I only hear about them."
"Do you realize that when you go back to the Farm, it will be time for birds to begin their autumn journeys, and that they will be pa.s.sing by until the snow is on the ground? Why may you not meet some of these Ducks by the river, or see them swimming on the pond? Or, if you are not so lucky, you must look for them in markets and museums. Some of them are sitting in my wonder room at this very minute."
(These are the Duck tables that Dodo afterward wrote in her book.)
The Wood Duck
Length eighteen or twenty inches.
Male (the Drake, as the male of all Ducks is called): upper parts velvety black, shining with bronzy, purplish, greenish, and violet tints.
Under parts rich purplish-chestnut on the breast, which is marked with chains of white spots like polka-dots; belly white; a white band on each side of the breast in front of the wing; the sides further back tan color with fine wavy black lines, and still further back distinctly banded crosswise with black and white.
Head beautifully crested and banded with white and the shining dark colors of the back; bill prettily tinted with pink, lake-red, and black; eyes red; feet orange.
Female and young: much more plainly dressed than the male, but enough like him not to be mistaken. A Citizen of North America, who lives in the woods, unlike most other Ducks, and nests in a hole in a tree, like a Woodp.e.c.k.e.r--but it has to be a much larger, natural hollow. This beautiful Duck is not very plentiful now, and should not be shot for the table, though its meat is excellent. It is by far the handsomest of its tribe, and is sometimes kept in cages for its beauty.
The Black Duck
Length twenty or twenty-two inches.
Male and female (Drake and Duck) alike, which is the exception to the rule in this family.
Plumage all over mottled and streaky with dusky shades and buff or tan colors, except the beauty-spot or mirror on the wing, which is shining purple with a black border--almost all Ducks have such a spot, which is called a mirror because it reflects many glittering hues in different lights. There is no white on the outside of the wings of this Duck, and you can tell it from the female Mallard by this character; but the lining of the wings is mostly white.
A Citizen of eastern North America, common along the Atlantic coast from Florida to Labrador. It nests on the ground, like most Ducks, and is one of the best for the table.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Black Duck.]
The Mallard
Length twenty-two to twenty-four inches.
Male: head and part of neck shining dark green, with a white ring; back gray and black; tail light gray, with two curly black feathers on top; mirror rich purple with a black and white border.
Under parts rich chestnut on the breast, gray with wavy black lines on the belly, and black under the tail.
Bill greenish; eyes brown; feet orange.
Female: like the Black Duck, but not so dark-colored, with more buff and tan markings, and the beauty-spot just the same as the Drake"s.
Bill blotched with black and orange.
A Citizen of North America and many other parts of the world. This is the Wild Duck that has been domesticated and produced all kinds of tame ducks except the one called the Muscovy. Most of the domestic varieties you see in the barnyard look like the wild ones, but some are pure white. They can all sleep standing on one leg, with the head turned around so far that the bill points backward as it rests on the bird"s back.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Mallard.]