DUCKS AND DRAKES
It was the last week of the children's stay at the shore before
everything combined to make possible the sail to Gull Island. They had
spent three glorious weeks, and were as ruddy brown as any of the little
Indians who had once gathered wampum shells from the same beach in the
long ago. They were wiser also in many ways, for they had found out many
things for themselves--which is the very best sort of wisdom. Now even
Dodo could tell by the footprints on the sand whether a three-toed
Plover or a four-toed Sandpiper had been pattering there.
[Illustration: Hooded Merganser.]
When the right day came, without a sign of ugly squalls or of an
equally unfortunate calm, Olaf borrowed a largo cat-boat, and after
stowing away the lunch hamper, that was always a 'must be' for an
all-day trip, the boat almost flew out of the little bay and up the
sound before the breeze that came with the morning tide.
"There are some more of your white Crows, Nat," said the Doctor, as they
headed straight out after getting on the right tack. "The island where
we are going is one of their famous nesting places."
"Their wings are very different from Crows' wings," said Rap, as he
watched them overhead, now winnowing the air with steady wing-beats, or
circling on motionless pinions--now poising in one spot for a minute by
merely flapping the wings, and then dropping gracefully to float on the
water. "Gulls' wings bend out more at the tip and are smooth-edged;
Crows' look flatter and are saw-edged."
"Are there any other birds besides Gulls that nest on the island, Uncle
Roy?" asked Nat.
"Yes, the Terns or Sea Swallows that you have seen about the reef nest
there also; and this island, as well as the mainland near by, is a
favorite stopping-place for all the shore and water birds in their
journeys,--from Sandpipers to great flocks of Sea Ducks."
"I should think it would be a long swim for Ducks," said Nat; "it is as
much as fifteen miles from shore."
"They don't swim--they fly there," said Olaf.
"Can Ducks fly?" exclaimed Dodo in amazement. "I'm sure the white Ducks
at the Farm can only waddle on the ground, or swim and spatter along the
water when Wolf or Quick chases them for fun. And anyway their legs are
very stiff and queer and grow very far back, as if their bodies were too
heavy and going to fall down front, and they had to hold up their heads
very high to keep going."
"Our tame Ducks are very fat and lazy, for they have lived in captivity
for many generations; yet they could fly very well with a little
practice. The Mallard, which is a wild River Duck and a swift enduring
flyer, is the one which has been domesticated and for hundreds of years
kept as a barnyard Duck."
"River Ducks?" questioned Rap; "then are there different kinds of Ducks
for rivers and lakes, and for salt water?"
"There are indeed many kinds of Ducks," said the Doctor, "all of which
have easy marks of identification in the beauty-spot on the wings, and
many other points about the plumage, as well as the different shapes of
their heads, bills, and feet. Though all Wild Ducks, and Geese too,
belong to one general family, they are divided into separate groups like
cousins, instead of living in one household like brothers.
"Almost all Wild Ducks nest in the northern tier of States, or
altogether north of them; the hardier species stay with us as winter
visitors, but the others only stop to feed, as they follow the rivers
and coasts in their migrations.
"There was a beautiful Duck that had a nest last year in a tree up near
the logging camp; its feathers were as bright as if they had been
painted. That is the Wood Duck--one of the exceptions to the rule that
Wild Ducks nest on the ground like tame ones. Another kind, the Black
Duck, nests as usual on the ground, on a wooded island not far from the
one to which we are sailing."
"Will you please tell us why Ducks have such waddling legs?" begged Nat.
"Because the best legs to swim with are not the easiest to walk with."
At that moment the wind died down. The sails flapped once or twice, and
then hung loose; and the boat, instead of dashing along, began to drift
lazily, with an uncomfortable rolling motion, as the swell, borne in
from the ocean many miles away, crept under it.
"If the water does that much more, I shall soon be hungry," said Dodo,
looking a trifle sad and pressing her hands together over her waist.
"I quite agree with you," said Olive; "I know from having had the same
feeling before, that unless we eat some of these little salt biscuits,
and talk about something interesting, in a very few minutes you and I
will be sea-sick--which is the hungriest, emptiest sickness possible."
"I thought the feeling was a little more puffy than real hungriness,"
said Dodo, chewing her biscuit in great haste and having some trouble in
swallowing it.
"May not we men have some too?" asked the Doctor, looking drolly at the
boys, who were glancing longingly at the biscuits, but were too proud to
confess their feelings. "Not that we feel ill--oh, no! Merely for
company, you know.
"Now while you munch away, I will talk Duck to amuse you; eating and
Duck talk go very well together, for the Duck is chiefly to be
considered as food. You all know what a well-rounded, compact body a
Duck has; do you remember having seen one carved, and how very hard it
was to cut off its legs?"
"Yes, I do," said Nat. "Sometimes the Duck almost bounces off the dish,
and then, father says things--at least, I mean, he says he wishes that
people who go shooting and send him presents of Wild Ducks would send a
carving map and a good sharp knife with them; but I never understood
what he wanted the map for."
"To find the joints, my boy," laughed the Doctor, as if he had a
sympathetic feeling for carvers who find themselves in front of a tough
Duck or Goose, no matter how well they know where the joints ought to be
found. "A Duck's legs are very short, and not only set far back on the
body, but sunk into the skin quite up to the knees; so that the joints
are very hard to find. This is planned to give the Duck more strength
and ease in swimming, when the legs act like paddles. All Ducks' feet
have three long toes in front and a short one behind, the front toes
being loosely joined by two skin flaps which stretch between them when
spread apart, making what we call web-feet."
"Something the way frogs' feet are?" asked Nat.
"Very much upon the same plan. Then Ducks have wide flat beaks of
various shapes, with a sort of nail bent over like a hook at the end,
and all along each side is a double row of little teeth, to help them
take their food. Their stiff, pointed wings are quite strong enough to
lift their heavy bodies off the ground or water into the air, and keep
up an even flight, often more rapid than the swiftest express train."
"What do Wild Ducks eat?" asked Dodo, "seeds or bugs or fish?"
"They eat all those things and many others too, according to their
various habits, which are as different as the expression of their faces
or the color of their features. If you look at a case full of Wild Ducks
in a museum, you will find that no two have the same-shaped head, or
expression. Some look silly, some sly, while others seem either proud or
inquisitive."
"How strange!" said Rap. "I never thought about Ducks' faces, except
that they all looked foolish, with little pig-eyes and big beaks like
shovels. And please, do they chew their food with the teeth you said
they had?"
"Those are not true teeth, like ours, to chew with. You know a good many
very different things are called teeth--those on a rake, for example, or
a comb, or a cog-wheel. A Duck's teeth are horny like the skin that
covers its whole beak, and act like strainers. When a Duck dabbles in
the water, as you have all seen tame ones do, the water that gets into
its mouth runs out at the sides between the teeth, but whatever food
there is in the mouthful of water gets caught in the teeth, and can then
be swallowed."
"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 shell-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 Woodpecker."
"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 shore 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.
[Illustration: 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 offshore, 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 apron 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 Woodcock 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 passing 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 Woodpecker--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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Mallard.]
The Pintail
Length up to thirty inches, though the body is not larger than a
Mallard's; but the neck is longer, and the two middle feathers of the
tail are from five to nine inches long; these are slender and sharp,
whence the name Pintail.
Male: head and neck dark-colored, with a long white stripe lengthwise on
each side. Back and sides finely waved with black and gray. Breast and
belly pure white. Feathers under the tail jet-black. Long inner
feathers of the wing striped lengthwise with velvet-black and
silver-gray. Mirror on the wing glittering purple or violet, framed with
black, white, and buff.
Female: not so handsome as the Drake, and the middle tail-feathers so
much shorter that she is not over two feet long; but the neck is longer
and slenderer than usual in this family in proportion to her size.
A Citizen of North America and many other countries, more common in the
interior of the United States than on the Atlantic coast; nesting from
the middle districts far northward, wintering in the Southern States and
far beyond. A fine Duck for the table.
[Illustration: Pintail.]
The Green-winged Teal
Length less than fifteen inches--all kinds of Teals are very small
Ducks.
Male: head chestnut with black chin and a shining green patch on each
side, and a little crest behind. Back and sides with fine wavy marks of
black and gray. A curved white bar in front of the wing; mirror half
purple and half green, bordered with black, white, and buff.
Under parts white, tinged with buff, with many round black spots; the
feathers at the root of the tail black with a buff patch on each side.
Female: different from the male on the head and body, but the wings like
his; besides, she is so small you cannot mistake her for any other kind
of Duck.
A Citizen of North America, who nests from the Northern States
northward and winters mostly in the Southern States or beyond. The
flesh is delicious, and this Teal is so small it can be split and
broiled like a spring Chicken.
[Illustration: Green-Winged Teal.]
The Blue-winged Teal
Length fifteen or sixteen inches--a little more than the Green-winged
Teal, but not much.
Male: head dark-colored with a very large white bar on each side in
front of the eye. Body much variegated with black, brown, and gray. Most
of the outside of the wing sky-blue, not bright, but as the sky looks on
a dull day; the beauty-spot shining green, bordered with black, white,
and buff.
Under parts gray spotted and mottled with black, and quite black under
the tail, where there is a white spot on each side; the lining of the
wings mostly white.
Female: differs from the male on the head and body, but the markings of
the wings are much the same as his.
A Citizen of North America, chiefly its eastern half, with a very
extensive breeding range, but mostly seen in the United States during
the migrations and in winter. The flesh is excellent.
[Illustration: Blue-Winged Teal.]
This Teal has a brother in the West, called the Cinnamon Teal from the
color of his under parts.
The Redhead
Length twenty to twenty-three inches.
Male: head and upper part of neck rich chestnut with a bronze lustre.
Rest of neck, fore back, and fore breast, black. Middle of back and
sides of body finely waved with zigzag lines of black and white. Rump
and tail-coverts black. No shining mirror on the wings, which are mostly
ashy with white lining underneath.
[Illustration: Redhead]
Bill very broad and flat, dull blue with a black belt at the end. Feet
grayish-blue, with dusky webs and claws. Eyes orange. Female: differs a
good deal from the male, and it would make the table too long to tell
all the difference; but she has the same markings on the wings, and the
same shaped bill.
A Citizen of North America who goes far north to find his summer home,
and is chiefly seen in the United States in winter or during the
migrations. He is a twin brother of the Canvasback, and quite as good to
eat. Very few persons can tell a Redhead from a Canvasback at the dinner
table, though many think they can, because if the Redhead is in good
order and well roasted, they say it is Canvasback, and if the Canvasback
is tough and done too much, they say it is only a Redhead. Before the
birds are plucked you can easily tell them apart; for the Canvasback has
the head and beak differently shaped and much darker-colored; while the
back is much whiter, because the black wavy lines are narrower than the
white spaces between them, or even broken up in fine dots.
[Illustration: Old Squaw]
Old Squaw
Length from eighteen to twenty-three inches, the difference being due to
the tail of the male, which in summer has the middle feathers eight or
nine inches long.
This Duck differs more in summer and winter plumages than any other. In
winter, the only season it is seen in the United States, the male
varied with black, white, and silvery-gray, the bill orange and black.
In summer he has much more black than white or silver, with some
bright-reddish feathers on the wings. The bill is black and orange; the
eyes are red.
A Citizen of North America and other parts of the northern hemisphere,
never going very far south, and making his summer home in the Arctic
regions. He is a noisy, lively, sociable Duck, who has in spring some
pleasing notes, so mellow and musical that he may almost be said to
sing; but he is not choice or dainty in his food, and the flesh is too
rank for House People to eat. He has many absurd names besides "Old
Squaw."
The Hooded Merganser
Length sixteen and a half to eighteen inches.
Male: a beautiful black and white crest rising up high in a rounded
form, but very thin from side to side, like a hood ironed flat. Head,
neck, and back black; belly and breast white; sides cinnamon-brown with
fine black bars; a white mirror with black edges on the wing. Bill
black, round like a lead-pencil, with a hook at the end, and strong
saw-like teeth along the sides; eyes yellow.
Female: without any such crest as her mate has, and brown where he is
black.
A Citizen of North America, very handsome and stylish when he is in full
dress; but he is a Fishing Duck, and therefore not very good to eat,
though not as rank as other Mergansers. Like the Wood Duck, but unlike
nearly all other members of the Duck tribe, this Merganser builds his
downy nest in a hollow tree or stump.