. A popular handbook of the birds of the United States and Canada . if the standing waters become frozen,these birds remove to running rivers and resort to the edge ofwoods in quest of acorns or other suitable food; but if thefrost continues for eight or ten days they disappear, and donot return till the early thaws of the spring. The Mallard is a rare bird in New England and the Provinces,but it is quite common in western Ontario and Manitoba, andelsewhere throughout North America, breeding from Indiana andIowa northward. On the Atlantic coast it is not known to breedsouth of Labrador. Nuttal
. A popular handbook of the birds of the United States and Canada . if the standing waters become frozen,these birds remove to running rivers and resort to the edge ofwoods in quest of acorns or other suitable food; but if thefrost continues for eight or ten days they disappear, and donot return till the early thaws of the spring. The Mallard is a rare bird in New England and the Provinces,but it is quite common in western Ontario and Manitoba, andelsewhere throughout North America, breeding from Indiana andIowa northward. On the Atlantic coast it is not known to breedsouth of Labrador. Nuttalls statement that many of these birds pass the greater partof the winter in Greenland has been questioned, though Europeannaturalists have been aware that the Mallards were influenced tomigrate more by the absence of open water than by change oftemperature. Mr. Hagerup has confirmed Nuttalls statementlately by reporting that in south Greenland the Mallards arecommon the whole year round, but most numerous in winter, whenthey keep in small flocks along the GADWALL. gray duck. Anas strepera. Char. Upper parts brown, barred and vermiculated with white, givinga general appearance of brownish gray; head and neck light brown,mottled with darker; wings brown and black, wing-patch white; rumpblack; tail-feathers brown, edged with paler; lower neck and breast darkgray; belly white, with fine wavy lines of gray; bill lead blue; legs dullorange. The female is darker in color, the dark-brown tints prevailingabove, the white below. Length about 21 inches. Nest. Usually near the water, though often some distance away, placedunder a bush or amid a tussock of rank herbage ; made of grass and linedwith feathers, — sometimes a mere depression in the soil, lined withfeathers. Eggs. 8-13; pale buff, tinged with green when fresh; X The Gadwall inhabits the northern regions of both conti-nents, but does not in America, according to Richardson,proceed farther than the 68th parall
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1905
