. Birds of Massachusetts and other New England states. Birds; Birds. SEA DUCKS 231 seeds of swamp privet and ash, per cent. The remaining per cent was made up of a large number of minor items. . "The Wood Duck's animal food, which amounted to per cent of the total con- sisted chiefly of the following items: Dragonflies and damselflies and their nymphs, per cent; bugs, ; beetles, ; grasshoppers and crickets, ; flies and ants, bees and wasps, ; miscellaneous insects, ; spiders and mites, ; crustaceans, ; and miscellaneous animal matter,
. Birds of Massachusetts and other New England states. Birds; Birds. SEA DUCKS 231 seeds of swamp privet and ash, per cent. The remaining per cent was made up of a large number of minor items. . "The Wood Duck's animal food, which amounted to per cent of the total con- sisted chiefly of the following items: Dragonflies and damselflies and their nymphs, per cent; bugs, ; beetles, ; grasshoppers and crickets, ; flies and ants, bees and wasps, ; miscellaneous insects, ; spiders and mites, ; crustaceans, ; and miscellaneous animal matter, per cent. Thus nearly two-thirds of the animal food consisted of ; * Economic Status. The Wood Duck is a harmless bird, a destroyer of pernicious insects, a splendid game bird and in every way desirable — a bird to be protected and fostered. Subfamily Sea Ducks. Number of species in North America 22; in Massachusetts 17. Ducks of this subfamily have the hind toe free and lobed. The large flap on this toe at once distinguishes ducks of this group from the Anatinae which have no such lobe. Also the feet of the sea ducks are larger and placed farther back and the tarsi are shorter, and therefore these birds are better fitted for diving and less so for walking or running than are the river ducks. Like the mergansers, the sea ducks are all diving birds and get most of their food by diving to the bottom or to plants or animals that grow or live beneath the surface — in contradistinction from the river ducks which do not habitually dive for their food. Most birds of this subfamily along the Atlantic coast are regarded as sea-fowl by the gunners, although several Foot of Sea Duck species are known to breed far in the interior of North America. Of the sixteen species regularly seen on the coast of New England, all but two, the Ruddy Duck and the Lesser Scaup, habitually winter here. The latter are mainly transients, although they may be seen sometimes in
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Keywords: ., bookauthorforb, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectbirds
