Wichita eagle., 1888-12-02

I raIsrd- 4 Esd Es1d
The, r,allard takes second place Crcn tho
lst, crd IS @ aDbia lhskilg and ii guifed bird
vath o ''hesp Of hCrza sanse' in bis skull Cf
coIrrse lie, often Ccts fooled out On tas marsh,
hlt he often fools those who fooi him. y hed
ono has TWO DOZEN r,a-lardS IL his boat 10
feels proud: but imagine his feelings should
is manage 70 XIII a-1d gather no SIGH birds
70 XII fifty . day Oh tt1a, Illinois river or az
English lake. Is not GnCccUIIunn thing for a
good shot. Tho uala EallRrd is d beautiful
hirci, weighing two and ons-lalf 20 three and
tnrre-GuartGr- pounds, tTenty-four inches IN
length, with stretch OF wings Of sn1ns thirty
eight inches, and g largo grean bead and
nEck, the later being SURROUNDED w1fha collar
o. white feaJbsr2-. TIE breast Is q reddish
fray aud tho wings similar with streak G
PTneo. Tha' tails blue black and w6itc,. the
eld feathers curling, upward Ii Gll tic UlGi-
lard is probably teh2s u2Dst ha1risur1s bird e.
rpt perhaps, tho plIIrzlL. AallarLa, Gl-
though apparently slow flyers. cal set owe:
tsbdnt eighty miles an hour II thoy desire,
ind going down wind they probably cuCk4
mako lO0 miles Tho, rnailarrl feeds on vege-
tnbieS and IyootS IL shO2l Tz-tsT, and IS found
in eli tho western states IN lArga nunbg-z-
The Mississippi rivnr- and all its tributaries
zcrn TO be ito fayUrits grounds for to nal
lard, the ooEint<y adjacent oboCrdtlC wiz
on-nfllel3s,. wherein tie mGllard spends 4
Soodly- share Of his time destroying the farm
ors crops. Often a shooter lodges himself az
the edge Of q corn field and catches those
which dy in and out. The tame duck, do
nestle, IS a direct DESCENDANT Of the nalaTL
The mallard Of Europe differs materially
from the Inalard Of America, although so-no
-, >, EFs-r-
closely allied and baloug TO tho sane family.
The red head, because Of its color, size and
habits, is not uDcomnonly mistaken for tie
canvas heck, b,;t the quality Of the flesh Is
fnr inferior. The markings on the red head
are nearly like thcse on the king Of ducks
The head is shaped Ike that CT the raLa-d
and the body like the p.nt2L The body Is
twenty inches long, end from tip 10 tip Of
wings is thirty inches, while they seldom
weigh over three pounds The head IS red
and the breast brown, while the back is a
gray. also the wings. A bill Of blush hue,
wherein the canvas back is black and the
,nallard yellow, makes the difference quite
uerceptible A red head flies not less than
ninety miles per hour. with q steady, grace
jul notion. II Illinois they make their
appearance during October, and remain
until the waters are al frozen When
winged II is not an uncommon trick
for the red head to dive and re-
main under the water for gOCd. prOba-
bly, clia-laE 70 some root with is bII until
life Is extinct Sometimes, and N TACT
often, when wounded they viii swim along
with only the tips Of the bill oct, and thus
elude their pursuers. They are found mostly
along big rivers or lakes, not taking 10 tie
marshes As kindly as do the nlallarCS, ind
decoy readily. Calumet lake, in lis day, was
a great piacs Tor this species OF luck, and
now and then they are shot there still Red
heads do not breed II the states e. all, but
go north as far as possible 70 rear their
Young. The cry Of the red head 50 closely
resembles the NEW of the cat taat it would
be hard 10 tell them apart. AMI il is nos
difficult thing 70 initiate them exactly
The green winged and blue winged teal are
both cute, wary, aIj Is nice Inorsel on the
table as was ever set before man The &C.
tons Of the teal while flying are hest tod By
tire word ''corkscrew." They WI start at
TIE end OF marsh. make q short circle. dodge
in here and there, Up il the air, and perhaps
5ro-, into : "cubSy holsr before you know i.
A streak of creased LIGHTNING" IS nothing
cor,parei Co a teal when on 4 morning -rer-
csc fight. and 20 bit enc the shooter mus
hold ahead soTne six feet 4 heavy tea, Viii
not weigh over one ard one half pounds ana
measure more than seven inches Ii length.
Their wings measure twenty-five inches, are
well Supplied with muscles, ana whsa one OF
these little fellows thinks be must be at place
81 en- appointed hour and has tie wind to
telp him along Is can travel 80 miles an
hour and keep 1t up. In the early fall they
Ae seen in aocss. but later they become