The Coolidge examiner., 1935-03-01

| swans. require freedom from moles.
| tation when they are at rest, so that
a large measure of solitude and
wide spaces are the chief require
ments for their perpetuati0n.
Both families have a lower rate
OF reproduction than ducks. as they
require several years to attain ma
turity and the number OF eggs laid
Is much smaller than with most
species OF ducks.
Both geese and swans are noted
for their longevity, the latter being
among the, Methuselahs OF the bird
world.
There is actual record of a mute
swan that lived seventy years, while
rather uncertain report has attrib-
uted even a greater age to the
| birds.
Somewhat intermediate between
ducks and geese are the tree ducks.
They have only two representatives
north of the Mexico United States
boundary, and neither of these pene-
trates much to the north of this
line. Their name is misleading in
our own territory, as here we sell
dom see them perchlng in trees and
their nests are on the ground.
The great group of ducks is di-
vided into two main sections, the
surface-feeding and diving ducks.
While these names actually afford a
general basis of distinction, II does
not follow that surface-feeders
never dive for their food, nor that
diving ducks never feed on the sur
| face.
To separate the groups, look at
the foot. In the diving ducks. the
hind toe. has a lobe, so that 1t re-
sembles a little paddle.
How to Identify Ducks.
n sportsmen wish to identify the
ducks they shoot in all plumages,
II is essential that they recognize
the distinction between the two
| groups.
BY the "hind-toe" formula, stiff
tailed ducks fall under the category
Of diving ducks. but In many fea-
lures of structure, plumage, and
life characters they are further re-
moved from true ducks than are the
mergansers. The sometimes pugna-
cious and somewhat ludicrous-ap-
pearing ruddy duck is the sole rep
resentative of the stiff-tailed ducks
In the United States and Canada,
although a South American species,
the masked duck. has been twice
recorded In the eastern states as
straggler.
Mergansers, the last OF the duck
group. are ducks with narrow,
specialized bill. edged with saw
teeth, which enable them to catch
and devour good-sized fish. Their
feet, though proportionately small
er, resemble those of the diving
ducks in having a paddle-shaped
hind toe.
Ducks, for the most part, are very
different from swans and geese in
their family habits. While they
pair much like other birds and are
not as a rule polygamous or polyan-
drous, the male in most species Is
not a constant husband and aban-
dons the female and all family
cares as soon as incubation of the
eggs is well under way. Stif-tailed
ducks are notable exceptions to this
rule. and in some true ducks, like
the elders. the male Is not altogeth-
er Indifferent to his family obliga-
tions.
Labrador Duck Is Extinct.
Mention should be made of the
extinct Labrador duck, Campto-
lsmus labradorius the last veri-
fed record of which was a bird
taken in 1875.
The passing of this species is
mystery which cannot be accounted
for; even from the earliest days
for which we have any record Of
| the bird. 1t was a scarce species in
/ the limited area of its range on the
North Atlantic coast.
OF all the questions relating to
wild fowl, the problem Of their per-
petuation is the most important.
Every one naturally takes an inter-
est In their conservation and wishes
to see an increase in their numbers.
But unfortunately there are two
divergent schools at work, one that
wishes to protect wild fowl from
the viewpoint that they provide
sport, and the opposite group that
insists they be protected vigorously
and all shooting be abolished. Be
tween the two extremes lie all
shades of compromise.
While the dire prophecies of the
total determination Of the ducks
and geese of North America are OBJ
viously the product of a distorted
outlook, yet action is required to
cope with many of the dangers to
which they are now subjected.