File:Bird lore (1909) (14755592045).jpg

Identifier: birdlore111909nati (find matches)
Title: Bird lore
Year: 1899 (1890s)
Authors: National Committee of the Audubon Societies of America National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals National Audubon Society
Subjects: Birds Birds Ornithology
Publisher: New York City : Macmillan Co.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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color, and vary ordinarily from six to ten in number (Hatchstates that in Minnesota the Mallard deposits from ten to twelve eggs). Theyoung when hatched soon take to the water where they are watched over anddefended by the female. Its Food and Like all fresh-water ducks the Mallard is largely a vegetarian, Economic but it prefers soft, succulent vegetable matter when such is to be Value found, and probably cannot thrive without a considerable ration of animal food as well, of which all our wild ducks are fond. This bird becomes ofconsiderable economic value to the farmer at times because of the nature of its food.It sometimes attacks sprouting or ripened grain, but like most fresh-water fowlit is undoubtedly of service in destroying such insects as the locusts and army (40)
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< m ff The Mallard 41 ■ worms which sometimes become serious pests. Professor Aughey found in the stom-.achs of ten Mallards, taken in Nebraska, 244 locusts and 260 other insects, besides moUusks and other aquatic food. Examination of 126 stomachs of the Mallardmade at the Biological Survey revealed 17 per cent animal-matter food and 83per cent vegetable. The most important items of the animal food found were•dragon-fly nymphs, fly larvae, grasshoppers, aquatic beetles, and hemiptera.Bivalve and univalve mollusks are consumed in numbers, and earth-worms andcrustaceans also are devoured. The principal elements of the vegetable food areseeds of smartweeds (Polygonum), seeds and tubers of pondweed (Potamogeton)and of sedges. Other items of importance are the seeds of wild rice (Zizania).and other grasses, of burhead (Sparganium), hornwort (Ceraiophyllum), waterlily (Brasenia), and widgeon grass (Rtippia). A great many vegetable sub-stances of less importance are included in the Ma

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