Page:Cassell's book of birds (IA cassellsbookofbi04breh).pdf/181

 reception of her eggs, while her faithful spouse keeps watch outside. About May, or in some localities a month later, the eggs, from seven to twelve in number, are deposited; they are small, oval, and have a smooth white or yellowish shell. As soon as all the eggs are laid, the female covers them with down, spreading it thickly over them whenever she quits her charge. No sooner is the mother burdened with family cares than, as is the case with some other species, she is deserted by her hitherto devoted mate, who joins his male companions and roams with them over neighbouring pieces of water until the close of the moulting season. The period of incubation lasts about twenty-five days. "If," says Audubon, "the nest of the Wood Duck is placed immediately over the water, the young, the moment they are hatched, scramble to the mouth of the hole, launch into the air with their little wings and feet spread out, and drop into their favourite element; but whenever their birthplace is at some distance from it, the mother carries them to it one by one in her bill, holding them so as not to injure their tender frames. On several occasions, however, when the hole was thirty, forty, or more yards from a pool or other piece of water, I observed the mother suffered the young to fall on the grasses and dried leaves beneath the trees, and afterwards led them to the nearest edge of the next pool or creek. At this early age the young answer to their parent's call with a mellow 'Pee, pee, pee,' often and rapidly repeated. The call of the mother at such time is soft, low, and prolonged, resembling the syllables 'Pe-ēē, pe-ēē.' The watch-note of the male, which resembles 'Hoe-ēēk,' is never uttered by the female; indeed, the male himself seldom uses it unless alarmed by some uncommon sound or the sight of a distant enemy, or when intent on calling passing birds of his own species."

Wilson mentions having heard from an eye-witness that a female of this species was seen carrying down thirteen young from her nest to the ground in the space of ten minutes. This she accomplished by seizing them one by one in her bill by the wing or back of the neck, and thus bearing them to the foot of the tree, whence she afterwards led them to the water.

THE CHINESE TEAL, OR MANDARIN DUCK.

The, or (Aix galericulata), represents the group Cosmonessa, comprising birds closely resembling the Summer Ducks above described. This well-known species is not merely adorned with a crest, but has a flowing collar, and two remarkable fans or plumes situated on the shoulders. In the gorgeously apparelled male the green crest is purplish blue in front, with brown and green at the sides and back; a broad, brownish yellow line shading into yellowish white passes from the eyes to the nape; the long-pointed collar-feathers are bright red, the front of the neck and sides of the breast brownish red. The back-feathers are light brown; the fan-like shoulder-plumes steel-blue on the outer and brownish yellow on the inner web, which is edged with black and white. The sides of the breast exhibit two white and two black stripes; the sides of body are yellowish grey darkly marked; the under parts white, and the quills brownish grey bordered with white on the outer web. The eye is yellowish red, the beak red, with a white tip, and the foot reddish yellow. The female closely resembles the female Aix sponsa in appearance. The brilliant plumage of the male is thrown off from May to August, when the bird also loses its crest and wing-fans, and assumes a sober-tinted dress similar to that of his mate. The Mandarin Ducks are natives of Japan and China, and are highly esteemed in the latter country as exhibiting, it is supposed, a most striking example of conjugal attachment and fidelity. A pair of these birds are frequently placed in a gaily-decorated cage, and carried in their marriage processions, and are afterwards presented to the bride and bridegroom as worthy objects of their emulation. So highly, indeed, are they valued, that Dr. Bennett, we are told, was informed by a friend whom he commissioned to buy him a pair, that he could send him two live mandarins to Australia with far more ease than a pair of Mandarin Ducks.