Birds of America
By John James Audubon, F. R. SS. L. & E.
VOLUME VI.
Family
Genus
THE WOOD DUCK.--SUMMER DUCK.
[Wood Duck.]
ANAS SPONSA, Linn.
[Aix sponsa.]
PLATE CCCXCI.--MALES AND FEMALES.
I have always experienced a peculiar pleasure while endeavouring to study
the habits of this most beautiful bird in its favourite places of resort. Never
on such occasions have I been without numberless companions, who, although most
of them were insensible of my presence, have afforded me hours of the
never-failing delight resulting from the contemplation of their character.
Methinks I am now seated by the trunk of a gigantic sycamore, whose bleached
branches stretch up towards the heavens, as if with a desire to overlook the
dense woods spread all around. A dark-watered bayou winds tortuously beneath
the maples that margin its muddy shores, a deep thicket of canes spreading along
its side. The mysterious silence is scarcely broken by the hum of myriads of
insects. The blood-sucking musquito essays to alight on my hand, and I
willingly allow him to draw his fill, that I may observe how dexterously lie
pierces my skin with his delicate proboscis, and pumps the red fluid into his
body, which is quickly filled, when with difficulty he extends his tiny wings
and flies off, never to return. Over the withered leaves many a tick is seen
scrambling, as if anxious to elude the searching eye of that beautiful lizard.
A squirrel spread flat against a tree, with its head directed downwards, is
watching me; the warblers too, are peeping from among the twigs. On the water,
the large bull-frogs are endeavouring to obtain a peep of the sun; suddenly
there emerges the head of an otter, with a fish in its jaws, and in an instant
my faithful dog plunges after him, but is speedily recalled. At this moment,
when my heart is filled with delight, the rustling of wings comes sweeping
through the woods, and anon there shoots overhead a flock of Wood Ducks. Once,
twice, three times, have they rapidly swept over the stream, and now, having
failed to discover any object of alarm, they all alight on its bosom, and sound
a note of invitation to others yet distant.
Scenes like these I have enjoyed a thousand times, yet regret that I have
not enjoyed them oftener, and made better use of the opportunities which I have
had of examining the many interesting objects that attracted my notice. And
now, let me endeavour to describe the habits of the Wood Duck, in so far as I
have been able to apprehend them.
This beautiful species ranges over the whole extent of the United States,
and I have seen it in all parts from Louisiana to the confines of Maine, and
from the vicinity of our Atlantic coasts as far inland as my travels have
extended. It also occurs sparingly during the breeding-season in Nova Scotia;
but farther north I did not observe it. Everywhere in this immense tract I have
found it an almost constant resident, for some spend the winter even in
Massachusetts, and far up the warm spring waters of brooks on the Missouri. It
confines itself, however, entirely to fresh water, preferring at all times the
secluded retreats of the ponds, bayous, or creeks, that occur so profusely in
our woods. Well acquainted with man, they carefully avoid him, unless now and
then during the breeding-season, when, if a convenient spot is found by them in
which to deposit their eggs and raise their young, they will even locate
themselves about the miller's dam.
The flight of this species is remarkable for its speed, and the ease and
elegance with which it is performed. The Wood Duck passes through the woods and
even amongst the branches of trees, with as much facility as the Passenger
Pigeon; and while removing from some secluded haunt to its breeding-grounds, at
the approach of night, it shoots over the trees like a meteor, scarcely emitting
any sound from its wings. In the lower parts of Louisiana and Kentucky, where
they abound, these regular excursions are performed by flocks of from thirty to
fifty or more individuals. In Several instances I have taken perhaps undue
advantage of their movements to shoot them on the wing, by placing myself
between their two different spots of resort, and keeping myself concealed. In
this manner I have obtained a number in the course of an hour of twilight; and I
have known some keen sportsmen kill as many as thirty or forty in a single
evening. This sport is best in the latter part of autumn, after the old males
have joined the flocks of young led by the females. Several gunners may then
obtain equal success by placing themselves at regular distances in the line of
flight, when the birds having in a manner to run the gauntlet, more than half of
a flock have been brought down in the course of their transit. While passing
through the air on such occasions, the birds are never heard to emit a single
note.
The Wood Duck breeds in the Middle States about the beginning of April, in
Massachusetts a month later, and in Nova Scotia or on our northern lakes, seldom
before the first days of June. In Louisiana and Kentucky, where I have had
better opportunities of studying their habits in this respect, they generally
pair about the 1st of March, sometimes a fortnight earlier. I never knew one of
these birds to form a nest on the ground, or on the branches of a tree. They
appear at all times to prefer the hollow broken portion of some large branch,
the hole of our large Woodpecker (Picus principalis), or the deserted retreat of
the fox-squirrel; and I have frequently been surprised to see them go in and out
of a hole of any one of these, when their bodies while on wing seemed to be
nearly half as large again as the aperture within which they had deposited their
eggs. Once only I found a nest (with ten eggs) in the fissure of a rock on the
Kentucky river a few miles below Frankfort. Generally, however, the holes to
which they betake themselves are either over deep swamps, above cane-brakes, or
on broken branches of high sycamores, seldom more than forty or fifty feet from
the water. They are much attached to their breeding-places, and for three
successive years I found a pair near Henderson, in Kentucky, with eggs in the
beginning of April, in the abandoned nest of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The
eggs, which are from six to fifteen, according to the age of the bird, are
placed on dry plants, feathers, and a scanty portion of down, which I believe is
mostly plucked from the breast of the female. They are perfectly smooth, nearly
elliptical, of a light colour, between buff and pale green, two inches in length
by one and a half in diameter; the shell is about equal in firmness to that of
the Mallard's egg, and quite smooth.
No sooner has the female completed her set of eggs than she is abandoned by
her mate, who now joins others, which form themselves into considerable flocks,
and thus remain apart until the young are able to fly, when old and young of
both sexes come together, and so remain until the commencement of the next
breeding season. In all the nests which I have examined, I have been rather
surprised to find a quantity of feathers belonging to birds of other species,
even those of the domestic fowl, and particularly of the Wild Goose and Wild
Turkey. On coming upon a nest with eggs when the bird was absent in search of
food, I have always found the eggs covered over with feathers and down, although
quite out of sight, in the depth of a Woodpecker's or Squirrel's hole. On the
contrary, when the nest was placed in the broken branch of a tree, it could
easily be observed from the ground, on account of the feathers, dead sticks, and
withered grasses about it. If the nest is placed immediately over the water,
the young, the moment they are hatched, scramble to the month of the hole,
launch into the air with their little wings and feet spread out, and drop into
their favourite element; but whenever their birth-place 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 yet tender frame. On several occasions, however, when the hole
was thirty, forty, or more yards from a bayou or other piece of watery I
observed that the mother suffered the young to fall on the grasses and dried
leaves beneath the tree, and afterwards led them directly to the nearest edge of
the next pool or creek. At this early age, the young answer to their parents'
call with a mellow pee, pee, pee, often and rapidly repeated. The call of the
mother at such times is low, soft, and prolonged, resembling the syllables
pee-ee, pee-ee. The watch-note of the male, which resembles hooked, 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.
The young are carefully led along the shallow and grassy shores, and taught
to obtain their food, which at this early period consists of small aquatic
insects, flies, musquitoes, and seeds. As they grow up, you now and then see
the whole flock run as it were along the surface of the sluggish stream in chase
of a dragon-fly, or to pick up a grasshopper or locust that has accidentally
dropped upon it. They are excellent divers, and when frightened instantly
disappear, disperse below the surface, and make for the nearest shore, on
attaining which they run for the woods, squat in any convenient place, and thus
elude pursuit. I used two modes of procuring them alive on such occasions. One
was with a bag net, such as is employed in catching our little Partridge, and
which I placed half sunk in the water, driving the birds slowly, first within
the wings, and finally into the bag. In this manner I have caught young and old
birds of this species in considerable numbers. The other method I accidentally
discovered while on a shooting excursion, accompanied by an excellent pointer
dog. I observed that the sight of this faithful animal always immediately
frightened the young Ducks to the shores, the old one taking to her wings as
soon as she conceived her brood to be safe. But the next instant Juno would
dash across the bayou or pond, reach the opposite bank, and immediately follow
on their track. In a few moments she would return with a duckling held between
her lips, when I would take it from her unhurt.
While residing at Henderson, I thought of taming a number of Wood Ducks.
In the course of a few days Juno procured for me, in the manner above described,
as many as I had a mind for, and they were conveyed home in a bag. A dozen or
more were placed in empty flour barrels, and covered over for some hours, with
the view of taming them the sooner. Several of these barrels were placed in the
yard, but whenever I went and raised their lids, I found all the little ones
hooked by their sharp claws to the very edge of their prisons, and, the instant
that room was granted, they would tumble over and run off in all directions. I
afterwards frequently saw these young birds rise from the bottom to the brim of
a cask, by moving a few inches at a time up the side, and fixing foot after foot
by means of their diminutive hooked claws, which, in passing over my hand, I
found to have points almost as fine as those of a needle. They fed freely on
corn-meal soaked in water, and as they grew, collected flies with great
expertness. When they were half-grown I gave them great numbers of our common
locusts yet unable to fly, which were gathered by boys from the trunks of trees
and the, "iron weeds," a species of wild hemp very abundant in that portion of
the country. These I would throw to them on the water of the artificial pond
which I had in my garden, when the eagerness with which they would scramble and
fight for them always afforded me great amusement. They grew up apace, when I
pinioned them all, and they subsequently bred in my grounds in boxes which I had
placed conveniently over the water, with a board or sticks leading to them, and
an abundant supply of proper materials for a nest placed in them.
Few birds are more interesting to observe during the love-season than Wood
Ducks. The great beauty and neatness of their apparel, and the grace of their
motions, always afford pleasure to the observer; and, as I have had abundant
opportunities of studying their habits at that period, I am enabled to present
you with a full account of their proceedings.
When March has again returned, and the Dogwood expands its pure blossoms in
the sun, the Cranes soar away on their broad wings, bidding our country adieu
for a season, flocks of water-fowl are pursuing their early migrations, the
frogs issue from their muddy beds to pipe a few notes of languid joy, the
Swallow has just arrived, and the Blue-bird has returned to his box. The Wood
Duck almost alone remains on the pool, as if to afford us an opportunity of
studying the habits of its tribe. Here they are, a whole flock of beautiful
birds, the males chasing their rivals, the females coquetting with their chosen
beaux. Observe that fine drake! how gracefully he raises his head and curves
his neck! As he bows before the object of his love, he raises for a moment his
silken crest. His throat is swelled, and from it there issues a guttural sound,
which to his beloved is as sweet as the song of the Wood Thrush to its gentle
mate. The female, as if not unwilling to manifest the desire to please ;which
she really feels, swims close by his side, now and then caresses him by touching
his feathers with her bill, and shews displeasure towards any other of her sex
that may come near. Soon the happy pair separate from the rest, repeat every
now and then their caresses, and at length, having sealed the conjugal compact,
fly off to the woods to search for a large Woodpecker's hole. Occasionally the
males fight with each other, but their combats are not of long duration, nor is
the field ever stained with blood, the loss of a few feathers or a sharp tug of
the head being generally enough to decide the contest. Although the Wood Ducks
always form their nests in the hollow of a tree, their caresses are performed
exclusively on the water, to which they resort for the purpose, even when their
loves have been first proved far above the ground on a branch of some tall
sycamore. While the female is depositing her eggs, the male is seen to fly
swiftly past the hole in which she is hidden, erecting his crest, and sending
forth his love-notes, to which she never fails to respond.
On the ground the Wood Duck runs nimbly and with more grace than most other
birds of its tribe. On reaching the shore of a pond or stream, it immediately
shakes its tail sidewise, looks around, and proceeds in search of food. It
moves on the larger branches of trees with the same apparent ease; and, while
looking at thirty or forty of these birds perched on a single sycamore on the
bank of a secluded bayou, I have conceived the sight as pleasing as any that I
have ever enjoyed. They always reminded me of the Muscovy Duck, of which they
look as if a highly finished and flattering miniature. They frequently prefer
walking on an inclined log or the fallen trunk of a tree, one end of which lies
in the water, while the other rests on the steep bank, to betaking themselves to
flight at the sight of an approaching enemy. In this manner I have seen a whole
flock walk from the water into the woods, as a steamer was approaching them in
the eddies of the Ohio or Mississippi. They swim and dive well, when wounded
and closely pursued, often stopping at the edge of the water with nothing above
it but the bill, but at other times running to a considerable distance into the
woods, or hiding in a cane-brake beside a log. In such places I have often
found them, having been led to their place of concealment by my dog. When
frightened, they rise by a single spring from the water, and are as apt to make
directly for the woods as to follow the stream. When they discover an enemy
while under the covert of shrubs or other plants on a pond, instead of taking to
wing, they swim off in silence among the thickest weeds, so as generally to
elude your search, by landing and running over a narrow piece of ground to
another pond. In autumn, a whole covey may often be seen standing or sitting on
a floating log, pluming and cleaning themselves for hours. On such occasions
the knowing sportsman commits great havoc among them, killing half a dozen or
more at a shot.
The food of the Wood Duck, or as it is called in the Western and Southern
States, the Summer Duck, consists of acorns, beech-nuts, grapes, and berries of
various sorts, for which they half-dive, in the manner of the Mallard for
example, or search under the trees on the shores and in the woods, turning over
the fallen leaves with dexterity. In the Carolinas, they resort under night to
the rice-fields, as soon as the grain becomes milky. They also devour insects,
snails, tadpoles, and small water lizards, swallowing at the same time a
quantity of sand or gravel to aid the trituration of their food.
The best season in which to procure these birds for the table is from the
beginning of September until the first frost, their flesh being then tender,
juicy, and in my opinion excellent. They are easily caught in figure-of-four
traps. I know a person now residing in South Carolina, who has caught several
hundreds in the course of a week, bringing them home in bags across his horse's
saddle, and afterwards feeding them in coops on Indian corn. In that State,
they are bought in the markets for thirty or forty cents the pair. At Boston,
where I found them rather abundant during winter, they bring Dearly double that
price; but in Ohio or Kentucky twenty-five cents are considered an equivalent.
Their feathers are as good as those of any other species; and I feel well
assured that, with a few years of care, the Wood Duck might be perfectly
domesticated, when it could not fail to be as valuable as it is beautiful.
Their sense of hearing is exceedingly acute, and by means of it they often
save themselves from their wily enemies the mink, the polecat, and the racoon.
The vile snake that creeps into their nest and destroys their eggs, is their
most pernicious enemy on land. The young, when on the water, have to guard
against the snapping-turtle, the gar-fish, and the eel, and in the Southern
Districts, against the lashing tail and the tremendous jaws of the alligator.
Those which breed in Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, move southward
as soon as the frosts commence, and none are known to spend the winter so far
north. I have been much surprised to find WILSON speaking of the Wood Ducks as
a species of which more than five or six individuals are seldom seen together.
A would-be naturalist in America, who has had better opportunities of knowing
its habits than the admired author of the "American Ornithology," repeats the
same error, and, I am told, believes that all his statements are considered
true. For my own part, I assure you, I have seen hundreds in a single flock,
and have known fifteen to be killed by a single shot. They, however, raise only
one brood in the season, unless their eggs or young have been destroyed. Should
this happen, the female soon finds means of recalling her mate from the flock
which he has joined.
On having recourse to a journal written by me at Henderson nearly twenty
years ago, I find it stated that the attachment of a male to a female lasts only
during one breeding season; and that the males provide themselves with mates in
succession, the strongest taking the first choice, and the weakest being content
with what remains. The young birds which I raised, never failed to make
directly for the Ohio, whenever they escaped from the grounds, although they
never had been there before. The only other circumstances which I have to
mention are, that when entering the hole in which its nest is, the bird dives as
it were into it at once, and does not alight first against the tree; that I have
never witnessed an instance of its taking possession, by force, of a
Woodpecker's hole; and lastly, that during winter they allow Ducks of different
species to associate with them.
Dr. BACHMAN, who has kept a male of this species several years, states that
after moulting he is for six weeks of a plain colour, like the young males, and
the feathers gradually assume their bright tints.
The tree represented in the plate is the Platanus occidentalis, which in
different parts of the United States is known by the names of Buttonwood,
Sycamore, Plane-tree, and Water Beech, and in Canada by that of Cotton-tree. It
is one of our largest trees, and on the banks of our great western and southern
rivers often attains a diameter of eight or ten feet. Although naturally
inclined to prefer the vicinity of water, it grows in almost every kind of
situation, and thrives even in the streets of several of our eastern cities,
such as Philadelphia and New York.
SUMMER DUCK or WOOD DUCK, Anas sponsa, Swains. and Rich. F. Bor. Amer.,vol. viii. p. 97.
DENDRONESSA SPONSA, Summer Duck, Swains. and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii.p. 446.
SUMMER or WOOD DUCK, Anas sponsa, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 394.
WOOD DUCK, Anas sponsa, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p. 52; vol. v. p. 618.
Male 20 1/2, 28. Female, 19 1/2
Breeds throughout the country from Texas to the Columbia, and eastward to
Nova Scotia. Fur Countries. Accumulates in the Southern Districts in winter.
Adult Male.
Bill shorter than the head, deeper than broad at the base, depressed
towards the end, slightly narrowed towards the middle of the unguis, the frontal
angles prolonged and pointed. Upper mandible with the dorsal line at first
sloping, then concave, along the unguis convex, the ridge broad and flat at the
base, then broadly convex, the sides concave and perpendicular at the base,
convex and sloping towards the end, edges soft, with about twenty-two internal
lamellae, unguis broadly elliptical, curved, rounded. Nostrils sub-basal,
lateral, rather small, oval, pervious. Lower mandible flattish, with the angle
very long and rather narrow, the dorsal line very short, convex, the sides
convex, the edges soft and rounded, lamellate above.
Head of moderate size, neck rather long and slender, body full and
depressed, wings rather small. Feet very short, strong, placed rather far back;
tarsus very short, considerably compressed, at its lower part anteriorly with
two series of scutella, the rest covered with reticulated angular scales. Toes
scutellate above; first very small, free, with a narrow membrane beneath, third
longest, fourth a little shorter; claws small, curved, compressed, acute, the
hind one smaller and more curved, that of the third toe with an inner sharp
edge.
Plumage dense, soft, blended, generally glossed. Feathers of the middle of
the head and upper part of hind neck, very narrow, elongated, and incurved, of
the rest of the head and upper part of neck very short, of the back and lower
parts in general broad and rounded excepting on the shoulders before the wings,
where they are enlarged, very broad and abrupt. Wings of moderate length,
narrow, acute; primaries curved, strong, tapering, first and second longest;
secondaries broad, rounded. Tail of moderate length, rather broad, much
rounded, of sixteen rounded feathers.
Upper mandible bright red at the base, pale yellow on the sides, the
intermediate space along the ridge, and the unguis, black, as in the lower
mandible and its membrane. Iris and edges of eyelids bright red. Feet dull
orange, claws black. Upper part of head, and space between the bill and eye,
deep green, and highly glossed; below the latter space a patch of dark purple,
and a larger one of the same colour, but lighter, behind the eye; sides of the
neck, its hind part under the crest, and the middle all round very dark purple.
A narrow line along the base of the upper mandible and over the eye, meeting on
the occiput, pure white, as are some of the feathers of the crest; another from
behind the eye, meeting below the occiput, and including several of the lower
elongated feathers. Throat, for more than three inches, pure white, with a
process on each side a little beyond the eye, and another nearly half-way down
the neck. Sides of the neck, and its lower part, anteriorly reddish-purple,
each feather on the latter with a triangular white tip. Middle of the neck
behind, back and rump, very dark reddish-brown, the latter deeper, and tinged
with green; upper tail-coverts and tail greenish-black; some of the lateral
tail-coverts dull reddish-purple, a few on either side with their central
filaments light red. Smaller wing-coverts, alula and primaries, dull
greyish-brown; most of the latter with part of their outer web greyish-white,
and their inner towards the end darker and glossed with green. Secondary quills
tipped with white, the outer webs green, with purple reflections, those of the
inner secondaries and scapulars velvet-black, their inner webs partially glossed
and changing to green. The broad feathers anterior to the wings are white,
terminated with black; breast and abdomen greyish-white; feathers under the
wings yellowish-grey, minutely undulated with black and white bars; lower
wing-coverts and axillar feathers white, barred with greyish-brown; lower
tail-coverts dull greyish-brown.
Length 20 1/2 inches, to end of claws 17 1/2, extent of wings 28; bill
1 5/12; tarsus 1 5/12, middle toe and claw 2 3/12; wing from flexure 9; tail
4 1/4.
Adult Female.
The female is considerably smaller, and differs greatly from the male in
colouring. The feathers of the head are not elongated, but those of the upper
part of the neck behind are slightly so. In other respects the plumage presents
nothing very remarkable, and is similar to that of the male, only the feathers
anterior to the wing, the upper hypochondrial, the inner secondaries and the
rump-feathers are not enlarged, as in him. Bill blackish-brown; feet dusky,
tinged with yellow. Upper part of head dusky, glossed with green, sides of the
head and neck, with the hind part of the latter, light brownish-grey; throat
white, but without the lateral processes of the male. Fore part of neck below
and sides light yellowish-brown, mottled with dark greyish-brown, as are the
sides under the wings; breast and abdomen white, the former spotted with brown.
Hind neck, back, and rump, dark brown, glossed with green and purple. Wings as
in the male, but the speculum less, and the secondaries externally faint
reddish-purple, the velvet black of the male diminished to a few narrow
markings. Tail dark brown, glossed with green; lower tail-coverts pale
greyish-brown, mottled with white; lower wing-coverts as in the male.
Length 19 1/2 inches.
Male. Width of mouth 8 twelfths; the upper mandible is widely concave,
with a prominent line, on which are a few papillae; there are about 30 lamellae
on each side of the upper mandible, of which only five about the middle project
beyond the margin, on the edge of the lower are 35. The tongue is fleshy, 1
inch 5 twelfths long, papillate at the base, contracted toward the middle, the
edges thin and lamellate, the tip semicircular, thin, and horny. OEsophagus
8 1/2 inches long, its width uniformly 10 twelfths; the proventriculus 4 inches
in breadth. The stomach is a very large muscular gizzard of a transversely
elliptical form, placed obliquely, 1 inch 5 twelfths 5 long, 1 inch 8 1/2
twelfths broad; the lateral muscles very thick, and forming a singularly thin
edge; the tendons covering the whole surface; the left muscle 7 twelfths thick,
the right 8 twelfths; the epithelium very thick, dense, with two elliptical
grinding surfaces. Proventricular belt 1 inch 5 twelfths in breadth. Lobes of
the liver 1 inch 8 twelfths, and 2 inches 8 twelfths long. Intestine 37 inches
long, for a short space at the commencement, its width is 4 twelfths, but
presently contracts to 2 1/2 twelfths, and ultimately to 2 twelfths, being more
slender than that of any other species of this family examined. The coeca are
2 1/2 inches long, 1 1/2 twelfths in width, and placed at the distance of 3 1/2
inches from the extremity.
Trachea 6 1/2 inches long, much flattened, of the uniform width of 3
twelfths; its rings rather firm, 120 in Dumber, of which about 15 at the lower
part are extremely narrow and distant in front. There is an irregular
transverse bony ovate dilatation, 10 twelfths in breadth, 6 twelfths in length,
with its greatest protuberance to the left side, as is usual. Bronchi of
moderate length, the left of 28, the right of 30 half rings. There are no
inferior laryngeal muscles, and both the sterno-tracheals come off on the right
side, the left one winding behind the right end of the tympanum.