ENGLISH WILD DUCK (MALLARD).

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1994, 27 February 1914, Page 4

ENGLISH WILD DUCK (MALLARD).

Sir, —In your issue of February' 14 | you mention' that tho "Herald", states] somo 'mallard . ducks -imported by tho : Auckland Acclimatisation Society are not the puro mallard, but merely decoy birds, used to catch wild duck. I 'was jwt asfare that tho Aticklnn-il' 1 Society had' imported mallards, but if , they have done so thoy evidently wish , to, keep iip their reputation; of always importing tho ; wrong birds, as they did wfeon they imported tho haiiso sparrow instead'of tho hedge sparrow.' Any boy of six years' old in England cou-M have told' the ditferettee, and that the former is a curse and this latter z blessing, 1 am surprised at the jjjjiek-: land, Aedimafeisation Society laying 1 any el-aim to tho ac'cKwatisation of the ' HiaJlartl duek ia the Aueklarid Province, so I will not take tjp your valuable spaco in discussing the pros and cons of the society's tamo ducks, but it is important that the lover of bird life aiid sportsmen in that province, should know from whence tho mallards (which ; are inereasing so fast),came.My father imported -tho first, lot;. they camo from Ateftestoy Park, Not-tiiigha-.m.' The WellJiifiteij Aecliwatisatiott Society then imported several Jots, also the several societies in the South Island.. Tho Wellington , Society gave mo several pairs, and I have twice exchanged a fair number of birds with j tho Southland .Society, so that it may , ssfcly be said that the mallard in tho, [ Auckland Province .certainly eanw .from three distinct sources,.if not, More,,aikl [ ; all tho birds are identical in marking,' size, and phwio.go, and I havo seen ■ ! none so small as the grey duck.. The ' i w-eight and size of tho mfllfard depends, j to a great extent, on t'bo season of th<i year. If weighed after nesting mi moiiltmK,.'t would bo lighter thipt, aay, iu- the middb -of tho shooting season. If the. bird is-out of'sorts, it will f.iji off. in. weight and sme very ■quickly, . Th« records kept of size and weights of ; mallard hero compare very favourably ; 1 with, the weights of English birds, if both aro weighed -when the birds arc at their- best.. The New Kealapd-brcd apd roared bird, being generally tho heavier of the two, probably due'to the ; climate and almost perfect breeding ] conditions, hut some of tile best birds [1 I'fflv-s been unable tocateli,otherwise ' their weight misrht havo been a. record for both English »nd Now Zealand* bred birds. One duek a friend gave was so large that although it had all tbe .markings of the niaJlattl, I was ro.i'iybeed'it was n cross with the rotten duck, both because of its si-zft and the t?iil turned up, wliMi ii n sure sign of tfi-e bnrndoor breed. 'Yhf wild binl ' sweflds. .and turns its-tail down whftft alighting on tho water or lajid, which prevents the tail from turning up when rot, on tb.o wing, 'Anyone who studies Nature can sec this ,i(i a' moment by watching the wild bird liirht. . jfrvodhss to snv, I dfeoosetl.of tho duck.nod did not allow it to mix with my flock, Another friend asked me to exchange two (indies for two ducks. I sent him three ducks, but fortunately, before liberotiiit? his drakes amongst my flock, I taok the precaution of oxnmining them, and found they were fully hnlfitrnd Iwlia.n ItUnners: they were also destrnytid. Any wild duck can be tamed by feodins, and I know several jilaees where the ijrey duek feed with the fowls, bat this does not make theft am" the less wild duek. The. "Herald's" _ statement that the decoys are two-thirds the size of the mallards proves conclusively that tho mallards hero are foai mallards. The ro«en duck is often sold in the English markets as wild duck, and tfio hou&o----.wifo likes them best because, they aro 5,0 largi- 1 . She is h'rtpoy if wild duek is on the menu, and few am any the wiser. I' ones'tion the "Herald's" statement as' to the size of decoy mallards, I have Tcared numbers, both the mallard nsul the decoy mallard, side 'Ijv ?.isle ou a sltofliing'niy father had iii Scotland, and-there waft little or no difference - in the of the birds, but there was a difference in the length of the benk, but I will leave tho Auckland Society to find out which has the

longer beak, the mallard or the tuaHard decoy. I. feel sure there will bo shawers of protests against the absurdity of the. idea sot forth in the "Herald.'"—l am, etc., CECIL A .WHITNEY. Auckland, February IT, 1914.