THE MALLARD DUCK

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5295, 4 July 1928, Page 2

THE MALLARD DUCK

INTRODUC TION TO NEW ZEALAND. CROSSING WITH NATIVE BIRDS. The Mallard is the wild duck of the norther,n hemisphere, and is also the wild duck of the British Isles generally known as the English wild duck. The grey or black duck of Australia and the grey duck of New Zealand are typical of the mallards of the southern hemisphere, being of th© same genus as the mallards of the northern hemisphere.

Major Whitney, of Auckland, successfully reared mallards for a number of years at his home on the Pohoi RiVer, and when he sold th© homie they joined up with the wild greys being distributed over a large range of country north of Auckland. Tljese birds flighted regularly night and morning, and resorted with the wild greys, iOn tihe river,, 'in the early dawn, the rush of wings could be heard, and’ 100 to 150 wild duck would fly round and round the house, and some would alight on the lawn. Mallards bred at Auckland were known to resort with those bred at Wenlerholm, Waiwera, a flight of some 30 miles. To avoid cats th© duck often nested in the fork of the Pohutukawa tree, some height from the ground, anfl it was an interesting sight to see the mother duck agisting the wee ducklings safely tb the ground. The mallard is thriving, well in many parts of New Zealand, especially in the Wairarapa Lake, near Wellington. Lake Ellesmere, near Christchurch, and in the small lagoons and lakes north of Levin, and in many of . the lakes; in Otago anfl Southland. They are not protected now, and last season some fa’r bags were obtained during the open season. INTERBREEDING. Commenting on the mallard, an interesting pamphlet recently issued by the Auckland Acclimatisation .Society states :— “Mallards will cross in captivity with the grey if there are no English wilfl ducks to, mate with, or if the tame barndoor strain has been allowed to mix with the wild birds, but where fresh purebred wild birds are introduced into the breeding stock at regular intervals apd the old birds liberated in isolated swamps where they are open for shooting there is no likelihood of any crossing taking place. Where crossing between tlie purebred wild greys and wild mallards lias been deliberately brought about it is found that they produce a very large, fast, powerful wild fowl, because the crossing is not with a b'rd of a different, species but witli its own near relatives sufficiently re-, moved to ensure a- complete change of blood. Probably irfter.breeding is tile cause of so many of our grey duck being very small in the Auckland district. Half of the bags of duck last year did not weigh P/alb each, while the large grey weighs 2Vnib to 2%1b. Most of the small birds were two Reasons, old-”