During the summer the mallard molts all the wing feathers at once; so that for a month he is unable to fly. Were the drake, with his conspicuous coloring, to be left thus helpless, the species would not long survive, as he would be an easy prey for all the carnivorous enemies that surround him. So nature has provided a temporary protection in the so-called “eclipse” plumage, which, closely resembling that of the female, is worn only during midsummer while the wings are growing, to be supplanted by the rich suit in which we see him on his fall trip to the South. PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 34, SERIAL No. 34 COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. [Illustration: CANVASBACK DUCK COPYRIGHTED BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES, 1906] _GAME BIRDS OF AMERICA_ _Canvasback (Fuligula vallisneria)_ SIX The canvasback, most famous of wild fowl, is a purely and exclusively American species, ranging during the year over practically the whole North American continent. But now this duck is little more than a bird of history. It has been almost exterminated by the gunners. Once the delight of the epicure, it promises soon to become a curiosity. Canvasbacks breed principally in the interior of British America and Alaska. They make their first migration southward during October. As they are a very hardy bird, many canvasbacks spend the winter in the northern states. But it is in the middle and southern states, particularly in the Chesapeake, that they congregate in greatest numbers. When they have fed for sometime upon the _vallisneria_ or wild celery, their flesh is unexcelled among wild fowl. But if they are not able to get this food they taste very little better than the poorer species, and are far inferior to such river ducks as the mallard, the dusky duck, gadwall, teal, or pintail. Canvasbacks closely resemble redheads in general appearance. But the long, straight black bill and darker forehead are characteristic of the canvasback alone. The redhead has a moderately short bluish gray bill and a uniform light chestnut fluffy head. Often redheads are substituted for canvasbacks upon the unknowing purchaser. On the same feeding grounds one is about as good as the other. The fraud consists in that while the price of the redhead is very reasonable, that of the canvasback is fabulous.