ABSTRACT
Many of the sources consulted use phrases like “most common” or “most well-known” in reference to mallard ducks. In spite of the claims that mallard ducks are common or well known, it was diffi cult to fi nd more than a few brief paragraphs written about them in any book. Why is it that so little has been written about such a supposedly well known bird? Or conversely, how can a bird be well known when so little has been written about it? Perhaps it is because humans tend to take for granted that which is common, until it is gone-like the Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) and the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius).43 This chapter is one attempt to remedy that situation.
