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Notes

George K. Peck: Distinguished Ornithologist

Jim Richards

Usually, the publication of a majorwork in ornithology signals the cul­mination of years of work andmuch research. However, whenBreeding Birds of Ontario:Nidiology and Distribution. Volume1: Nonpasserines was released bythe Royal Ontario Museum in 1983,followed by Volume 2: Passerines in1987, it was just the beginning.These very pertinent publications,authored by George Peck and hisclose friend Ross D. James, havebeen continuously updated inOntario Birds (in seven install­ments from 1993 to 1999).

The Ontario Nest RecordsScheme (Royal Ontario Museum)was 10 years old (with 1800 cards)when George assumed leadershipas its volunteer coordinator in 1966.Since that time, through his hardwork, dedication and networking,he has built the scheme to over115,000 cards and the most com­plete record in existence of thebreeding biology of Ontario birds.He has authored 29 annual reportsduring this time, keeping partici­pants informed as to the status ofthe work, which is co-sponsored bythe Canadian Wildlife Service.

The works noted above formonly a part of the 98 titles in hispublished bibliography. He has con­tributed much to the scientific

ONTARIO BIRDS DECEMBER 2001

knowledge of Ontario birdsthrough papers published in TheWilson Bulletin, Canadian Field­Naturalist, Ontario Birds, andOntario Field Biologist. As well, heauthored eight species accounts inAtlas of the Breeding Birds ofOntario (1987), and co-authored(with Jim Richards) a chapter inOrnithology in Ontario (1994).

His attention to detail, evidentin his meticulous field journals, islegendary; a trait self-imposed butenhanced through association withothers like James. L. Baillie, Rev.Charles Long, Terry Shortt and RossJames. An active member of numer­ous organizations (some since1939), national, international andlocal, he was appointed as ResearchAssociate at the Royal OntarioMuseum in 1976. He received aConservation Achievement Awardfrom the Federation of OntarioNaturalists in 1988, and was nomi­nated a Fellow of the AmericanOrnithologists' Union in 2000.

Having earned respect andrecognition through his researchand writing activities, George iseven better known as a wildlife pho­tographer with a penchant for birds.His acclaimed images (about 2,500to date) have been published in 71books and numerous magazines andjournals. In addition, his photo-

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Figure 1: Presentation of the OFO Distinguished Ornithologist Award at the AnnualGeneral Meeting in Leamington on 29 September 2001. Left to right: JimRichards, Jean Iron, Chris Escott, and George Peck. Photo by Sam Barone.

graphic art graces the pages of manytextbooks and various series byGrolier, Readers Digest andNatures Children, numerous post­cards, calendars, newsletters, bul­letins and brochures. George is amajor contributor to the CWSWildspace website, with over 1,400of his images being used, and to theRoyal Ontario Museum's Biodiver­sity website.

George has enjoyed participat­ing in several photo exhibitionsopen to the public in Burlington,Hamilton, Ottawa, Craigleith,Collingwood, Thornbury, Kitchener,Owen Sound and Toronto. He wasone of three artists (along with sonMark Peck and friend Jim Richards)who had their works displayed bythe Royal Ontario Museum for sev­eral months to commemorate the

opening of the new bird gallery in1989-90. While his photography isdriven by his passion for birds andother wildlife, he admits to beinginfluenced by the works of masterssuch as Vic Crich (an early fieldcompanion), Eliot Porter, EricHosking and John Shaw.

In addition to amassing anarmy of dedicated volunteers forthe ONRS, writing, speaking,researching, and creating magnifi­cent photographic images, perhapsone of his most valuable contribu­tions has been the ability to infectand inspire others with the samepassion he has enjoyed, throughpersonal contact. George is truly aDistinguished Ornithologist. I amproud to have nominated him forthis award and equally proud toinclude him as a friend.

Jim Richards, 14 Centre Street, Orono, Ontario LOB 1MO

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A Northern Shoveler-Mallard Pair

George Fairfield

Hybridism between duck species iscommon. Kortright (1942) namedthe Northern Shoveler (Anasclypeata) as one of the many speciesthat occasionally interbreeds withthe Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).The following observations illus­trate how a male NorthernShoveler can dominate a maleMallard in protecting his associa­tion with a female Mallard.

On 23 May 1987, I was standingon the concrete abutment that bor­ders the western side of the filtra­tion plant at Toronto Island andoverlooks a small bay off TorontoHarbour. The deck of the abutmentis about 1.5 m above the water. Onthe far side of the bay, I saw a maleNorthern Shoveler swimming with afemale Mallard. The female Mallardswam over to me, no doubt to solic­it food. The Northern Shoveler fol­lowed her over. I threw some bits ofsandwich into the water and theMallard female ate them.

A male Mallard appeared andswam toward the other two ducks.The Northern Shoveler placed him­self between the male and femaleMallards. The Northern Shovelerthen attacked the male Mallard,bobbing his head vigorously. Themale Mallard flew off with theNorthern Shoveler in close pursuit.The Northern Shoveler's bill wasopen as he chased the Mallard. Themale Mallard circled and landed

ONTARIO BIRDS DECEMBER 2001

close to the female. The NorthernShoveler landed on the maleMallard and chased him across thewater, bobbing his head. There was asecond aerial chase similar to thefirst one. The male Mallard againlanded close to the female. TheNorthern Shoveler landed besidehim and chased him until he escapedby flying up and landing beside meon the deck. The Northern Shovelerthen returned to the female Mallard,and the male Mallard returned tothe water, a short distance away.When I left, the Northern Shovelerwas again between the male andfemale Mallards.

During this episode, the femaleseemed to pay no attention to theconflict and swam quietly aroundnear me, apparently hoping for morehandouts. The observations describedabove covered a span of about 20minutes. I observed the action fromwithin 30 m, except when the aerialchases were underway.

The following day, 24 May, at1045h, I returned to the same placewith my camera and obtained thephotos that accompany this note.When I arrived, the male NorthernShoveler was resting with the femaleMallard on the shore on the far(west) side of the bay. The femaleMallard entered the water and swamover to me, with the NorthernShoveler about 20 m behind her. Ithrew some bread into the water.

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Figure 1: Male Northern Shoveler placing itself between the male and femaleMallards,24 May 1987. Photo by George Fairfield.

Figure 2: Male Northern Shoveler chasing male Mallard, 24 May 1987. Photo byGeorge Fairfield.

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Two male Mallards then appearedand swam over. Immediately, thecontest started between theNorthern Shoveler and one of themale Mallards. The second Mallardleft and was not seen again.

The female Mallard seemedonly interested in the bread and wasmuch more aggressive than themales at getting it. If a piece landedclose to one of the males, she wouldrush over and he would let her takeit. The Northern Shoveler kept him­self between the female and maleMallards (Figure 1). When the maleMallard came close to the female,the Northern Shoveler swam towardhim, bobbing his head and utteringlow "clucks". Occasionally, thisbecame a chase across the water,with the Northern Shoveler rightbehind the Mallard with his beakopen (Figure 2). I saw no aerialflights this day. When I left at 1130hafter obtaining my photographs, thecontest was still going on.

Throughout my observations Idid not see any courtship display bythe female Mallard but she seemedto accept the close association withthe male Northern Shoveler.

I returned to the same spot ayear later, on 28 May 1988, andfound a male Northern Shoveler,which I presumed to be the samebird, keeping a male MaPcard awayfrom a female Mallard in the samemanner described above.

DiscussionBoth Northern Shovelers andMallards form courtship trios.

ONTARIO BIRDS DECEMBER 2001

Kortright (1942) stated that"polyandry is very prevalent withthis species (the Northern Shoveler)and the amiability with which thisunusual matrimonial arrangement isaccepted by both husbands isastounding. ... Polyandry is alsopractised to some extent by theMallards, but the males ... objectstrongly." The present NorthernShoveler male did not accept a sec­ond "husband" with amiability, per­haps because he was not anotherNorthern Shoveler.

Martz (1964) described similarbehaviour to that observed by thewriter, involving a male NorthernShoveler and a pair of Blue-wingedTeal (Anas discors): "The Shovelercontinuously head pumped. Herushed repeatedly with bill open atthe Blue-winged Teal who persist­ently tried to reach the female."Dzubin (1959) observed a maleNorthern Pintail (Anas acuta) keep­ing a male Mallard apart from afemale Mallard in a similar manner.Nellis (1970) recorded two instancesof male Green-winged Teal (Anascrecca)-Mallard pair associations.In one, the teal attacked the maleMallard when he attempted to cop­ulate with the female. In the other,no aggressive behaviour was seen.

The Northern Shoveler is anuncommon breeding bird in Ontarioand no evidence of breeding wasreported for Toronto in Atlas of theBreeding Birds of Ontario(Sandilands 1987). It is unlikely thatthis male Northern Shoveler couldfind a mate of its own species.

The writer saw no evidence ofinterbreeding between the NorthernShoveler and the Mallard. However,where such interbreeding doesoccur, the above observationsdemonstrate that a male NorthernShoveler, in spite of its smaller size,does not necessarily need to sneak inand surreptitiously inseminate theMallard. In the present case, themale Northern Shoveler was quitecapable of dominating the largermale Mallard and forming a pairwith the female.

AcknowledgementsMany thanks to James Bendell, whoprovided helpful comments on anearlier draft.

Literature CitedDzubin, A. 1959. A Pintail Drake-Mallard

Pair Association. Blue Jay 17(2): 53-54.Kortright, RH. 1942. The Ducks Geese and

Swans of North America. The StackpoleCompany, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, andWildlife Management Institute, Washing­ton, D.C.

Martz, G.F. 1964. Mixed trio of a Shovelerdrake and Blue-winged Teal pair. WilsonBulletin 76: 291-292.

Nellie, C.H., J.J. Zohrer, and D.W. Anderson.1970. Mallard-Green-winged Teal associ­ations in southern Wisconsin. WilsonBulletin 82: 461-462.

Sandilands, A. 1987. Northern Shoveler(Anas clypeata). Pp. 80-81 in Atlas of theBreeding Birds of Ontario (M.D.Cadman, PEl Eagles, and EM. Helleiner,compilers). University of Waterloo Press,Waterloo, Ontario.

George Fairfield, 332 SheldrakeBoulevard, Toronto, OntarioM4P2B8

135

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