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Most sources trace the development of call ducks
back to Holland in the 1600s, where tamed “Coy ducks” were confined
in wire-covered pens over water, their name coming from the Dutch word de
kooi, translating as to trap or cage. At one end of the pen was
an opening that grew increasingly small as it extended deeper into
the pen. The confined ducks would call to wild ducks, they would alight
near by, and eventually some would move down the funnel into the trap.
Once inside they found it difficult to find the small opening through
which they had entered, particularly if panicked when the game keeper
came to gather them. This method of capture was no doubt most successful
in the spring when the pen was filled with seemingly available hens.
There was no shooting involved, merely an efficient means of capturing
wild birds for food. It is believed that the Dutch originally obtained
their breeding stock from the Orient, probably Japan, and they were
small “dwarf ducks.”
Not surprisingly, as the British have a long history of sport hunting, Dutch
call birds found their way to England by the 1850s and were used to attract wild
ducks close to hunters’ guns. “The sonorous and steady calls of the females made
them well adapted and very efficient for the purpose of luring ferine [wild]
ducks to close proximity of the hunter’s blind, the authors of Bantam Duck
Standard wrote in describing what they officially called the English ‘Decoy Duck.’”
The British were quick to breed these birds for desirable traits. By 1865, United
Kingdom Standards recognized not only the common Grey and White variants of the
Decoy Duck; but also Dusky, Black, Silver and others varying in color from pure
white to dark, to brownish-black. The darker plumaged birds are considered the
standard color of the variety. To add confusion to the already confused terminology,
the “gray call duck” is so named for its gray under-color, and both the drake
and hen resemble a wild mallard in plumage. Today other color phases are recognized,
including Blue, Butterscotch, Chocolate, and Nutmeg. The White and Gray varieties
were listed in the first Standard of Perfection for poultry in the United States
in 1874. Typically, the call birds weighed about 1 to 1½ pounds and were selectively
bred by hunters for their high-pitched call and vociferousness, while poultry
fanciers were more interested in plumage color.
American hunters were quick to employ English call ducks and, being Americans,
were quick to make the birds as unBritish as possible; although small, near-black
English call ducks remained in widespread use by hunters until they were banned
in 1935. They remained popular because they were domesticated, hence easy to
handle, small enough to be conveniently kept and transported, and for their proclivity
to call loudly with the slightest stimulation. Today they are bred and shown
everywhere from state to national gatherings of bird breeders.
Call birds used by American hunters from the late-1800s into the mid-1930s ran
the full gamut from essentially pure English call ducks to tamed wild birds and
everything between – ducks and geese many generations removed from their wild,
free-flying ancestors; and duck crosses between wild mallards, barnyard mallards
and English call ducks. Hunters could not seem to have enough of crossing a new
mix of ducks to see what they got.
“The live ducks used to lure their brethren are commonly referred to as ‘sussies,’”
Dr. William Bruette wrote in his 1929 book, American Duck, Goose, and Brant Shooting.
“They are of no particular breed although emphasis is generally laid upon the
fact that they are of wild duck ancestry. In England they have a noisy little
duck known as the ‘call’ duck. These have been imported into this country and
are well thought of in some sections. Most of the ‘sussies,’ however, are of
the green head mallard type—a cross between the wild green head mallard or other
puddle ducks—more or less mixed with the domestic ducks on the farm. Wing tipped
green head mallards and black ducks captured wild are easily domesticated and
used for callers.” |
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