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THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN’'S LIBRARY
EDITED BY
CASPAR WHITNEY
THE WALER.BOW LL PAMILY
Of this book One Hundred (100) Copies bave been printed on
large paper, of which this ts
terest sineseneens
rin WYER-FOWL.
irs cis FAM I LY
. | ts
iy BY
» L. C. SANFORD
L. B. BISHOP
AND
T. S. VAN DYKE
id
i.
ih
iS
a
ee oat |
a 7
New Bork
tai MACMILLAN COMPANY
_ LONDON: MACMILLAN AND CO., Lrp,
#993
All rights reserved
a
2YOOaa SHT AAVO
EE
Wa eR POW i
PVE
BT
BY
CG; SANFORD
Ejobs BISHOP
AND
LS DVN DYKE
New Bork
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN AND CO,, Lt.
mes
All rights reserved
THE LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS,
Two Copies Received
MAY 6 1903
, Sopynght Entr
Oy. 22. 1993
Cyass ch No,
Srod
4)
Cory 8.
CopyYRIGHT, 1903,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped March, 1903.
Norwood Press
J. 8. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
CONTENTS
WATER-FOWL
By L. C. SANFORD
PAGE
INTRODUCTORY 3 ‘ ‘ 3 5 A A A 5 I
CHAPTER I
DUCK-SHOOTING . : Z A 5 iM 4 . : 6
CHAPTER II
DUCK-SHOOTING (continued ) . : : . : ° = 56
CHAPTER, Tit
DUCK-SHOOTING (continued ) . : : 4 . . «| 418
CHAPTER IV
DUCK-SHOOTING (continued ) . : ° . . ° + Igo
CHAPTER. Vi
GOOSE-SHOOTING . : : ; A . . . 2 205
CHAPTER VI
THE SWANS . . . ° : . ° . . ents,
vi Contents
CHAPTER VII
RAIL-SHOOTING
CHAPTER. VIII
SHORE-BIRD SHOOTING.
CHAPTER IX
SHORE-BIRD SHOOTING (continued )
CHAPTER 7X
SHORE-BIRD SHOOTING (continued )
CHAPTER XI
SHORE-BIRD SHOOTING (continued )
CHAPTER XII
SHORE-BIRD SHOOTING (continued )
CHAPTER Xaih
SHORE-BIRD SHOOTING (continued )
CHAPTER XIV
SHORE-BIRD SHOOTING (continued)
PAGE
339
336
451
480
489
496
Contents
THE WATER-FOWL OF THE PACIFIC
COARSE
By T. S. VAN DYKE
CHAPTER: I
THE DUCKS . = . ; 4 : C 6 ‘
CHAPTER II
THE GEESE . ;
CHAPTER Il
THE WADERS AND SHORE-BIRDS .
DIAGNOSES OF FAMILIES AND GENERA
THE WATER-FOWL
HE RAILS): é A
THE SHORE-BIRDS
INDEX . 5 . ° . . . . .
Vil
PAGE
557
or
d 1 iS
v ety Ver eee
wie wi @ ' €
4 7 7 co was
« ore |
ra
i
ince ee
ah " et
oe ae 38
EISt Or TLEUSTRATIONS
OVER THE DECOYS . . . Lrontispiece — Photogravure
PAGE
RED-HEADS AND CANVAS-BACKS . . ° . : - 50
ALONG THE MARSH . 2 : : ‘ ° : = 62
Dusky OR BLack Ducks (Male and Female) . : »» 80
SHOVELLERS (Male and Female) . . ° ° ° - 106
OLD-sQUAWS (Male and Female) . ‘ 5 ° ° esa
HOODED MERGANSERS . . . . . ° . - 198
SNOW GEESE : : : : . ° . . « 208
WHITE-FRONTED OR GAMBEL’S GEESE : : ° 2 230
CANADA GEESE . : A : : . . ° 7250
SHOOTING YELLOWLEGS ON LONG ISLAND . . . ° 275
KING RAIL . a ° ° ° : : . . - 200
AMERICAN OR WILSON’S SNIPE . . : . . - 344
GREATER YELLOWLEGS 4 . C 5 : AOS
WILLETS é 4 9 5 - ° : : a 422
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER : : : . . ° = 452
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Male and Female) . . . « 504"
MALLARDS . {-; . : : . ° . ° « 515
BAY SNIPE-SHOOTING . . : . . . . - 540
BLUEBILL . ° ° . . . . ° . > 560
THE WATER-FOWL FAMILY
Tue Anatide, or family of wild fowl, comprises
the swans, geese, sea-ducks, river-ducks, and mer-
gansers. From time immemorial this group of
birds has been most important in its relations to
man. Divided into various subfamilies, it con-
tains nearly two hundred species, about sixty of
which are North American. The peculiar char-
acteristics of these birds are well known: all have
heavy bodies, and most of them long necks; the
bill varies much in shape in the different species,
but is usually broad, covered with a soft skin and
with a hard nail at the tip; it is often provided
with little comb-like processes situated on its
inner edges, which assist in sifting the food
from its common environment of mud and sand.
The tongue is large and fleshy, adapted for all
sorts of water-vegetable material and various crus-
tacea and shellfish which comprise the diet. The
windpipe varies curiously in the different indi-
viduals, being convoluted and twisted, thus afford-
ing the volume of voice noted particularly among
some of the geese and swans. The legs are short,
the forward toes webbed, the tarsus and feet coy-
B I
2 The Water-fowl Family
ered with a naked, scale-like skin, nicely adapting
the bird for water. The wings vary in length in
comparison to the body, but are commonly rather
short and specially strong, calculated for speedy,
powerful flight, making possible the long, tedious
migration peculiar to many of the species. The
plumage is thick and dense, consisting of short,
soft, outer feathers over a skin coating of down.
In many of the species the color is plain, and of
a protective character well suited to the haunts
of the bird —a condition which is regularly true
of the female and the young.
The males of a number of varieties of ducks,
however, when full-plumaged in the late fall and
winter, are unsurpassed in beauty of coloring; an
attire that is retained until incubation has begun.
About this time, the birds moult, the male assuming
a dress more or less closely resembling the female.
During the moulting period for a while many of
our water-fowl are helpless, the large pinions of
the wing having been lost. Now every protection
against the depredations of the natives and other
enemies is essential, and hence nature’s provision
in the change of color. The males of many of
our water-fowl, after incubation has been estab-
lished, separate from the females, and gather by
themselves on neighboring bodies of water, where
greater security is afforded than the shores and
marshes selected for nesting purposes could give.
The Water-fowl Family 3
The female attends to all of the duties of nesting
and hatching, bringing up the brood, and leading
them south when an all-provident nature directs
the weary flight. In the different species of geese
and swan both birds divide the duties of nesting.
The migration of our water-fowl is one of the
wonders of instinct; gathering in flocks some-
times of vast proportions, under the leadership of
experienced pilgrims, the ranks proceed on a
straight, true course, probably often making no
stops until the permanent quarters of the fall
and winter have been reached. This trait is most
marked among the more powerful flyers, the geese
and swans. From the breeding-ground to the last
stopping-place, and all along the line where cir-
cumstances have permitted, this vast army has
been beset with destruction on all sides. The
Eskimo and the Indian have robbed their nests,
destroyed the young, and killed them when help-
less from their moulting. Formerly the geese
were slaughtered in thousands at this time, and
salted for winter use, actually, in some instances,
herded together and the entire body killed. Once
within the boundaries of the United States, their
persecution is incessant; every device known has
been used against them, with results that within
the past few years the diminution in numbers in
many of the old resorts has been most apparent.
From the remotest north to the tropics, wherever
4 The Water-fowl Family
man has gone, he has found these birds and waged
a relentless warfare on them. Recently I heard
of a device which has been common for years
in southern Mexico. Not far from the city of
Mexico, the larger lakes, which are the winter
home for countless thousands of wild fowl, are
leased for large sums to Mexicans who gun for
the market. Cannon are placed in favorable posi-
tions along the shore, and for days the birds are
baited within range, then a discharge is fired into
a mass of ducks, and literally hundreds are killed.
This has been a local practice for many years.
No birds are more essential to man than the
wild fowl; they serve him with food and in many
regions with clothing; the soft downy skin of the
eider being regularly used by many of the Eski-
mos for undergarments, while the down of these
birds is an important article of commerce in many
countries of the north. In Norway and Iceland
the breeding eiders are protected. The islands
are carefully watched and every facility afforded
the sitting ducks. Under these circumstances the
bird can regularly be lifted from the nest while
the eggs are removed, a sufficient number being
left to hatch. In some instances these birds
actually nest within the natives’ houses, and there
is a story of a Norwegian who gave up his fire-
place to an eider. As opposed to the wanton
destruction which threatens our water-fowl almost
The Water-fowl Family 5
universally, it is specially pleasant to see these
instances of protection. In countries where parks
and gardens afford refuge, the wild duck are
always quick to take advantage. In the United
States, the Yellowstone Park is the best instance
of this protection, and here every lake along the
highways is patronized by ducks and geese as
tame and unsuspecting as barnyard fowl. In one
instance I saw a flock of Canada geese circle
around one of the hotels, and alight in the yard,
where they fed without the slightest concern.
About the same hour daily this flock of fifteen or
more would appear for their evening meal.
Many different varieties of wild fowl are seen
in various parts of our country in a state of do-
mestication, particularly where decoy shooting is
afforded. The Canada goose quickly makes the
most of circumstances and poses as a certain lord
among the domestic ducks and geese, often mating
with a barnyard goose. The offspring have the
general coloring and characteristics of the wild
bird, but like most hybrids are regularly barren.
This is a present instance of the relationship of our
barnyard geese and ducks to their wild ancestors.
The progenitors of the domestic race can be traced
to a comparatively few species. Among the most
notable are the bean goose, the mallard, and mus-
covy ducks; these being the varieties most common
in countries where ancient civilization existed.
CHAPTER /I
DUCK-SHOOTING
An almost irresistible desire comes over most
men, at times, to change the routine of civilized
life for the quiet and solitude of the wild. For-
est, field, and waters all offer their inducements,
in many instances combined with hardship and
fatigue; and yet to him who loves it, actual suf-
fering often only adds to the satisfaction of the
reward, doubly pleasing as the result of endurance
and patience. With a large number of those indi-
viduals to whom the gun and all that goes with
it is dear, the wild duck brings up the pleasantest
recollections and anticipations. The ponds and
lakes of the North, and the prairie sloughs, come
before him, where they nested and spent the sum-
mer, restless at the time of approaching fall for
the southern migration. He remembers drifting
down the river with a gentle current, amid Octo-
ber foliage, to where alders and willows lined the
bank and darkened the water; where he saw the
ripple that betrayed the presence of wild duck,
before they took wing with frightened splashing.
Early mornings come to his mind, when he break-
6
Duck-shooting 7
fasted before dawn, and pushed out from the shore
into the narrow bay, its surface hardly ruffled by
a light breeze. Dark lines marked the points of
marsh, as yet indistinct; a flock of birds leaving
the water made the first sound; then the soft
whistling of overhead wings. Quietly the boat
moved on; finally the blind was reached. Then
the few minutes at sunrise, of anticipation, the
first birds, a line coming out of the east, getting
blacker and bigger, soon in range over him; the
first shot, and the splash of a fallen bird. Wet
and cold days are recalled, when to lie low in
the blind was misery, and even the excitement of
watching a steady flight of birds could not warm
him. Or perhaps, hidden in the ice behind a few
decoys, he waited at a hole of open water, too
cold to shoot, though ducks were plenty. Yet few
men could appreciate better than he a blazing
fire or the comfort of plain food and a rough bed.
With winter’s waning came the procession of wild
fowl from the South, to tarry until spring; then
the line far overhead leading north —his last
glimpse.
The methods by which wild fowl are hunted
vary in different sections of our country. Shoot-
ing over decoys is probably the most universal
means. In those locations where birds are accus-
tomed to the wiles of man, their cunning is a
match for his skill, and his skill is great. They
8 The Water-fowl Family
know the points and blinds, and decoys do not
easily deceive. Hence the greatest care in every
detail is necessary. The gunner’s place of con-
cealment should be carefully prepared; it must
closely resemble the surroundings, and be as
inconspicuous as possible. In places where the
slightest change would be noticed, sink boxes are
often placed; blinds sunk below the surface level,
on sand-bars or flat marshes. Used in places ex-
posed to tide and high water, baled out and care-
fully banked up with sand when occasion requires,
next to the battery it is most effective as a blind.
For those birds whose haunts are the open bays
and who shun the marshes, the battery is em-
ployed, and when well managed this means is the
deadliest of all. Shallow water and quiet weather
are necessary for its use. A hundred or more
decoys surround it, placed to accommodate the
gunner and bring in the birds at the most con-
venient angle, which for a right-hand man is the
left side. In case ducks come in to the mphg
a quick gunner can generally swing into a posi-
tion to shoot by throwing both feet out of the
battery and turning to the right. In all kinds of
duck-shooting the most successful gunner is the
one who keeps out of sight all the time. This is
specially true in shooting from a sink box or bat-
tery. While watching for ducks under these cir-
cumstances, the eye should be just above the level
Duck-shooting 9
of the box, and when the birds are sighted there
should be no motion; the slightest movement often
attracts attention and startles, while if a gunner
remains perfectly still often no notice is paid to
him, even though exposed. In shooting from
blinds, if possible birds should be watched through
the blind, and not over the top. It is a great ad-
vantage to keep the game in sight. In this way
a gunner is more likely to know exactly the time
to shoot. The habit of looking up and then
drawing back is almost sure to attract the atten-
tion of a decoying bird and shy it off. As to
when to shoot over decoys, it is often possible to
judge more or less of a bird by the way in which
it hails; flying low down, the chances of its de-
coying are much better than if the flight is high.
On general principles, the man who lets a bird
come in as close as it will, can choose his time
and distance. No kinds of shooting are subject
to more variations than duck-shooting. While
under favorable circumstances, over decoys, it
may be an easy matter to shoot well; when wind
and storm are complications, the greatest skill is
required. Few birds fly with more speed. Few
thumps bring a greater satisfaction than that of a
falling duck folded up from some point way over-
head.
As to the question of guns. Some years ago
the ten-bore was the popular gun for ducks, but
10 The Water-fowl Family
sportsmen have generally come around to the
twelve as the most satisfactory, except in a few
instances. The man who shoots consistently a
twelve-bore gun will find it the best for all duck-
shooting. There are a few places where over-
head shooting is to be had at birds beyond reach
of the twelve-bore, and eight and even four bore
guns are shot. But excuses for using large bore
guns can seldom be found, and they should be
relegated to the past.
In many sections of our country, clubs fitted
out with all possible comforts are the resort of
the duck hunter. Provided with a trained gun-
ner who manages the blind and sets the decoys,
who watches and calls, duck-hunting is a different
story. In one of the clubs near Boston, where
duck and goose shooting is had occasionally, the
blind is built as an addition to the club-house, and
when any luckless birds are sighted a bell touched
by the man on the lookout rings throughout the
establishment, and members are summoned to
the guns at any hour of the day or night. In the
South the most desirable locations on the Chesa-
peake and on the bays of Virginia and North
Carolina are occupied by clubs. Conspicuous
among them are the Carroll’s Island, the Narrows
Island, and the Currituck clubs. In the days of
canvas-back on the Chesapeake the Carroll’s Island
Club was one of the most famous in existence,
Duck-shooting II
and the old records of ducks and ducking days
there would fill many an interesting volume. As-
sociated with these clubs is the Chesapeake Bay
dog, a breed in which the old Newfoundland was
marked. Few dogs possess the wisdom and
courage of these, and when well trained they are
unequalled as retrievers. Of a dirty sedge color,
the dog lies close to the blind, motionless, but
ever watchful. After the bird has dropped, he
waits the word and then is off. Few cripples
escape him. He follows a wing-broken duck
with a persistence in some instances wonderful,
judges the direction of the diving bird, and
gradually closes in on it. When two birds fall,
the wounded one is selected. Marsh grass can-
not conceal from his nose a crippled duck. He
knows the live decoys as well as you do. Even
a wounded swan stands small chance with him.
These are the traits a good dog possesses, but
a good Chesapeake dog is rare. With all the
facilities that can exist for the gunner, duck-
hunting in the eastern United States is getting
more and more to be an art. Wild ducks cer-
tainly seem to adapt themselves to circumstances.
They have measured the range of modern guns
and smokeless powder, yet their cunning certainly
adds to the satisfaction of getting them. In the
far West, where nearly all ducks exist in abun-
dance and shooting is easy, the character of the
12 The Water-fowl Family
sport changes. There is more satisfaction in
one Long Island black duck than a dozen Dakota
red-heads. But wherever seen there are few
more welcome sights to many sportsmen than a
flock of wild ducks.
FROM PASSES
This method represents, more than any other,
fairness and skill; it consists in waiting for the
birds along the line of flight, and can be practised
wherever the flocks take any particular course
over land. The lakes and sloughs of our Western
states offer the greatest facilities for pass shooting,
although in the East in various places along the
coast, where narrow bars or breakwaters lie be-
tween the feeding-grounds and resting-places, the
same means may be employed. When the birds
are obliged to cross these points in locations
where there is much gunning, the danger is
quickly appreciated, and they soar high up in
approaching, making the shots long ones. In
places along the New England coast this shoot-
ing can be obtained, the ducks flying from the
larger bodies of water into the smaller bays and
up the rivers to feed, passing out again in the
evening, or, in the case of certain varieties, com-
ing on to the marshes toward dusk to feed and
spend the night. Occasionally the ducks are
well out of reach of guns of ordinary bore and can
Duck-shooting 13
only be brought down with the heaviest charges.
Stormy, windy weather alters the flight, and at
this time they come low, within range.
In North Dakota pass shooting can even now
be enjoyed as in perhaps no other country, yet
here the devastation of the past few years is
noticeable, and the wild fowl are no longer seen
in the hordes of the past. It was near Sanborn,
North Dakota, a few years ago, that the writer
enjoyed a week’s shooting of this character.
There were four of us in the party, and our head-
quarters was a farm some forty miles from the
railroad. The hunting was done by driving over
the prairie to the various lakes in the vicinity,
where it was a simple matter, in a few hours’
morning shooting, to reach the Dakota limit of
twenty-five birds to a man. The first day’s
experience I shall always remember. The prairies
of North Dakota now are largely wheat-fields, the
stubbles of which, toward the end of summer,
are the feeding-ground of thousands of prairie-
chickens, so it was natural that the large road-
wagon contained, besides ourselves, two bird dogs.
We had spent the greater part of the day driving,
stopping once in a while to hunt for chickens,
with very fair success. Toward the end of the
afternoon a good-sized slough, a short distance
from the road, attracted our attention; the horses
were turned toward the top of a knoll, and we
14 The Water-fowl Family
looked down on a sizable marsh, its edges sur-
rounded largely by reeds and rushes. The sight
that greeted us is beyond my powers of de-
scription, and for a minute we all gazed spell-
bound. About the shores we could see a little
water, elsewhere none; the surface of that pond
was one black mass of ducks, hundreds and thou-
sands. Fortunately an old hand was along. As
we started to get ready, he checked us, “ Wait
until we see the pass.” Presently, successive
flocks leading into the lake from the opposite
side told their course. By this time we could
wait no longer. The team was driven into a little
hollow, and the man who “knew it all” was
responsible for the promise it would stand.
Then came the question of the dogs; “ Tie them
to the wheels and come along.” We followed the
shore, keeping just far enough back not to be
observed, stopping now and then to look at that
sight of ducks. Soon we were among the reeds
and high grass of the farther end and could see
the continuation of the slough in a little chain of
ponds beyond. There were more birds than I
believed could ever crowd into one place. We
separated a few feet, forming a line across the
most likely pass; there was no need of a blind;
the grass hid us well. During this time several
flocks had passed over within range, but not a
shot had been fired; we were all getting ready.
Duck-shooting 15
I took off my coat and put all of my possessions
in the line of cartridges on it. Pretty soon a flock
of shovellers swept overhead and called forth the
first shots. At the reports there was the mighti-
est splashing ever heard; the whole mass seemed
in motion; a few seconds and they were on us.
“Pick out the canvas and red-heads,” yelled the
mane who had “been there) before.’ “ Pick#out
nothing,” hollered his next-door neighbor, as he
fired both barrels into the air and loaded and
fired again. It certainly was bedlam let loose.
All I can remember about this particular moment
is, that everybody was shooting as fast as he could
load, and ducks were overhead all the time, con-
tinuous lines of them; the air was black; shovel-
lers, teal, mallard, gadwall, every other kind of a
duck that grows in Dakota, but somehow very
few stopped. How long this flight lasted it isn’t
necessary to say, but our guns were so hot we
could hardly hold them. In a short time there
were fewer birds; small flocks, separated by breath-
ing intervals, gave us an opportunity to get
collected and straightened out. We attended to
business better. A bunch of red-head, about the
last left, appeared just overhead. The first man cut
down his two, and the rest of us did up the flock.
We picked up six. Straggling flocks of teal and
shoveller, occasionally mallard, used up the last
cartridges, and we gathered up the spoils. On
16 The Water-fowl Family
a pass where the shooting is fast there is no time
to mark and pick up fallen birds at once, and as a
result many are lost.
During all this fusillade our vehicle with its
trusted pair had remained as still as any dead
duck; but for some reason our approach changed
their ideas, and to our utter consternation they
were actually walking off with two dogs tied to the
wheels, protesting. We ran, we yelled, we cursed,
did everything to frighten a team that didn’t need
any stimulation. They broke from a trot to a
dead run. Fortunately the dogs had broken loose.
My last glimpse of that outfit was a small black
spot on the horizon, going like “hell bent.” The
sequel to our first day’s duck-shooting in North
Dakota was one night in a haystack.
OVER DECOYS
No form of duck-shooting 1s so common as
that in which decoys are used. The habit our
wild fowl have of flocking together makes the
wooden images, even in places where gunning
is constant, irresistible. In our more popular
resorts, however, wild ducks are wary, perhaps
warier than ever, but there are few that do not
sooner or later yield to the attractions of a decoy.
Often, though, little defects in the decoys are
noticed and incoming birds appreciate the mis-
take in time to turn off; hence the greatest care
Duck-shooting 17
should be taken in the making and coloring of
the stool.
The best decoys are made of cork, carefully
weighted and painted, sometimes provided with
glass eyes, the paint on cork being less liable
to shine and gleam in certain lights than that
on wood, although for most practical purposes
wooden decoys suffice. Many of our clubs go
even farther than this and employ live decoys.
Live ducks used with the wooden stool are always
very efficient and allure the wildest birds. Ina
few Massachusetts clubs the use of live decoys
reaches its highest degree of proficiency. Here
live birds are actually let loose from coops, trained
to fly about the lake, and return to the stand, bring-
ing with them any wild relatives they happen to
encounter. At the first suspicion of anything do-
ing, a well-trained duck decoy lifts his voice and
quacks —the louder and more often, the better.
No wild fowl in the vicinity can resist. The wild
birds reply and are answered; they turn, circle,
and alight among their own. In Massachusetts
ducks are not only permitted to alight, but are
also persuaded to huddle up and get their heads
together, with the result that often not a single
begrudged bird escapes the fusillade, —a shooting
custom excused on the ground that ducks are
few and far between. On Long Island there are
a few stands of live decoys, and farther south
Cc
18 The Water-fowl Family
along the coast the more important clubs regu-
larly have their pen of geese and ducks. The
difficulty of carrying stool, in many places out
of reach of boats, suggested the practicability of
canvas decoys. These are blown up like foot-
balls and corked, their lightness and portability
being an advantage; but they are difficult to
weight down, and bob around considerably in
any wind, and if the sportsman is addicted to
the habit of shooting birds on the water, his
decoys are liable to sudden collapse. On the
marshes wire rods are sometimes used to support
the dead ducks, and these answer admirably as
decoys, the wire being slipped underneath the
skin of the neck. In cases of emergency, various
means are used to attract the birds; lumps of
sod or bunches of seaweed, in places not much
gunned, are often effectual. In certain localities
where there is sea-shooting, strings of bladders
are strung out from the boats. Flat decoys are
seldom satisfactory for ducks, as the flock, circling
around before it lights, detects the difference.
Considerable skill is required in setting out the
stool. They should be placed at just the right
distance from the blind; if on a marsh, in a pool
of water, for the reflection then makes them con-
spicuous from afar. It should always be remem-
bered that ducks come in to decoys best against
the wind, and the stand of stool should be so
Duck-shooting 19
located as regards the blind that birds about to
come need not be forced too close to the gunner,
when they inevitably sheer off, giving a poor shot,
but in such position that the decoying bird is at
the easiest possible angle to shoot. Next to de-
coys the blind is all-important. Having selected
the most favorable situation for it, the construc-
tion depends on circumstances. It should re-
semble closely the surroundings and be as small
and inconspicuous as possible. In exposed places
hay, grass, or seaweed are often available and
useful; in winter, cakes of ice. If the location
permits it, a pit can be dug and a box or barrel
sunk. Numerous portable blinds have been sug-
gested, of canvas or other material; but these
usually fail to give much satisfaction. Of the
various craft employed in duck-shooting, it is un-
necessary to go into detail here. The principle
of a duck boat depends upon whether it is to be
used in shallow water on marshes and flats or off-
shore, where deep water and sudden squalls make
a strong boat necessary. The craft for rivers and
marshes should be light and low, with a flat bot-
tom; these boats are generally decked over.
Points and the edges of marshy ponds are
favorite locations for decoying ducks, and _ this
method of shooting is in universal use along the
bays of the coast and throughout the interior.
The sounds off the shores of North Carolina
20 The Water-fowl Family
have always been, and are now, among the most
famous resorts for water-fowl in the eastern
United States. Most of the available marshes
here are owned or leased by clubs. The Nar-
rows Island Club, in Currituck Sound, happens
to be the one with which I am familiar. This
club-house is situated on one of the islands in
the bay, a short sail from the mainland. I recall
a few pleasant days spent here not long since. Our
arrival was late one Saturday afternoon. Sunday
is one of the three days of rest provided by law
for the wild fowl of North Carolina. In the morn-
ing from the lookout on the roof of the house we
scanned the bay with glasses. Wherever there
was water there were flocks of geese and ducks.
Hardly half a mile from the house a bank of white
caught the eye, and six swan floated peacefully on
the quiet water. In the pond a few feet from the
club were a flock of fifteen or twenty mallard;
until they rose it never occurred to me that they
were not decoys. With such impressions I looked
forward to the first ducking day with every antici-
pation. We drew first choice and took Brant
Pond; breakfast was served in the dark, and when
we reached the little sail-boat off the dock, a half-
moon was the only light. Our one boatman and
gunner stacks the decoys in the bow, and with
them a crate with three live ducks. He sets up
a small sail, and with the faint breeze of early
Duck-shooting 21
morning we drift down the channel into the bay.
In places the little craft passes close to the shore,
and every now and then the clamorous quacking
of ducks, startled by the boat’s dim outline, breaks
on the air. The decoys in the crate quack back;
presently a near-by honk tells of geese, and soon
we see the dark line just rising from the surface
of a pond close by, warned by the first streaks
of light that it is leaving time. Now the bay
broadens, and with a’fresher breeze the small boat
pegs along toward the island, the faint outline of
which appears in front. Whistling wings, high
overhead, are heard, and a flock of red-head in
wavy line pass to their feeding-grounds farther
south; soon another and several, keeping the
same course. These sights and others make us
yearn for Brant Pond; it is still a mile or more
away; the boat seems just creeping. The law
fixes the shooting hours as between sunrise and
sunset, and the sun is not yet up. As we reach
the marsh, a narrow channel into the grass lies
just ahead, and through this our craft is pushed.
It broadens into Brant Pond, and presently we
find ourselves on the inner shore, close to the
blind. A lone flock of black duck still linger
well out of reach across the pond, watch proceed-
ings a minute, and then leave. We carry our
guns and shells to a jutting point where a clump
of high grass marks the blind. A flat plank on
22 The Water-fowl Family
stakes serves as a seat, and we bring a box or two
from the boat for our cartridges.
The decoys are being set; twenty-five or thirty
wooden stool, mostly black duck and mallard with
a few red-head and a string or two of broadbill,
comprise our stand. They are arranged in two
separate bunches, out far enough from shore to be
conspicuous, and in such position that any bird
decoying will come well to our left. Lastly, the
live decoys are staked out. We have three, — two
drakes and a duck. The drakes are placed just
outside of the wooden stool; each is tied to a little
platform driven into the shallow water; the duck
is fastened near shore. By separating live decoys
in this way, they are generally more noisy. Sun-
rise marks the hour, we are close on time, the
expectations of the past few days have reached
their height, and some of the countless flocks we
have seen will soon be in evidence; but ducks are
uncertain always and hereabouts well educated.
The hunted points and ponds are better known
to every mallard than to the gunner; they know
his office hours, and are particular about dropping
in until late. We watch a small flock of ruddy
duck diving in front, the only inhabitants of the
pond. There is nothing else there, and nothing
else comes. We begin to experience change of
sentiment, anticipation is on the wane, not a
quack or a distant honk to raise hopes; even the
Duck-shooting 23
live decoys have given up getting excited. Stories
of when ducks were thick and a man did business
all day, any day, begin to get monotonous. It is
past noon, and the only result of the morning on
Brant Pond is an appetite. We are beginning
to discuss pulling up, but finally comes a break:
a sudden sharp quack from our tame duck starts
the other two live decoys. A single black duck
is heading for the blind, way up, but not too high
for a shot. He comes straight overhead and gets
two barrels, one in the neck; the next second he
smashes through the grass, our first bird. Soon
a flock of mallard appear in front; they answer
the decoys, circle once, then set their wings and
come. One lights, three more hover close, four
shots, two drop; the third sags off, hard hit. The
next arrivals are two pintail; the white breasts and
long necks mark them at a distance; they plunge
in to the stool, but spring high as we rise to shoot,
and both shots go underneath. For an hour a
little flight kept up, mostly mallard and black
duck. Three black duck drop in across the pond
and swim up to the decoys. These are the last.
The shot is a sunset gun. Fifteen ducks in all.
As we leave the marsh, whistling wings proclaim
beginning dusk. All overhead seems ducks ;
now and then quacks from the long grass mark
the resting-place of mallard. The night residents
of Brant Pond have come. My first day’s duck-
24 The Water-fowl Family
shooting at Currituck comes to me as I write
these lines. I have shot over many times the
first black duck of that afternoon, and probably as
often missed that pair of pintail.
IN THE WILD-RICE FIELDS
In a large part of our middle western country
are shallow marshy lakes, surrounded by vast
stretches of high grass and wild rice. These
are the natural resorts of wild fowl; here the
countless flocks, wearied by the tiresome jour-
ney from the north, gather with the first frosts
of fall, to rest and feed and fatten, now in most
of the old haunts a poor vestige of the past, but
still in vast numbers. Shooting in these places
is often without decoys and hence difficult, the
birds sweeping over the marsh with speed un-
equalled. In such resorts formerly many ducks
bred; at the present time the summer residents
are principally a few teal and shovellers, with an
occasional mallard. The great throng of breed-
ing ducks now pass farther on to more northern
sloughs. Early in September comes the first
shooting; the birds are mostly teal and the
young of the year, just able to jump from the
grass a few feet in front of a flat-bottomed skiff
pushed through the water. Many are killed at
this time, and hardly any bird ranks higher for
the table. Along the devious creeks that in
Duck-shooting 25
many places intersect the marshes, the pusher
shoves his craft, with the gunner seated in the
bow and ready. A swish of wings from the dry
rushes, and he finds himself startled by a flock of
blackbirds; a bittern flops from the grass, and
with a croak protests against intrusion. Nowa
bend is rounded, and close to the bank, a few feet
in front, sit half a dozen teal. Instantly they
jump, the first shot misses, the second, steadier,
breaks a wing, and the first bird of the season
drops, a cripple; the shots start half a dozen flocks,
and the skiff is quickly pushed into the grass.
In a moment four birds cut by, and as they sheer
off from the gun, string out ina line. The first
is well led, but at the report, the last closes up his
wings and falls with the splash of a dead bird.
A few more shots at passing birds, and you push
on. Soon with startled quacking a_ half-dozen
black ducks spring into the air, leaving one
behind, hard hit with the first, dropped dead with
the second shot; and so on through the early
morning. Occasionally the pusher calls in an
uncertain flock, but most of the successful shots
are at birds jumping in close range, for under
these circumstances the speed of flight is not
great. This method of duck-hunting belongs
only to the early fall, before the young birds have
learned wisdom from experience.
Later in the autumn these same resorts wel-
26 The Water-fowl Family
come the northern hordes. When October ripens
the wild grain, countless thousands gather in the
rice fields. On the larger marshes, any point on
the feeding-grounds affords a blind. Early morn-
ing and evening are the moving times. With the
first streaks of dawn you paddle along the reed-
grown shore. The feeding-grounds are marked
by the frequent clamor of resting birds. Now
the loud quacking of mallard is answered by a
flock overhead, and you see a faint line in the
dim light and hear the swish of wings. Soon
some ducks take wing, startled by the presence of
the boat, and the noise and clatter they make in
getting under way start hundreds. The air is
filled with reverberating wings; you can hardly
wait to reach the point where broken grass and
sedge afford sufficient cover for the skiff. On
each side is a considerable expanse of open water.
It is now light enough to shoot if the birds come
close, and hardly a minute before a dark line
appears, looking black and large, against the
yellow background of beginning day. They are
closer than you thought, and are out of range
almost before you break the silence of morning
with the first shot. Frightened ducks fill the air,.
circle, and lead in all directions. A bunch of
birds lighter than the others heads toward your
point; alert at the first motion in the grass as you
slowly raise the gun, they flare up into the air, all
Duck-shooting 27
in a huddle, and a well-placed shot stops two, —
all, for the last one takes the second barrel as he
sheers off wounded. They are sprigtail, the
wildest of the aggregation. There is no time to
waste; flock after flock move by, and for a time
you hardly dare push out for fallen birds. Over-
head, in front, and whistling wings behind cause
you to turn and try a hopeless shot as a flock
swings out of range. Mallard, black duck,
widgeon, all are there; occasionally a few red-
head, and some ducks of minor importance, but
the bag is chiefly mallard. With sunrise the
birds are on the wing and well scattered. As
they pass by neighboring points of marsh, boom-
ing guns tell the same story; there is no safe
place. The shots are few, and you make the most
of them. A single mallard, high up, but straight
overhead, is the last. The gun leads him a good
four feet, and you hear the shot strike, a second
before he doubles up and crashes through the
dry grass behind, a fall that makes up for many
a miss. Shooting under these circumstances is
always difficult, for the birds are at top speed and
all sorts of angles; yet the satisfaction of a clean
shot is doubly great.
SHOOTING FROM A BUSH BLIND
In some of the hunting resorts of the South
ducks are decoyed from bush blinds staked out
28 The Water-fowl Family
in the shallow water. These in many instances
are built on the feeding-grounds in the summer
and early fall, so as to allow the birds to become
accustomed to them. A bush blind consists of a
number of tree-tops driven into the mud, forming
a screen of sufficient height to conceal well the
skiff which is pushed in at the openend. A large
number of decoys are then placed in front. Sev-
eral years ago two of us spent a few days ducking
on the James River, near Westover. Our host
had placed at our disposal everything, from his
house to decoys. We were in charge of a darky
who knew all the wiles of Virginia ducks; his
name was Wat Green, and no man, black or white,
could equal Wat in the duck business. It was
early Christmas morning when we were called to
leave the comforts of bed for the cold outside. A
cup of coffee anda roll served asa starter. Ilook
back on that cup of coffee as the one thing that
carried me through one of the most uncomfortably
cold days I ever faced. Wat opened the front
door and latched it without a creak; we passed
out into the cold morning. It was blowing a gale
and snowing, the first snow of the season; the day
before had been mild as summer; the contrast
wasn't warming. It was only a few steps to the
landing where there was a large boat well filled with
decoys, and a skiff which we towed along. Wat
rowed, and we envied him. The cold that swept
Duck-shooting 29
the river with every blast of wind went to the
bones. “ We'll see canvas to-day shuah,” but even
the thought of canvas-back didn’t warm up much.
It seemed a long while before we reached the bay
on the other side; this was covered with sheet ice.
By some misfortune a single duck about now
passed within shot of the boat, and bya still greater
misfortune he was winged; for in attempting to
finish him, between the duck and my companion
and Wat, I was landed feet first in about four feet
of water —a trifle high for boots. I can feel myself
shiver as I recall it. There was no going back;
the only thing to do was to go ashore and build a
fire. Meanwhile Wat set the decoys in front of
a bush blind near shore. Before he had finished, a
flock of broadbill dropped in; this was the signal
for getting started, and we soon found ourselves in
the blind, bobbing around in a leaky skiff, left to the
mercy ofa northeast wind anda snow-storm. Wat
went back to the fire and incidentally put out two
or three decoys offshore. It was a day for ducks
if not for anything else. We. were scarcely fixed
when over the wooded point in front a black line
appeared; ina few seconds it turned into a flock of
broadbill, and circling around the cove headed for
the stool. There were twenty or more; they all
came in and all went out, though somebody fired
both barrels. Another flock came into sight from
the same direction and presently were hovering
30 The Water-fowl Family
over the decoys. We both fired, and not a bird
stopped. How many times this happened I do not
know. My one recollection of this day was a
continual flight of ducks. It was simply impos-
sible to shoot. Choppy water and a leaky boat
kept one of us busy continually. We took turns
holding the skiff still while the other man fired.
We tried holding on to the stake with one hand
and shooting with the other. It was hopeless; the
sleet and snow were blinding as we faced the
wind. Wet cartridges stuck and the guns would
hardly open and shut; but ducks there were, a
steady stream, small strings leading over the point,
coming with the wind, swooping by the decoys and
dropping among the stool. The birds were mostly
broadbill, occasionally black duck. From out a
flock of mallard a single green-head circled in,
and hovered, close in front, the first we had seen.
“ That mallard’s mine,” and gathering together the
little strength left, I let him have both barrels to
find I’d lied, — he didn’t even leave a feather. As
I remember, the next bird was a black duck. He
didn’t come in, but just manceuvred around about
a gunshot and a half off. By one of the most
unholy shots I ever saw, my cold partner in the
other end of the skiff let him down; he fell witha
broken wing. Wat finished him. There was no
cessation in the shooting; we had probably in our
aD?
crippled condition shot away fifty shells apiece,
Duck-shooting 31
and I believe could easily have tripled the number
under ordinary circumstances. But soon camean
incident which marked a bitter day with a bright
line, and I see that flock of ducks as I write.
There were six, and, as out of the storm they came,
straight for the blind, the brick-colored head of
the leader and his white back marked their na-
tionality. They were canvas-back, and what’s
more, our first. The flock turned out of range
of the stool, but the old drake didn’t, he just
plunged ahead and came right over us about
forty feet up. I remember gripping the stake
in front with one hand and just shooting straight
up in the air; a mighty big splash told some-
thing had happened. I turned around and saw
him, a little way off and right side up, but shot
through the head. This was the finish; we
could stick it out no longer. Wat picked up
the stool; he had killed six ducks from the shore.
The total bag was eight; our clothes were stiff
with ice. Then comes the remembrance of lying
on the floor in front of the blazing fire of pine
knots in William Knox’s house. A knock on the
door, it was Wat. “ Have some hot whiskey, sah? ”
I often think, in looking back on some ducking
days, that much of the real fascination lies in the
comfort and warmth that sooner or later relieve
the misery of wet and cold.
32 The Waterfowl Family
BATTERY SHOOTING
Battery shooting is practised more or less all
along the coast and occasionally inland. The
battery, when well built and equipped, is the
deadliest of all the different methods of decoy
shooting. In fact, the destruction of ducks by
this method has been legislated against in many
of the resorts for wild fowl, in others limited to
a certain number of days, and some states permit
only residents this privilege; but the same provi-
dent states allow any one to become a native for
five dollars — this is truein North Carolina. The
battery is a coffin-like box so shaped that it con-
ceals one or two men when lying at full length;
it is provided with head and tail pieces of canvas
to break the force of the waves, and weighted
down so the sides are just above the level of the
water. From this description it can readily be
seen that moderately calm weather is essential
for successful shooting. Painted lead color and
carefully concealed by a hundred or more decoys,
few ducks, however wild, will distinguish the
counterfeit if their line of flight is near by. A
good-sized boat known as the tender is required
to carry a battery and the necessary stool. This
lies off at a sufficient distance from the gunner
to pick up his birds, and otherwise attend to him
should emergency arise.
Duck-shooting 33
Long Island has always been a resort for
battery shooting, more especially toward the east-
ern end of Great South Bay. It was here, several
years ago, a party of us enjoyed a good day’s
shooting. We reached Bellport late in the after-
noon, and went aboard a small sloop. There was
a fair wind, and presently we found ourselves
drifting at a rapid rate toward the outer beach.
The change from city life to Great South Bay was
a pleasing one, and as the chill of an October even-
ing began to be marked on the water by the last
glittering of sunset, we drew on our coats and
jerseys. The bay was hardly ruffled by the faint
breeze, yet the way oyster stakes disappeared be-
hind indicated that a tide was running with us.
As the dark line of ocean beach looms up, on all
sides jutting points of sedge and grass, with out-
lying marshy islands, bring up thoughts of ducks.
The keel grates and we anchor. A small boat
is ready, and an old man pushes us ashore. It
is only a step to the little weather-beaten shanty
almost hidden among the dunes, in which a
single room contains around its walls a tier of
bunks. In one end a fireplace, blazing with dry
driftwood, lights everything about. A big bowl
on the table steams with oyster broth, and Uncle
Dan can’t ladle it out fast enough. Then some
clam fritters and one cup of coffee all around.
I think, with all the excitement and expectation
D
34 The Water-fowl Family
for the morning, there wasn’t one of us who
wouldn’t have had that evening go on forever;
but at nine o’clock Uncle Dan quit telling stories,
and reached up on a shelf for an alarm clock,
which he wound and set at three. We pushed
our bench back and unlatched the door. It was
a bright moonlight night, and the sound of
pounding surf attracted us; we stood for a few
minutes on the beach, looking out on the white
streaks of ocean, when Uncle Dan’s voice broke
the spell, “ Get to bed, boys.” To turn in under
these circumstances was an insult to the night,
but Dan Petty was boss down Bellport way, and
we turned in; no one of us slept, not a wink.
We counted seconds, prayed for the alarm to
ring, and meanwhile listened to the noises of the
night. There was the sublime roar of the sea
and Uncle Dan; when they came together, Uncle
Dan drowned out the sea. He snored fast and
slow, then tunes, and just honked on until three
AM. The relief of that alarm! Before it finished
ringing, we were all moving around. “Don't
wake up, boys; you’ve got one hour’s more sleep.”
The longest hour yet, and then a breakfast of
clam fritters and pancakes. It is a good while
still before daylight when we start, a mist hangs
over all around, and just a light breeze from the
east predicts a good battery day. The sail is
being hauled and the anchor weighed; a minute
Duck-shooting 35
more and the sloop disappears, leaving me with
Uncle Dan. “We'll take the single box and go
to Hospital.”
Hospital Point lay to the east a mile, and we
started for it in a good-sized punty, towing a single
battery behind. It was slow going, but in time
we were there. The only scenery so far was mist.
We anchored the battery about two hundred
yards off the point, on a shallow bar. It is
weighted down close to the level of the water by
heavy iron decoys; then we set the stool, a few
behind, but the large body in front; and when the
last decoy is thrown out, standing a gunshot off,
it is hardly possible to realize we aren’t in front
of a big raft of ducks. “Get in; you won’t wait
long; I'll pick up the birds from the point beyond ;
keep in the box and keep down,” and old Dan
pushed himself out of sight. Left alone by my
tender, I stretched out, and soon came to the con-
clusion there are few things harder than a hard-
wood floor, not a cushion or pillow or anything else,
and finally I wrapped my coat around a decoy;
this serves as a prop and helps a bit. It is still
foggy, but a light breeze is rolling up the banks
of mist, and except for this, it is light enough
to shoot. Now the first birds of the morning
come in sight, a great mass far out over the bay.
Flying in undulating line, they appear high over
the water, and the next minute are out of sight
36 The Water-fowl Family
ina fog bank. A number of little strings follow.
This keeps up a few minutes, when a splash in
front causes me to turn —a single old squaw sits
among the stool, embarrassed and confused; I
have no use for old squaws, and finally it paddles
out, leaving with a grunt of disgust. Broadbill
are leading now just outside, and soon a flock
of four swerve off and head for the decoys. In
the light of sunrise they look black and big, —
right at the edge of the stool, on wings set, they
slope in, an easy mark; and as the smoke clears
only two depart. The reports resounding over
the bay start a multitude of ducks; rising high,
they break up into countless numbers of little
bunches, always a promising sign. Presently
eight come in and leave three — two as the flock
swings in line, the third before they recover. A
pair and then four more; broadbill seem every-
where, and come in thick and fast, so far all from
the right direction, straight in front. A booming
far to the east, four guns often at once, marks the
position of the double battery, and a cloud of
ducks in sight over the horizon in the same direc-
tion indicates the others are busy. The pleasant
feature of my position is that the water is so
shallow that I can pick up my own birds, and
soon the limited quarters of the box are filled.
With the exception of a single red-head, they are
all broadbill. A large flock in front and I hurry
Duck-shooting 37
back; in a minute they are all over me; as I sit
up ducks rise on all sides, and in the confusion
depart without a shot. A pair of black duck
come by the point toward the stool, a rare chance,
and I move too soon; the birds were farther off
than they seemed; but one, hard hit, turns off to
the farther point, and I trust him to Dan. The
steady flight has now decreased; yet every little
while ducks hail the stool in twos and threes, and
there is plenty doing. A long, black line far out
on the water marks a bed of birds, and toward
this the smaller bodies lead; before noon they
are all assembled and the morning shooting
ceases. I see Dan Petty shoving along the marsh.
fe whas; half} a)dozen; birds-on -the deck of the
punty, and the grand total is two dozen broad-
bill, a red-head, and a black duck. Half an hour
later we all get together aboard the sloop for
lunch. This particular day’s shooting was one
of my pleasantest experiences in the battery.
The number of birds killed was small, but they
came in well, and few shots were missed.
In battery shooting, birds coming in from
behind and on the right are very liable to
escape a right-handed gunner, and if possible
they should be decoyed from in front and to
the left. Great South Bay is still famous for
battery shooting; and, though cruelly shot, big
bags are now made, but the Long Island sports-
38 The Water-fowl Family
man has long since been obliged to get along
without the services of Dan Petty.
BRANT-SHOOTING
Brant are exclusively a coast bird, and never
occur inland; they frequent the larger bays and
sounds along the coast, but have favorite stopping-
places on their flight to and fro from the breed-
ing-grounds in the remotest corners of the north.
Their spring flight differs somewhat from the
fall— wintering in the brackish sounds of Vir-
ginia and North Carolina, when the first warm
winds of March warn them of approaching spring,
the immense hordes assembled here become rest-
less, small bands separate, and striking out to sea
begin their weary flight. From Virginia many
pass direct to Cape Cod; some collect for a short
time in the bays of New Jersey and Long Island.
Early in March the few brant that have win-
tered on Cape Cod begin to be augmented by
relays from the south; these come thick and
fast, so that by the middle of the month Chatham
Bay sees them in thousands; their arrival has
been prepared for; all of the farther bars have
been fortified. In every favorite spot along their
course sink boxes have been placed. Wherever
a sand bar is exposed at high water it conceals a
box. These are large enough to hold three men,
and are supposed to be water-tight, but generally
Duck-shooting 39
require frequent bailing. Every care is taken of
the sink box; at low tide wheelbarrows of sand
and gravel are dumped around its edges to fill
in the spaces washed away; sacks of sand are
often stacked around it to serve as a solid
foundation; gradually in this way a bar is formed
which slopes up to the level of the box. This is
surrounded by a large number of stool, a hun-
dred or more, to which are added a few live birds,
tied out in conspicuous places and generally con-
nected by a string with the blind, so if circum-
stances require they can be forced to perform.
At Cape Cod now large numbers of stool are
very important, and live birds are absolutely
essential.
As to the brant, constant persecution has made
them, of all birds, wary, as wise perhaps as geese.
They avoid the bars and blinds in spite of all in-
ducements, and keeping together in vast throngs
lay their course over open water. Many feed on
the flats, dipping their necks down in the shallow
water, but never diving; and hence their feeding
depth is marked by their length. With the rising
tide the birds are drifted from the flats and gradu-
ally float toward the shore, all in one vast aggre-
gation. This is a critical time. The three men
in the sink box lie low. Slowly and surely ap-
proach the mass of birds; the water is black with
them. Constant discordant notes from the assem-
40 The Water-fowl Family
bly, honks of satisfaction, honks of suspicion, yet
not a bird leaves. The closer they ger tomthe
sand bar where a sizable flock rests uncon-
cerned, and a few live decoys every now and
then flap their wings, the more suspicious they
become. A few separate from the main throng
and swim toward the decoys. With the utmost
manceuyring and good luck, this flock of six is
brought within range. The three gunners who
have been twisted up in bow-knots for an hour
get untied and let go. Brant have the habit,
possessed by some other birds, of getting close
together when they are startled, and the first two
shots, if well placed, have probably attended to
half the flock, and it is fair to presume the other
half don’t stand much chance with two whole
guns left. With the reports there is such a
splashing and commotion that Chatham Bay
hasn't seen since the last high tide, and several
acres of brant start out for safer quarters. This
is the end for the present tide, and nowadays
considerably more than the average end. On
some few occasions, however, conditions favor
the sportsman. Wind and heavy weather inter-
fere with the regular brant programme. The
birds, at the first indication of rising tide, become
uneasy and restless; small numbers separate and
little strings of four to ten lead up the bay. This
is a day of days—they come to the blind, the
Duck-shooting AI
wavy line circles in over the decoys, hovers, and
lights. Very few of the smaller flocks depart,
three out of four, three straight, three out of five
— it doesn’t take long to run up a score. For a
short time the flight is thick and fast, the birds
pile in, but with high water comes a let-up.
There are instances of sixty birds being killed
in this way from a single box at one tide; but the
average at the branting shanties, during the
season now, is probably nearer nothing than six.
BRANT-SHOOTING IN VIRGINIA
Along the Virginia coast, reaching south to
South Carolina, are a series of shallow bays, sepa-
rated from the ocean by a narrow strip of land,
their shores lined with marshes and marshy
islands. Here is the winter home of the brant.
The first flocks arrive early in November, and by
December the large body has accumulated on the
first resting-place since leaving the Arctic shores.
At first the birds keep pretty much to the open
channel and deeper portions of the bay; remain-
ing in huge masses, they move to and fro from
the feeding-grounds as the tide affords oppor-
tunity. These flats are covered in many places
by patches of thin eel-grass, and this is their food.
As the brant does not dive, it is evident low
water is essential for its feeding. Long before
the arrival, their coming has been anticipated.
42 The Waterfowl Family
About all the favorite bars and flats brush blinds
have been built. These are composed of green
cedar tops staked out early in the fall, forming
a sufficient cover for a good-sized flat-bottom boat.
At high water many of the blinds are entirely
submerged, while when the tide is out they are
exposed for a distance of four or five feet. With
early winter come the first opportunities for gun-
ning. For weeks the birds have been watched
for the right chance, and now it is at hand. The
weather for the past few days has been threaten-
ing, stormy, and rough. Finally a brisk breeze
from the east promises the first good day. A flat-
bottomed sloop lies anchored off one of the flats.
Tied to her stern are two small dinks, stacked
high with stool. For a week brant have been
leading up the bay to this particular shoal, spend-
ing the time of low water on the bars, then
moving out in vast rafts to the channel. Persist-
ing wind, however, has broken up the masses of
birds, and indications for the morning could
hardly be improved. In the evening a party of
gunners gather around the little stove, which
barely warms the cabin. It is cold, and outside
the wind howls, while every now and then comes
a wild sound, a sound that stirs the heart of him
who has heard it before. At times a perfect din,
it seems close to the boat, but in reality is a mile
or more away. Brant are gathered on the bar.
Duck-shooting 43
There is little sleeping; every man waits for the
morning call. With the first light the disturbers
of the night are seen, a long black line of bedded
birds, quietly drifting bayward with the falling
tide. Now the top of a blind, barely showing
over the water, seems in their midst. It will be
two hours yet before the blinds will be sufficiently
exposed to hide the dinks, and there is plenty of
time for breakfast. The brush tops grow bigger
slowly, but finally the two small boats leave the
sloop. They are broad and low, with bows decked
over. Each carries about forty stool. A short
pull over the flats, and every now and then a flock
of small ducks leave the water, and an occasional
belated black duck quacks a protest as he wings
his way from the marsh. A far-off mass of broad-
bill rises high in the air, marks the horizon with
a wavy line, then settles down with a roar of wings
that is heard two miles away. No brant are in
sight. The blind in front is reached first, and the
stool are set. The task isacold one. There is
little mercy in the weather. But finally they are
all strung out in a line to the left, so that birds
stooling will come in against the wind in the best
position. The dink is shoved into the blind. It
fits exactly. The tops barely cover the deck. A
crosspiece of brush hides the stern. The tide is
still high, and it will be two hours yet before the
bar is near the surface. The wind comes fresher,
44 The Water-fowl Family
with now and then a flurry of snow, which is
somewhat uncomfortable but welcome. No better
day was ever made for brant. There is perhaps
half an hour of shivering expectation, but a cer-
tainty about it which is more or less warming.
Finally a black line appears far out in the bay.
It grows bigger, and there is no mistaking it.
Now the voxk-r-r-r-ronk is heard. The gunner
in the stern calls back, and the birds lead toward
the decoys with excited cries. The wind keeps
them close to the water, and as they rise it beats
them back. There must be fifty in the bunch,
and they are near the stool. Now on set wings
they sail almost within range, but turn away just
as the shot seems sure. They circle back of the
blind; again set their wings and head for the
stool; but, suspicious, sheer off and lead toward
the farther shore. A second bunch appears from
the same direction, taking the same course as the
first. They circle about the decoys, and finally,
about to turn, an impatient shot rings out, and
a bird sags away from the flock, hard hit, to fall
dead a hundred yards away. Soon line after line
comes into sight from out over the bay, almost in
military array. The blind now conceals the boat
well, and the birds do not show quite the same
hesitation about coming in. Presently twenty or
more brant gracefully circle the decoys, and then
sail up to within twenty yards of the guns. They
Duck-shooting 45
look black and big. Startled they rise together,
their white breasts showing as they turn. Four
quick shots; six fall. It is necessary to retrieve
them at once if at all, and the boat pushes out.
It takes fifteen minutes to round up the last, and
half a dozen chances have been lost; but the air
is still full of birds, and a flock comes in as soon
as the cover is reached. A little to the right, and
a hard shot, but one splashes and a second leaves
the others. Four separate from a bunch and
hover. All are killed. The boat is pushed out
and back again, and only the birds dead close to
the blind are picked up. Brant seem everywhere:
leading in over the decoys, and at the shots turn-
ing back toward the bay, heading up in the direc-
tion of the bar, showing first black, then white, as
the backs or breasts come into view; keeping up
all the time an incessant noise. Shooting has
been fast, and the dink has pushed out a dozen
times or more for dead birds. A huge mass
heave in sight — hundreds; there is just time to
ambush the boat. On they come, straight for
the stool; the air is black with them, overhead
and on all sides. Both guns are emptied, and it
rains brant. Nine dead, and several wounded
mark the wake. The flight for a time is con-
tinual. The minutes out of the blind seem ages,
but a falling tide saves further destruction, and
the strings of birds no longer hail. They have
46 The Water-fowl Family
bedded far out in the bay, where they will rest in
peace until the next combination of an east wind
with an ebb tide. Now low water leaves some of
the stool almost dry on the bar; it is possible to
wade out and pick them up. As the dink is
headed for home, the bow is piled high with
brant, some forty odd.
DUCK-SHOOTING AT LONG POINT
Among the most famous places for wild ducks
at the present time are the marshes on the north
shore of Lake Erie, owned by the Long Point
Company. Long Point consists of a peninsula
some twenty miles in length and from four to six
miles wide, making a shallow bay along the lake.
This narrow strip is almost a continuous marsh,
broken up everywhere by ponds, its edges bor-
dered in places with woods. Through the summer
the marsh is the breeding-ground of many black
duck and teal. Mallards and shovellers nest there
more sparingly. It is a satisfactory fact that since
spring shooting has been abolished the number of
ducks here has increased surprisingly through the
summer. Early in the fall, blue-winged teal and
black duck are most in evidence; but there are
also wood-duck in some quantity, although here,
as elsewhere, the wood-duck has disappeared
markedly in the past few years. With the first
cold days of October, the summer residents begin
Duck-shooting 47
to be augmented by the relays from the north, and
by the last of the month the shooting is in its
prime. A few hours from Buffalo lands the fortu-
nate member of this club on a dock in a small
Canadian town, where a steamer is in readiness to
transport him to the club on the other side. It is
perhaps eight miles across, and almost from the
moment of leaving the sights on all sides make
him yearn for what is to come. Flocks of red-
head and canvas-back rise from the water; a raft
of broadbill leave their resting-place in the bay, to
pass out of sight in undulating line. Every now
and then widgeon are in evidence, soaring high as
they take flight. Ducks on all sides make way
for the craft, and the distant booming of guns
away off on the marsh tells what is going on be-
yond. The little mark on the low line of land,
which at first appeared a mere dot in the distance,
has taken on proportions, and after a sail of an
hour and a half a collection of low buildings ap-
pears in front of the steamer. In a few minutes
more she ties to the dock, and bags, baggage, and
sportsmen are unloaded. It is too late in the after-
noon to shoot, but there is much in the way of
preparation. A warden shows the individual his
cottage, and ushers him into a room warmed by a
blazing fire. Everything is in readiness. Before
the trunk comes a “punter” is on hand to help in
straightening things out. He unpacks the guns
48 The Waterfowl Family
and, after an extra greasing, puts them in the rack,
unlocks the cartridge room, and fills the “kit”
with some three hundred shells. The lucky
sportsman who is to dwell in this spot for two
weeks gets out of travelling clothes and proceeds
to ask all manner of questions, which only serve
to make him more restless and uneasy than he was
before. He walks out. A wooden walk, built high
on spiles, leads to the administration building. On
the marsh side of this platform are some dozen or
more cottages, all of them built out of the reach of
high water. In front of each is a boat-house, with
its duck-house on the side. One or two of these
well filled bear evidence of good shooting. About
the dock some hell-divers dip up and down. A
gunshot off in the creek, a flock of broadbill feed
undisturbed. The very atmosphere suggests
ducks. A winding stair leads to a lookout on
the top of the administration house. From here
a view is had of portions of the neighboring marsh.
A large body of water in front is the Island Pond.
Even to the naked eye flocks of duck are apparent
on the water. With glasses it seems to be all
dotted over, though most of the ducks turn out to
be mud-hens. Against the farther edge is a line
of birds easily made out; their light backs mark
them as canvas-back, and in the light of sunset
they shine. With the last rays of day the new
arrival to this duck paradise looks out on the
Duck-shooting 49
marshes and ponds, and keeps looking. There
is nothing now until dinner. At seven the bell
rings, and he finds himself face to face with a
venison steak and a roasted black duck. A white
pintail and a white muskrat are among the inter-
esting adornments on the wall of the dining room.
Two pair of deer antlers, locked as they fell, hang
in the hall. Records of duck-shooting in muzzle-
loader times are on file, and, strange to say, many
of the recent ones are better.
With the morning comes a clear, cold day and
a northwest wind. Club rules prohibit the dis-
turbing of the marsh before 9 a.m., so there is
plenty of time, Occasional flocks of black duck
and teal rise up from the ponds in sight of the
house, and settle down again just beyond. The
punter is getting ready. He picks out some thirty
or more decoys, mostly black duck and mallard,
throws an armful of dry grass in the boat, brings
the guns and ammunition, and lastly the lunch
pail. The craft is a light round-bottomed boat;
and after the gunner has made himself comfortable
in the bow, with a push it glides off. Down the
creek a half mile, and the punt is turned through
a little cut into the marsh. A number of mud-
hens have been disturbed, and occasionally black
duck have jumped from the sedge in range, but
no shot is allowed en route. The narrow ditch
broadens into a pond, and hundreds of ducks rise
E
50 The Water-fowl Family
as the boat appears. Stakes on the other side
mark the course, and through a continuation of
ditches and creeks the punter shoves. Ducks are
everywhere, — jumping before the boat, circling
about the marsh, starting up other flocks, then
dropping down, loath to leave their resting-places.
Now the creek leads into a larger pond, its surface
marked with patches of marsh grass and wild rice.
A roar of wings, and a perfect multitude of ducks
take flight, joined, as they leave the water, by
smaller flocks. This is Pearson’s Pond. At its
farther edge a small strip of sedge is surrounded
by quite an area of open water, which, with a
northwest wind, makes a lee. Here the punter
sets his decoys, then shoves back into the grass.
There is no need of a blind. A few quill reeds
cut and stuck in front of the bow make a complete
cover. Before everything is ready comes the first
shot. Four black duck, high up, answer the call,
and dropping into range circle in against the wind
with wings set, then jump high in the air as the
mistake is realized. One drops, the next barrel
misses. The morning stillness has been broken.
At the report thousands of ducks rise from the
ponds and marshes. A gun sounds off to the
east, and others toward the club, but there is suffi-
cient to attend to on Pearson’s Pond. A flock of
six, In which a green head marks a mallard, are
hovering over the stool. The mallard anda black
RED-HEADS AND CANVAS-BACK
Duck-shooting 51
duck part company with the rest, and before the
gun is loaded is a chance at a single duck. A
dozen more are almost in range. Two cut in, and
one stays. The flight for a few minutes is steady ;
then the birds seem to have risen higher, and do
not decoy as well. Guns on all sides in the marsh
keep them moving. A flock of something differ-
ent now flashes by, and a dozen hooded mergansers
dart over the decoys. A pair of green-winged teal
light; and as they stop, a double folds them up.
Every few minutes black duck, in twos and threes,
sometimes a small flock, call forth shots. This
shooting lasts until noon, and then comes a brief
respite. There is an opportunity to look about.
Some hundred yards off are the dead birds, drifted
against the edge of the marsh. There are forty
odd, and a number of cripples have crawled off;
not once has the boat been pushed out. Lunch
seems in order, but it is cut short by another little
flight. Three or four more teal are bagged. A
shadow over the decoys, and an eagle swoops, de-
ceived by the wooden ducks. A scream tells his
fright, and he lifts himself up out of reach. With
afternoon comes more shooting, black duck mostly,
and some teal. One of the last chances isa single
black duck high up, and going with the wind; but
it smashes through the quills at the shot.. Sunset
is near at hand, and Pearson’s Pond is about an
hourfrom home. The punter takes up. Between
52 The Water-fowl Family
stool and ducks, quarters in the punt are crowded.
The gunner realizes, in addition to the delights of
that day, a lame shoulder and an appetite. Sixty-
seven birds, among them twenty-six brace of black
duck, are hung in the duck-house.
In the past season red-head have figured largely
in the bags made at Long Point, but the marsh
ducks generally predominate, and black ducks
head the list. In one of the larger ponds canvas-
back are occasional visitors.
CANVAS-BACK SHOOTING IN ONTARIO
In the past few years, in certain parts of the
Great Lake region, canvas-back have appeared in
considerable numbers, and it is an interesting fact
that a marked increase of these ducks was noted
in some localities at a time coincident with their
disappearance from the Chesapeake. In some of
the shallow bays of Lake Erie wild celery is
found, and it is here the birds are most abundant.
The first flocks of canvas-back appear early in
October, and keep pretty much to the open water,
spending most of their time in resting and feed-
ing, occasionally moving in large bodies. By the
end of the month all the flocks have congregated,
and the canvas-back season is at its height. Bat-
tery shooting is not legal here, and the gunning
is done almost entirely from skags. A skag isa
low duck-boat, strongly built, decked over in such
Duck-shooting 5)
a way that it is well fitted for the rough water
and sudden squalls that are common in these re-
gions. Painted water color, the craft is incon-
spicuous, and a slight ripple makes it still more
so. Itis used in two ways, either anchored within
range of the decoys or some two hundred yards
off, to be drifted on to the stool when opportunity
offers. Early in the season the ducks do not ob-
ject to the presence of the skag in the decoys,
and this is generally the first method of shooting.
But canvas-back quickly become wild and soon
shy the boat, even when well surrounded with
stool. Drifting on to the birds, when done as it
always is by one man, requires no little skill.
The skag is anchored some distance to the wind-
ward of the decoys, and a buoy fastened to the
anchor line. The gunner, provided with a short
paddle, lies full-length in the boat. The stools
are so set that there is a small area of open water
in their midst, and a hundred or more are thrown
out. Both canvas-back and red-head have the
habit of swimming together after stooling, and it
is the theory of gunners, that if open water is left
in the centre of the mass of decoys the ducks will
swim into this instead of away from the stool.
The birds of necessity are allowed to light; then
the gunner without raising himself detaches the
buoy, tips the skag gently by leaning to one side,
and thus makes a more effectual cover. The
54 The Water-fowl Family
craft is now gently paddled by one hand within
range. A little breeze facilitates greatly the shoot-
ing, as it conceals more efficiently the boat, and
forces the birds to rise toward the gun. The
gunner is tended by a large boat, which lies off
to the lee, ready to render quick assistance in
case of emergency, and to help in picking up
dead birds.
This shooting is local, and used principally by
market gunners; but in a few instances where
sportsmen have attempted it, they have been sur-
prisingly successful. In the bay on Lake Ene,
where skagging first came under the writer’s
observation, there were two market gunners who
were specially skilful, and the account given below
is almost word for word the one given him by a
gunner who has the reputation of being the best
shot on the north shore. The total day’s bag of
one hundred and twenty-four canvas-back duck
was made beyond the slightest doubt. “It was
late last October. I had been out in a skag for a
week or more, with poor luck. Birds were plenty,
but there had been no wind, and the flocks were
not broken up. Finally, a two days’ easterly blow
set in, and we tried them from the west end of
the bay, about a mile offshore. Birds had been
leading to the west the day before. It was about
sunrise when all the stool were set. I took the
skag and anchored off to the windward of the
Duck-shooting 55
decoys a couple of hundred yards. My brother
tended the sloop. There was some little sea, and
a breeze from the west. We put up a big bed of
canvas-back near the spot, but it was an hour or
so before any came in. Then a steady flight kept
up all day, in small flocks of from six to ten. A
flock of six was the first to come into the stool.
They dropped in, and didn’t seem to want to rise.
I worked up within forty feet of the bunch, killed
three on the water and the rest in straight shots,
with a pump gun. I picked them up and got a
shot at two before I went to my anchor, dropping
one. The birds came in like this all the morning,
and I didn’t go down on the decoys once and get
less than three. Most of them gave me a shot
on the water. The best scoop I made was on a
flock of fifteen: only one got off; eight on the
water, three as they rose, three more circled
and came back after I reloaded. It was blowing
harder all the time, and decoys began to drift.
About four o'clock the sloop came, and we
‘took up.’
“There were fifty birds on board and seventy
odd in the skag, all canvas-back. I didn’t shoot
broadbill, and there were no red-head flying.
That was the best day last fall, and the best
score I ever made.”
CHAPTER TI
DUCK-SHOOTING (CONTINUED)
RIVER SHOOTING
In many parts of the United States it is pos-
sible to get good duck-shooting on the rivers.
This is the case in various parts of the West, and
especially the South, where sluggish streams wind
through brush and brake. For this manner of
ducking, a low flat-bottomed boat is essential, and
should be made as inconspicuous as possible by
means of sedge and grass piled in the bow. If
managed by a single gunner, he must be an ex-
pert sculler. Usually one man paddles another,
keeping the craft close to the shore, noiselessly
rounding a bend within easy range of the adjacent
bank. With loud quacking, the startled birds
spring into the air from a wooded pool, and a
flock of mallard offers an easy mark. An old
green-head falls at the first shot, and his compan-
ions, soaring high, wend their way down-stream.
Every little while, from the sloughs alongshore,
where grass and thick weeds afford cover and a
feeding-place, ducks jump within range. They
are mostly mallard, though wood-duck and teal are
56
Duck-shooting 57
not wanting. Birds, under these circumstances,
are frequently surprised by rounding quick turns
in the river; the shooting generally is easy. Some-
times the size of the stream is such that the gun-
ner can walk through the cover lining the sides
and shoot as the ducks rise. In the spring of
the year vast tracts of woodland along the larger
rivers of the West are flooded, and immense num-
bers of mallard, and to a less extent the other
varieties of ducks, frequent the inundated woods.
Under these circumstances a few decoys help out
the shooting.
In northern Mexico, last year, I enjoyed a
novel day’s duck-shooting. We started on horse-
back, in the early morning, from Laguna, with a
Mexican boy to care for the horses. Here the
country is one vast arid plain, a continuation of
the desert plateau of Arizona and New Mexico.
For nine months of the year rain is unknown,
and in the spring the only water is found in the
shallow mesa lakes, or, rarely, in arroyos, which
are river beds cut deep in the soil by the heavy
rains of the summer, and at this time well filled
with water. At the cessation of the rainy season
these rivers quickly run dry, leaving a deep
channel. In the few places where water remains
in these arroyos, it is resorted to by hundreds of
ducks. The river near Laguna, in the spring of
the year, is a mere ditch, in places almost dry,
58 The Waterfowl Family
yet ducks were in plenty. Occasionally a stagnant
pool broadened out the banks; these were per-
haps twenty feet high, so steep and narrow it was
possible to walk a few feet from the edge without
even seeing the water below. We rode along the
plain, yellow with dry, wavy grass, dotted as far
as the eye could reach with cattle, for the cattle,
like all other living things, are concentrated near
water. It was a still, bright day, characteristic of
a desert country. For a short distance we trav-
elled away from the stream, expecting to follow it
a little farther from the ranch. Almost before we
had realized it was near, a flock of gadwall rose
up, as it were, out of the earth. Quickly handing
over the horses to the Mexican, we crept along
the bank; a quack just ahead and beneath us, and
in another minute we found him, an old green-
head, in a puddle all by himself, right under our
feet. He sprang into the air, and startled as he
did so a flock of gadwall. They offered a perfect
shot; two dropped, and instantly ducks rose out
of the ground in scores; teal, gadwall, shovellers,
a few sprigs, and mallard. For a short time the
shooting was fast, birds passing overhead back
and forth, following the course of the arroyo,
suddenly dropping down out of sight far ahead.
Between us we picked up perhaps a dozen, gad-
wall and teal mostly, occasionally a sprigtail and
a widgeon; then we mounted and rode on, strik-
Duck-shooting 59
ing the arroyo half a mile beyond. In a short
time our capacity for ducks was exhausted; we
had almost more than we could carry on horse-
back, and we turned toward home. It was very
interesting to follow along this weird place, and
see how close we could get to unsuspecting birds.
In one instance I watched a flock of twenty or
thirty gadwall and teal nearly half an hour, hardly
more than thirty feet from the spot where I lay in
the grass, peering over the bank. They preened
themselves, unsuspecting, and dabbled in the shal-
low water, occasionally uttering contented notes,
but, at the slightest motion, were alert and ready
to spring. In another instance I noticed a pair of
ruddy ducks in a small pool scarcely a foot in
depth. It seemed to be a good chance to force
a diver to his wings, and I ran down the steep
bank almost on to them. They just settled out
of sight in the water, and never appeared. How
they ever dived out of that puddle is beyond my
understanding, and my esteem for a ruddy duck’s
sleight of diving was greater than ever. It was
early afternoon when we wended our way back to
the ranch, where a pitcher of coffee and a plate
of tortillas went but a little way toward appeasing
a Mexican appetite.
60 The Waterfowl Family
ICE-HOLE SHOOTING
In various parts of our country, with the first
approach of winter, many wild fowl are loath to
leave, and remain until the last open water freezes.
Throughout the West the larger lakes and rivers
afford shooting from ice-holes, — along the coasts,
the bays, and harbors. There is a degree of dis-
comfort, not to say actual danger, about this
shooting that does not commend itself to the
sportsmen as highly as other methods. Then
too, birds, if long limited to these small areas of
open water, grow thin and poor; but a duck is a
duck, and probably this fact has not deterred
many gunners from taking advantage of any
helplessness. While all varieties of ducks fre-
quent open water under these circumstances, the
species most commonly associated with freezing
weather are the golden-eye; they thrive and
keep in good condition to the last. On an occa-
sion I saw a single golden-eye in a small ice-
hole, under one of the bridges near New Haven;
the bird flew as we drove over, but at once
returned, a fact that goes to show the tenacity of
birds for these places when forced by circum-
stances.
My own experience in ice shooting has been
limited. In the severe winter of four years ago the
harbors all along Long Island Sound were frozen
Duck-shooting 61
over and where the current was strong, in many
instances, areas of open water existed. One of
these holes, several acres in size, was frequented
by a large number of broadbill, and here on several
occasions I had excellent shooting. It is always
important, in this method of gunning, not to fire
into the birds when all are bedded together on
the water. The large flocks should be allowed to
leave, when they quickly return in small bunches,
and if care is used in resting the birds, the shoot-
ing will continue good. When offshore, the
holes must be approached with care; and for this
purpose white boats are used. These should be
decked over and light. Often a sled is useful in
carrying them over the ice. The blind is readily
made of ice and snow, and a few decoys suffice.
There is always a chance of accident from break-
ing through treacherous ice, and the surroundings
are not the most desirable for calamities of this
sort.
SEA-DUCK SHOOTING
Sea-duck shooting is hardly to be compared
for sport with other kinds of duck-hunting, and
yet on the New England coast the scoters and
old squaws are regularly killed, and to the natives
along the shore have a certain amount of value.
They are not edible in the market sense, but
many a Connecticut longshoreman is glad of
their meat and the feathers are regularly saved.
ALONG THE MARSH
Duck-shooting 63
eider is not uncommon off Massachusetts), rarely
broadbill and the wilder ducks. Very often
amusing instances happen in line shooting; a
bird, bewildered by successive shots, sometimes
passes over the whole line of boats, and is missed
in turn by one after the other. In one instance
I saw a white-winged scoter reach the end man,
after having called forth a shot from every boat ;
but at the last crack the bird doubled up and the
gunner let out a yell of triumph which was short-
lived, for the falling bird struck him square in the
stomach and came near putting him out for good
and all. It was a case of an unexpected double.
This shooting is much facilitated by attaching
the anchor to a buoy, and tying the boat to this,
thus avoiding lifting the anchor whenever a bird
is to be picked up. On the Connecticut shore of
the Sound, the Thimble Islands used to be, and are
at present, a favorite spot for line shooting, and
many a ducking party has the old Money Island
hotel entertained.
THE DECREASE OF WILD FOWL
Between 1870 and 1875 fifteen thousand ducks
were not uncommonly killed on Chesapeake Bay
in a single day. Here in February and March it
was possible to see red-heads and canvas-backs in
rafts miles long, containing countless thousands
of birds. In the old days, Baltimore was the
64 The Waterfowl Family
headquarters for most of the sportsmen, and the
famous locations for shooting were Carroll's Island,
Spesutia Island, Maxwell’s Point, and Benjies.
Formerly the eastern shores of Chesapeake Bay,
from the Sassafras River, through Pocomoke
Sound, and down the Bay, and on the western
side from Baltimore to the James River, were
favorite resorts. What stories of ducks and
duck-shooting could these places tell! Wald fowl
up to 1860 had not been much hunted in this
country, and during the Civil War were unmo-
lested. From 1865 began their destruction, which
has been steadily increasing since, with a result
inevitable. In twenty-five years the greatest nat-
ural home in the world for wild ducks has been
nearly devastated of its tenants. The past few
years have shown some betterment in the shoot-
ing there, and, with care, it may still improve, but
the vast hordes of the past will not return. Inland
bodies of water, extending through the Middle
West to the mountains, tell the same story. What
sights were once seen on the sloughs of Indiana,
Illinois, and Minnesota! Now, in many places,
the numbers left, an insignificant remnant, bear
evidence of the past. After the large game had
been destroyed and driven off, the small game
was taken up, and the past twenty years have
decimated the wild fowl almost beyond concep-
tion. Practically unprotected, shot from their first
Duck-shooting 65
coming in the fall to the end of their stay in the
spring, the result has been inevitable. Many of
the most famous resorts are devastated, and the
existing haunts exposed to such incessant perse-
cution that local extinction is threatened unless
prompt measures of relief are afforded.
Excessive shooting can be assigned as the
prime cause of destruction, and under this head
comes, first of all, spring shooting. Until recently,
throughout all of our Western states and adjacent
Canada, wild fowl have been shot until May. At
this time they are preparing to breed, some actu-
ally nesting, and it can be readily seen that de-
struction under such circumstances bears directly
on future supply. Birds at this time are usually
thin and hardly fit for the table, yet the market
gunner gets his price, and the ruthless sportsman
runs up his score. Until within the past few
years the suggestion of abolishing spring shooting
has been received with considerable opposition ;
it was argued that over a large tract of country
the only shooting was at this time. The claim
was also made, and more reasonably, that unless
spring shooting was forbidden in all Western
states, and along the entire migratory course,
legislation in a single state would have but little
orno result. The effect of stopping spring shoot-
ing, even in isolated states, has been attended
with such satisfactory improvement in the fall
F
66 The Water-fowl Family
shooting, that sportsmen are now universally con-
vinced of the absolute necessity of protecting our
water-fowl at this season. In the United States,
the Western states along the northern border
are all breeding-grounds for water-fowl, and it
is here protection is most essential. In North
Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin legislation
prohibiting spring shooting has been attended
with remarkable results in the comparatively short
period of its existence, and, in many instances,
market gunners admit the benefit. In the upper
peninsula of Michigan the open season closes
January 15; in Minnesota, January 1; in Wiscon-
sin and North Dakota, January 1; in Idaho,
March 1; in Ontario, December 15; Newfound-
land, January 12; California, North Carolina,
British Columbia, and Nova Scotia have a close
season in March. In most of the other states
the close season begins later. In Ontario, a few
years since, the marshes were almost devoid of
breeding ducks. At the present time thousands
of black duck, mallard, and teal are seen nesting.
This same statement can be easily true elsewhere.
Recently duck-shooting in Connecticut has been
prohibited after April 1. The law has been in
force for one year. Last spring, in many of the
harbors of Long Island Sound, there were more
ducks than had been seen in years, a fact specially
true of the broadbill. There is a strong objection
Duck-shooting 67
in many of the Southern states against abolishing
spring shooting. Its advocates claim that at the
time of leaving the bays and rivers of the South,
wild fowl are still in flocks and unmated; that
they are far from the breeding-grounds. As a
matter of fact, this protection is more needed in
the South than in the North. In the early spring
the vast hordes of migratory wild fowl are south,
not north. In many instances they are mated,
though still in flocks. If there is any reason for
protecting wild fowl in the North in April, the
same reason holds good for their protection in the
South during March. Another fact, that perhaps
many of our sportsmen do not appreciate, is that
numbers of our water-fowl actually breed in the
South. The southern variety of black duck, the
blue-winged teal, and the mallard, all nest farther
south than has been supposed. It is the duty of
every man interested in sporting to use his influ-
ence against spring shooting. The effect on our
wild fowl, of a universal protection at this time
throughout the United States, would be surprising
even in the following fall; if this could once be
realized, there would be few sportsmen and market
gunners who would not sanction it, even from
selfish motives.
Another cause of the destruction of our water-
fowl, that can be to a certain extent corrected, is
too large bags by sportsmen. It is only on occa-
68 The Waterfowl Family
sions, in many places, that circumstances favor
the gunner, and many a conscientious man feels he
is justified in taking every advantage. But if our
wild ducks are to be preserved, even in present
numbers, self-sacrifice is necessary. In North
Dakota a law restricting each man’s portion to
twenty-five birds has gone a long way to prevent
the wanton destruction of game. Rules restrict-
ing the quantity of game killed have long been
in use by many clubs with most excellent results,
and state legislation to this same effect, though
perhaps difficult to enforce, would undoubtedly be
of benefit.
Market gunning has been responsible in many
instances for utter destruction of game, and the
high prices paid in the East for varieties of ducks
most excellent for the table have made it possible
for the pot-hunter to thrive. The result has been
a foregone conclusion, and the most famous resorts
along the Atlantic Coast have been stripped of
their wild fowl. With market gunning go hand
in hand all the illegal methods of killing, — shoot-
ing at night, the use of large-bore guns, in short,
any possible means to destroy game. With the
present facilities for cold storage, the market ca-
pacity is unlimited; this evil, however, could be
effectually obviated, and by preventing the sale
and storing of wild fowl, probably more would be
done toward actual protection than by any other
Duck-shooting 69
means. In many of our states the exportation of
game has been prohibited for several years, and
for this law North Dakota is again conspicuous.
The effect has been that the largest area in the
United States for small game has been saved from
market gunning. Exportation laws are readily
enforced along all railroad lines, and are a prac-
tical means of protection.
Excessive shooting has been checked in sections
of the South by establishing close days, — three
days of the week have been set apart as days of
rest for wild fowl, with the result that better shoot-
ing is had in the four open days than was previ-
ously had in six. The control of shooting lands
by clubs has also had a protective influence in
many localities. Strict club rules, judiciously en-
forced, have gone far toward bettering existing
conditions; in this way night gunning has been
almost done away with in sections of the South.
Too destructive methods of shooting should be
_ legislated against, especially battery shooting, and
any means by which large flocks of wild fowl can
be approached while resting. The repeating shot-
gun comes under this head. The protection of
parks, extended in some instances to large game,
is just as efficient in saving the destruction of
birds. The great benefit of the Yellowstone Park
stands out as a conspicuous example of this; all
of the ponds and sloughs here are occupied by
70 The Water-fowl Family
thousands of breeding wild fowl, as tame in many
instances as domestic ducks and geese. These
birds are as quick to appreciate protection as large
animals. In many of the zodlogical gardens
abroad wild fowl are regular migrants, and this
disposition has been noticed to a small extent in
the New York zoélogical gardens, where wild
ducks have often remained for some time in the
companionship of captive relatives. No man can
see this trait of our wild fowl —to make the most
of all he offers them in the way of preservation —
without being impressed.
To sum up, the imperative need for wild-fowl
protection at the present time is a universal law
throughout the United States against spring shoot-
ing. Game should be exposed for sale in markets
through short seasons, if at all; storing of game
should be absolutely prohibited; state exporta-
tion should be prevented; and there should be an
individual limit to the number killed.
THE RIVER-DUCKS
(Anatide)
When the sportsman thinks of “ducking,”
some of the birds of this group are sure to pass
before his mind, for to it belong the mallard,
black duck, baldpate, teal, etc. It is the largest
family of the Axatide, containing about fifty
species, which are scattered over most of the
Duck-shooting 71
world, though more abundant in the northern
hemisphere. They differ from the mergansers
in having broad and flat bills with a series of
transverse grooves, instead of “teeth,” on the cut-
ting surfaces: these grooves are of service in
straining out the water from the grasses and
other vegetable food which they procure when
swimming. The absence of a membranous lobe
on the hind toe separates them from the sea-
ducks and the mergansers, and their feet and
palmations are smaller than those of the former.
Their necks are rather short, and, as a rule, the
heads of the adult males without a crest. In many
of the species the males have a very elegant
plumage, as the wood-duck, differing from the
plainer females, and most have a bright metallic
patch of feathers on the wing. Frequently the
male has a summer moult, in which he assumes
a dull plumage, much resembling that of the
female. This lasts while the wing feathers are
growing, and is probably a great protection to
him during the days or weeks that he cannot fly ;
but early in the autumn he acquires again his
striking dress.
The flight of all is swift and strong, and has
been thought in some species to reach a hundred
and fifty miles an hour. They spring from the
water at a bound, and are instantly under way.
Frequenting by preference fresh water, the river-
72 The Waterfowl Family
ducks are not uncommon on the bays of the
coast in the migrations and in winter, usually in
small flocks, and associating to some extent with
the sea-ducks. They feed in shallow water, not
diving, but thrusting their head and neck to the
bottom, and tipping up the body, while they tear
off the stems of the water plants which are their
chief subsistence. Their flesh is sweet and pala-
table almost without exception, although if they
are forced to a diet consisting largely of shellfish
and crustacea, it may become rank. The females
perform all the duties of incubation and care for
the young when they are hatched, but in many
species the male takes much interest in his family.
Some of the most interesting and beautiful mem-
bers of the water-fowl belong in this group, such
as the mandarin duck of Asia, the shoveller, with
a long and spoon-shaped bill with the lateral
strainers remarkably developed, and the pintail,
with the middle tail feathers very long. Most
breed on the ground near the water, but some, as
the wood-duck, nest in hollow trees, and the true
sheldrakes in holes in banks. This latter fact is
taken advantage of by the inhabitants of parts of
Denmark, who dig artificial burrows for the shel-
drakes, sometimes with several laying compart-
ments radiating from a single entrance. Each
breeding-chamber is covered with a tightly fitting
piece of sod, and through this opening the fresh
Duck-shooting 73
eggs are collected daily, six being left for the bird
to hatch, and once the downy nest itself is taken.
The muscovy duck (Cazriza moschata), a large
and handsome species which inhabits tropical
America, has been recorded from Louisiana and
Indiana, but as it is frequently kept in captivity,
mating with the domestic ducks, it is believed
that these specimens are not wild birds. The
male is a large bird, measuring nearly three feet
in length, and the female two feet. On the sides
of the forehead of the male are rose-red carun-
cles; the head, neck, and lower parts are brownish
black, the upper parts metallic blackish green
glossed with purple, and the wing-coverts white.
The female has a much duller plumage, entirely
brownish black, except for a white feather or so
on the wing-coverts and a greenish metallic lustre
to the upper parts.
MALLARD
(Anas boschas)
Adult male—In fall, winter, and spring, head and neck, soft, brilliant,
metallic green, showing purple and bronze reflections. in differ-
ent lights ; a ring of pure white around lower neck, interrupted
on the nape; upper breast, dark chestnut-brown; wing-coverts,
uniform brownish gray, the last row tipped with black and with
a subterminal bar of white; speculum, metallic violet, with a
subterminal bar of black and a terminal one of white; primaries,
plain dark gray; rump, upper tail-coverts, and crissum, black,
with soft greenish reflections; tail, white, feathers grayish in
the centre, two middle feathers, black, slightly recurved, the two
longer upper coverts greatly recurved. Bill, olive-yellow ; nail,
74 The Water-fowl Family
black ; iris, hazel-brown ; legs and feet vary from reddish orange
to yellow.
Measurements — Length, 24 inches; wing, 12 inches; culmen, 2.20
inches ; tarsus, 1.70 inches.
The adult male in summer acquires a plumage closely re-
sembling the female, but of a darker cast. This is assumed
in June. In August the winter dress begins to be resumed, and
by October the plumage is usually full.
Adult female — Above, dusky brown, the feathers edged with
ochraceous, beneath, the general color is paler, the feathers
having dark centres, giving a mottled or streaked appearance ;
wing, similar to male. Bill, greenish yellow, with black mark-
ings; legs and feet, yellowish; iris, hazel.
Measurements — Length, 23 inches; wing, 10.50 inches; culmen,
2.25 inches; tarsus, 1.50 inches.
Downy young — Above, deep olive, marked by two pairs of light
spots, the first pair on the back just behind the wing, the second
at base of tail and a light superciliary stripe on the sides of fore-
head, head, and nape; dark line from bill through eye; entire
under parts, yellowish buff.
Fggs — Eight to thirteen in number; olive-buff or greenish buff;
measure, 2.20 by 1.70 inches.
Habitat — The northern portions of the northern hemisphere, breed-
ing in Europe as far south as the Rhone Delta. Breeds in
North America from Pennsylvania rarely, Ohio, Indiana, pos-
sibly Kentucky, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, possibly Arizona
and Lower California, and California, north to the Pribilof
Islands, Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, the Mackenzie Delta, and east
to Fort Anderson, Hudson Bay, Quebec, and Ontario, and in
Greenland. Not found in Cumberland, nor apparently in Lab-
rador, and rare in migration in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, and the Atlantic Coast north of Maryland.
Winters in southern Greenland and from Maine rarely, Mary-
land regularly, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, rarely Min-
nesota and South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, British Columbia
and the Aleutian Islands, south to the West Indies and Central
America. Occurs also in Bermuda and Hawaii.
Duck-shooting 75
The mallard, of all our ducks, is the most liable
to hybridism; a few of the more interesting
hybrids, described in “ Baird, Brewer, and Ridge-
way,” are quoted here: —
1. Hybrids with the muscovy duck. These
are produced in domestication; the offspring seems
to acquire the tendencies of the wild bird, and
escapes. It has the broad speculum and broad
tail of the muscovy without the recurved feathers
of the mallard. Head and upper half of neck
black with green reflections, white on throat and
under the eyes, breast and sides chestnut, rest of
lower parts white. Flanks slate, speculum green,
feet orange. Measurements: wing 13.20, culmen
2.20; tarsus! 2:20:
2. Hybrids with the pintail. No. 6668, Na-
tional Museum. This specimen in form and
coloration throughout is a perfect combination of
both species. The upper tail-coverts are purplish
black, the two middle tail feathers are elongated
half as much as in Dafila acuta, and curled half
as tightly as in Anas boschas. Bill, dark lead
color; feet, reddish; wing 11 inches, culmen 2.20,
tarsus 1.55.
3. Hybrids with the black duck. The specimen
is an adult male. Sides and back of head brilliant
green, breast strongly tinged with chestnut, the
lateral, upper, and terminal lower tail-coverts are
black with violet reflections; middle tail feathers
76 The Water-fowl Family
recurved. Length 23.50, wing 10.75, culmen 2.05.
Iris brown, feet dull orange.
I once shot a black duck in which the head was
marked with a few green feathers, the plumage
otherwise resembling Azas obscura. These
hybrids with the black duck are more frequent
than supposed.
No duck has a wider geographical range than
the mallard. Inthe Old World it is found through-
out Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, breeding
from Spain to Lapland and Siberia; in North
America, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic
Sea and from coast to coast. Generally abundant
throughout the United States, it is uncommon
along the Atlantic Coast, north of the Chesa-
peake. The mallard breeds sparingly through
most of its range, abundantly in the United
States from the northern border north; in the
Rocky Mountains, from Montana to Alaska; in
the interior, from Dakota and Manitoba along the
watercourses to Hudson Bay; in the country
west from Hudson Bay and north to the Arctic
sea.
The marshy ponds and sloughs of the prairie
are the nesting-grounds of vast numbers. The
nest is placed among the rushes on the ground,
and is composed of grass and weeds, lined with
feathers. The eggs number from twelve to fif-
teen, and are covered with down. In the far
Duck-shooting righ
North the nest is frequently several rods from
water, usually among trees or scrub brush; in
rare instances the bird has resorted to a deserted
hawk’s or crow’s nest.
During the period of incubation the duck takes
full charge, the males congregating by themselves.
She is a close sitter, and can sometimes be lifted
from her nest. If disturbed, the old bird often
feigns wounded. The ducklings take readily to
the water, diving and hiding at the suspicion of
danger. By the latter part of August they are
fledged, and at this time are killed in large num-
bers by the natives.
August and September, 1894, were spent by the
writer in North Dakota. Early in September,
mailards and shovellers were the most abundant
ducks, but among all the mallards killed there was
not a single green-head, nor was one seen until
September 20, when a drake was shot in about
half-full plumage. By the first week in October
the birds are well established in their fall homes.
The extensive marshes of our Western states are
their favorite resorts in the early fall, and on their
first arrival many are killed from boats pushed
through the rushes, or from passes along their
line of flight. Continuous persecution soon
makes them wild, and we find them keeping to
the open water during the day, coming at night
to the marshes to feed. In certain localities the
78 The Waterfowl Family
mallard frequents the corn-fields and_ stubbles.
They are, to a large degree, nocturnal in their
habits, and depend on their sense of touch and
smell in feeding. When hunting a few years
since on Currituck Sound, the cunning of the
mallards especially impressed me. Sunset closes
the gunner’s day; almost immediately the first
flocks of mallard come; the marshes, all day long
devoid of ducks, now hear their whistling wings.
Birds that have alighted call to those in the air,
and their quacking is almost a din. At the first
streak of dawn they are gone. They know the
close days as well as the hunter. In some of the
ponds near the club-house, shooting was not
allowed. They frequented these spots with as
little concern as the flock of decoys kept there.
Few birds come to stool any better when once
they start; often the live decoys see them first,
and the far-off flock respond to the call. If high
in air they drop and circle within range, but, quick
to notice danger, at the slightest movement from
the blind they spring into the air with a frightened
quack and are off. The rice fields of the South
are favorite haunts, and on this diet or wild celery
the flesh is unsurpassed. In parts of the West
along the salmon rivers, mallards sometimes feed
on the maggots infesting the dead fish, and become
intolerably rank. On the northeastern coast of
the United States and Canada the bird is rare,
Duck-shooting 79
on Long Island occasionally occurring among
flocks of black duck. In Connecticut it is found
regularly, but it is far from common. Several
instances of its occurrence in the last few years
have been observed by the writer. Rarely they
have been killed offshore on Long Island Sound.
From time immemorial the mallard, of all the wild
ducks, has been most readily domesticated, prob-
ably because of its general distribution in all
countries and climates, and has been known to
live twenty-two years in captivity.
BLACK DUCK
(Anas obscura)
Adult male— Top of head, black, narrowly edged with buff, remainder
of head and neck, buff, streaked with brown; throat and chin, im-
maculate buff; rest of plumage, dusky, paler beneath; all the
feathers, except those on lower back and rump, edged with light
brown; speculum, metallic blue, sometimes green, edged with
black ; lower wing-coverts, white ; bill, yellowish green or olive ;
nail, black; legs and feet, olivaceous brown; webs, dusky ; iris,
brown.
Measurements — Length, 22 inches; wing, 10.50 inches; culmen,
2.05 inches; tarsus, 1.60 inches.
Adult female— Resembles male, but is usually smaller and less
richly colored.
Young — Similar to adult, with bill more of a greenish hue and
streaked with dusky.
Downy young — Above olive-brown, relieved by six faint markings of
buff, one pair on the posterior border of each wing, one on each
side of back behind wings, one on each side of rump; top of head
and back of neck, brown like the back ; under parts, light buff.
Eggs — Six to twelve in number; pale buff to pale greenish buff;
measure 2.30 by 1.70 inches.
80 The Water-fowl Family
Habitat — Breeds from the coast of North Carolina (formerly ?) and
from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana (?), Illinois, and Iowa, north
to Sable Island, Newfoundland, southern Labrador, Quebec,
Ontario, and eastern Manitoba. Winters from the coast of
Massachusetts, western New York (?), Indiana(?), and Ken-
tucky, south to Florida, the West Indies, Alabama, and Louisiana.
Recorded from Bermuda and Texas(?), and very doubtfully
from Utah. Rare west of the Alleghanies.
This bird is the standard game duck of the
northeastern United States and Canada, occur-
ring on all the bodies of water inland and along
the coast. Exposed on all sides to gunning of
every description, the black duck thrives, and
holds its own with a reputation for cunning and
wisdom unsurpassed. It breeds regularly farther
south than has been generally supposed.
Northern New England, New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, and eastern Canada north of the St.
Lawrence are favorite breeding-grounds. It
nests sparingly in Massachusetts, Connecticut,
and Long Island. For several years the writer
noticed in early August a brood of young black
duck on the Quinnipiac River, a short distance
from New Haven. The nest is composed of
coarse grass, and is generally situated in a swamp
or marsh close to the water. From eight to
twelve eggs are laid. The young are hatched in
late June, and carefully guarded and concealed by
the old bird, who keeps them close to the marsh,
where long grass and weeds afford a ready protec-
HIVNEA GNV ATIVN—SwONd WOvid YO ANSna
Duck-shooting 81
tion. If disturbed under these circumstances, the
old duck remains perfectly quiet, only quacking
when she jumps into the air. Left alone, the
young ducks occasionally betray their presence
by a frightened peep. The brood rapidly grows
to full size on a diet of insects, grubs, and various
water-grasses, and by the latter part of August
are full grown and able to flap out of the long
grass. Now they are easily killed, and their flesh
is most tender and excellent.
In localities where blueberries grow near the
water they are a favorite food. On the Magdalen
Islands the writer has frequently seen black duck
feeding high up on the hills among the blueberry
bushes, in company with Hudsonian curlew. The
families soon congregate, and in the early fall we
find them in flocks of more than fifty. By the
middle of October they appear in numbers along
our coast, frequenting the ponds and rivers a
short distance inland and the shallow bays, espe-
cially where there are marshes. They are a wel-
come sight to every duck-hunter. At first killed
in some numbers, they soon learn all the gunner’s
craft, during the day keeping to the open water,
and if in any uncertain place, well guarded by sen-
tinels; they spring into the air with loud quack-
ing at the first suspicion of danger. In places
where black duck are much hunted, and there are
few spots where they are not, the birds come to
G
82 The Water-fowl Family
the feeding-grounds on their favorite marshes
only at night. Here pot-hunters keep watch,
driving them off, but not frequently killing many.
An overcast moonlight night offers the best
opportunity for this illegal shooting, as then the
birds can be seen at some distance.
The most popular hunting-grounds for black
duck are the marshes near the shallow bays and
larger rivers of the Atlantic Coast, from the St.
Lawrence to Currituck Sound. The large marshes
of Lake Erie and Ontario are famous resorts. On
the bays about the Chesapeake they are most fre-
quently killed over decoys, placed off the points
and islands, where rushes and marsh grass afford
good blinds. If the birds are much shot at,
live decoys are far the most satisfactory. These
can be used jointly with the wooden stool, and
ducks with a disposition to quack should be
selected. Heavy weather affords best chance for
shooting black duck. The birds under these cir-
cumstances leave the larger bodies of water, and
lead up under the lee of points close to the
marshes, keeping continually on the move. No
wild duck taxes the patience of a gunner more.
Suspicious and wary, they often circle about the
stool, lighting beyond them, just out of range,
watching for the slightest movement, when they
jump high in the air with an exasperating quack.
If wounded, the bird skulks with head just above
Duck-shooting 83
the water’s edge; and where reeds and long grass
afford shelter, it is almost impossible to retrieve
except by a well-trained dog. In some instances
black duck, like mallard, are baited by corn placed
on the feeding-ground. If exposed to tide or
current, the grain should be well soaked first. No
food is too good for black duck, and on the tender
grasses abounding on the feeding-grounds of the
South the flavor of their flesh is unsurpassed.
Along the coast, in the deeper bays, small shell-
fish and crustacea comprise part of their diet,
and should winter weather keep them from the
marshes their flesh becomes almost fishy. While
many black duck winter along the New England
coast where they find open water, there is a regu-
lar spring and fall migration of these birds winter-
ing farther south. Late in March we find them
in pairs. Now they seek the smaller ponds and
streams, going on to the fresh-water meadows.
Birds I have shot at this time have often had
angleworms in their stomachs.
The habits of the black duck and the mallard
are similar, and in localities where the two are
found they associate. The flight is characteristic,
high and strong but irregular, and not in any line.
When near by the white under wing-coverts are
noticeable. Black duck can be reared in confine-
ment, but for decoy purposes these birds are not
as satisfactory as domesticated mallards.
84 The Water-fowl Family
This species is also known as the dusky duck,
and the black mallard.
RED-LEGGED BLACK DUCK
(Anas obscura rubripes)
Adult male —“ Similar to A. obscura, but larger; the feathers of the
pileum conspicuously edged with grayish or fulvous; the dark
markings on the fore neck and the sides of the head, coarser,
blacker, and more sharply defined; the entire throat usually
streaked or spotted with blackish ; the tarsi and toes bright red;
the bill yellow.”
Measurements — Length, 25 inches; wing, 11 inches; culmen, 2.15
inches; tarsus, 1.70 inches.
Adult female—Resembles male, but is smaller and less richly
colored.
Eggs — (Probably this form since taken at Rupert House, James
Bay) grayish white, tinged sometimes with green ; measure, 2.45
by 1.77 inches.
Habitat — Taken in the breeding season from James Bay, north to
northern Labrador and the west shore of Hudson Bay, and
probably Fort Anderson. Occurs in the migration on the
Atlantic Coast from Newfoundland to North Carolina, and to
Arkansas in the interior, wintering from Chignecto Bay, Nova
Scotia, south. Probably the birds recorded in winter from
western New York and Indiana, and possibly those in Ken-
tucky, as well as part of the migrants reported from Ohio, Illi-
nois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Missouri,
belong to this subspecies.
This is the large black duck with red legs and
a yellow bill that frequents the bays of New Eng-
land and the Middle states in winter, coming to
the marshes at night for food and water, when
most of the small black ducks, with olive bills and
brownish legs, have gone farther south. The
Duck-shooting 85
difference between the two forms has been
shown recently by Mr. William Brewster.
FLORIDA DUCK
(Anas fulvigula)
Similar to Anas obscura, but slightly smaller; the difference being
its lighter color, the chin, throat, front of neck, and most of
cheeks being a creamy buff and unspotted; speculum, green,
sometimes upper part white; the buffy ochraceous margins are
wider and brighter both above and below. A constant point
of distinction is in the bill, the base of which in this species is
margined by a narrow black line, which widens out into a tri-
angular space beneath the feathering of the lores.
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, Io to 10.50 inches; tail,
5 inches; culmen, 2.05 to 2.33 inches; width of bill, .go inch ;
tarsus, I.70 to 1.80 inches; middle toe, I.go to 2 inches.
Eggs — Eight to fourteen in number; pale dull buff, sometimes
tinged with green; measure 2.15 by 1.60 inches.
Habitat — Resident in Florida, chiefly in the southern part of the
state, and becoming rare. Possibly occurs in West Indies; re-
corded also from Louisiana, and said to breed on the coast.
The Florida black duck for a long time has
been recognized as a distinct species. Its breed-
ing range is confined entirely to the South.
Instances of the black duck breeding south of
the Carolinas are probably this variety. The
nesting time in Florida is early in April (accord-
me to Mr. N. B. Moore). The’ bird nests’ not
frequently at some distance from the water's edge,
always on the ground. The female plucks the
down from her breast for the nest lining. Eight
to ten eggs are laid of a slightly lighter shade
86 The Water-fowl Family
than the eggs of the common black duck. In its
habit the bird closely resembles Axas obscura.
The flesh is excellent.
Mr. N. B. Moore, in “ Baird, Brewer, and Ridge-
way,” gives an interesting description of this bird :
“In August and September small flocks leave the
fresh ponds and fly across the bay to sand-bars on
the inner sides of the keys, where they spend the
night in pools or coves, returning at sunrise.
Those shot at this time are all males. In the
late winter and early spring mated birds resort to
the same places.” Mr. Moore suggests as a
reason for this species not being more common
in the districts it frequents, the sweeping fires
which destroy the dry grass.
MOTTLED DUCK
(Anas fulvigula maculosa)
This subspecies resembles closely the Florida variety, differing from it
in that the cheeks are streaked with brown, instead of being plain
buff; the speculum is purple; in general effect the plumage is
mottled and not streaked; bill has a small black spot on base
of lower edge of upper mandible, as in the Florida variety ; feet,
reddish orange.
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, 1o inches; culmen, 2.25
inches ; tarsus, 1.75 inches; middle toe, 1.50 inches.
£ggs — Seven to ten in number; resemble those of the Florida duck
in color and measurement.
Habitat — Breeds from Louisiana, Texas, and probably northern
Mexico, north to Kansas, and has been taken in Colorado.
Winters on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Texas, and northern
Mexico.
Duck-shooting 87
For years the mottled duck was confused with
the black duck, and still later with the Florida
duck. Its habits are similar to those of these birds.
Mr. E. A. Mcllhenny states that on April 28,
1896, he shot in Louisiana a male mallard (4.
boschas) mated with a female of this species, and
collected the nest with ten eggs.
GADWALL
(Chaulelasmus streperus)
Adult male — Top of head, reddish brown of varying shades, spotted
with black; rest of head, light buff speckled with dark brown ;
throat, indistinctly spotted with brown; upper part of back and
breast, marked with crescentric black and white bars; back,
scapulars, and flanks, undulated with slate-color and white; long
scapulars, edged with brown; lesser coverts, gray; middle cov-
erts, chestnut; greater coverts, black; secondaries, pale gray,
with outer edge forming a speculum of white; upper and under
tail-coverts, black; tail, dark gray, edged with white; rest of
under parts, white; bill, bluish black; nail, black; iris, hazel;
legs and feet vary from yellowish to orange-yellow ; webs, dark.
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, 10.75 inches; tail, 8.90
inches ; culmen, 1.80 inches; tarsus, 1.70 inches.
Adult female — Somewhat resembles the male, but the upper parts
dusky, edged with buff, and the under wing-coverts are pure
white, and there is little or no chestnut on the lesser wing-
coverts ; bill, dusky orange near the edges; legs and feet, yel-
lowish, with dark webs; slightly smaller than the male.
Measurements — Length, 19 inches ; wing, Io inches; culmen, 1.70
inches; tarsus, 1.60 inches.
Young — Similar to female, but with no chestnut or black on the
wings.
Downy young— Upper parts, dark brown, with yellow spots on
sides and back and rump; lower parts, grayish; forehead,
throat, and chest, yellowish.
88 The Water-fowl Family
Eggs — Eight to twelve in number; cream-color; measure, 2.15 by
1.50 inches.
Habitat —‘“ Nearly cosmopolitan.” In North America, breeds from
Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada,
and the interior of California, north to Ontario, Hudson Bay,
Assiniboia, and Alberta, and possibly the lower Mackenzie and
the Yukon rivers. Winters from Virginia, possibly Maryland,
Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Cali-
fornia, south to Lower California, Mexico, and the West Indies.
In migrations occurs very rarely on the Atlantic Coast north to
Maine and Quebec, and on the Pacific to British Columbia, and
one is recorded from the Aleutian Islands in December. Occurs
in Bermuda.
The gadwall is found more commonly in the
interior than on the coast,and seems to prefer the
prairie sloughs and marshes to the wooded lakes.
The table-lands of North America, from Dakota
and Montana south into Mexico, is the area over
which they are most abundant. In April, 1901,
near Tampico, I saw thousands of these birds.
They were in large flocks near the shores of the
lakes. We approached them in our dugouts and
had no difficulty in coming within range, the birds
starting up in front and settling down ahead to
other flocks. At this time they did not appear
to be mated. The flesh was excellent, and a
happy change from the monotony of a Mexican
diet. Later in May we found them still common
near Chihuahua; here they were in pairs, evidently
about to nest.
The gadwall undoubtedly breeds throughout
most of its range. Creeks and marshes well
Duck-shooting 89
lined with rushes are the sites selected. Here
the nest is placed on the ground, constructed of
grass, and carefully concealed, the duck covering
her eggs well with down. The young birds are
fledged late in August. In North Dakota many
of the ducks seen in early September are gadwall,
young birds undoubtedly bred in the vicinity.
They leave before the first of October. In most
of the more popular duck-hunting resorts through-
out the United States, this bird is not as frequently
met with as other water-fowl. This, and the fact
that it does not decoy readily, makes it somewhat
of a stranger. The gadwall is found most often
in small flocks by itself or in the company of
widgeon. It feeds in the shallow muddy creeks
and pools on various kinds of vegetable matter.
fie birds: become very fat, and i shot from a
height the fall sometimes breaks open the skin.
The flesh is delicate and tender, but in localities
has a sedgy taste. On the wing the gadwall is
an imposing bird, the dark breast giving it a
black appearance. It is known by a variety of
names, such as creek-duck, speckled belly, gray
duck, gray widgeon, Welch drake, German duck.
EUROPEAN WIDGEON
(Mareca penelope)
Adult male — Forehead and top of head, white, sometimes buff, rest
of head rufous brown; cluster of small green spots behind eye;
chin and throat, black; breast, pinkish brown; back and sides,
90 The Water-fowl Family
undulated with black and white ; wing-coverts, white ; speculum,
green; lower parts, white; under tail-coverts, black; tail,
pointed, brownish, becoming black at tip; iris, hazel; bill,
slate; nail, black; legs and feet, slate, with dusky webs.
Measurements — Length, 18 inches; wing, 10 inches; culmen, 1.40
inches; tarsus, 1.50 inches.
Adult female — Head and neck, rusty, speckled with black; upper
parts, dusky brown, margined with gray ; wings, greenish brown ;
speculum, dull black; upper tail-coverts, brown; tail, purplish
brown, feathers edged with white ; breast and sides, light brown ;
rest of under parts, white ; under tail-coverts, barred with black-
ish brown; iris, brown; bill, slate; nail, black; legs and feet,
brown, with dusky webs.
Measurements —Length, 18 inches; wing, 10.50 inches; culmen,
1.36 inches ; tarsus, 1.50 inches.
£ggs — Five to eight in number; pale buff; measure, 2.20 by 1.50
inches.
ffabitat— The northern parts of the eastern hemisphere, breeding
west to Iceland. Breeds probably also on the Aleutian Islands
and possibly in Greenland and west of Hudson Bay. In the
migrations and in winter, several have been recorded from Cali-
fornia, one from Nova Scotia, and twenty-five or thirty from
Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and from Ken-
ewatin and Great Slave Lake, though the last record may refer
to W/. americana, as the Kenewatin record certainly does.
This bird, while breeding off Alaska to some
extent, is a rare straggler to the United States;
the more noteworthy instances of its occurrences
being on Long Island, December, 1842, Alex-
andria, Virginia, occasionally along the coast of
California. Two instances the writer has seen:
one an adult male, taken on the Illinois River;
the second a full-plumaged male, killed on Long
Island in the winter of 1899. The bird in most
Duck-shooting 9I
cases has been shot in company with the American
widgeon. That it occurs more frequently than is
supposed, would be indicated by the fact that in
some localities gunners speak of a red-headed
widgeon, supposing the bird to be a cross between
a red-head and a common widgeon, or baldpate.
Undoubtedly birds of this species are referred to.
In habits the European widgeon resembles the
American variety, frequenting marshes and shal-
low bodies of water in their vicinity; but, unlike
the American baldpate, is frequently seen on salt
water, feeding almost entirely on the short grass
growing on the bottom. The widgeon has been
known to reach the age of twenty-three years.
BALDPATE
(Mareca americana)
Adult male — Forehead and top of head, white ; a patch of metallic
green behind the eye extends down the neck posteriorly ;
remainder of head, buff speckled with black ; back and scapulars,
brown, undulated with black; wing-coverts, white; the greater
coverts, tipped with black forming a bar across the wing ; specu-
lum, green and black; under wing-coverts, white; breast and
sides, pale lilac, rest of under parts, pure white ; under tail-coverts
black; tail, brown, edged with white; bill, slate, with a black
nail; legs and feet, slate with dusty webs.
Measurements — Length, 19 inches ; wing, 10.50 inches ; culmen, 1.50
inches ; tarsus 1.50 inches.
Adult female — Top of head, black, edged with white; rest of head,
buff streaked with dusky; upper breast and sides, reddish
buff, with dark spots on breast; rest of under parts, white ;
upper parts, dusky, barred with buff; iris, brown; legs and feet,
brown with dusky webs.
92 The Waterfowl Family
Measurements — Length, 18 inches ; wing, 10.20 inches ; culmen, 1.40
inches; tarsus, 1.40 inches.
Young male — Resembles the female closely. Its general coloring,
however, is deeper. The breast and flanks are more vinaceous,
and the wing markings more clearly defined.
Downy young — Upper parts, dark olive; lower part of head and
neck and under parts, lighter; spots of buff on each side of
back and rump.
Eges — Eight to twelve in number; ivory-white in color; measure
2.20 by 1.45 inches.
Habitat — Recorded as breeding from Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota,
Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, Utah, and British Columbia,
north to Hudson Bay, Fort Anderson, Kotzebue Sound, the
Yukon Delta, and probably the Aleutian Islands: breeds chiefly
north of the United States. Winters from Maryland, irregularly
north to Maine, Indiana, the lower Mississippi Valley, Texas,
Idaho, Nevada, and British Columbia, south to the West Indies,
Central America, and Lower California. Recorded as a migrant
in Newfoundland and Labrador, and as a straggler in Europe,
Bering Islands, Kamchatka, Hawaii, and Bermuda.
This bird bears the unenviable reputation of
a telltale; quick to notice danger and always
ready to sound an alarm, many a flock of unsus-
pecting ducks has turned out of harm’s way
under the leadership of a wary widgeon.
The favorite haunts in the United States are
the lakes and rivers of the middle and western
United States and, in localities, the coasts. They
are common along the southern and Lower Cali-
fornia shores and on the Atlantic south of
Maryland.
The breeding-grounds are well to the north, on
the Yukon and Mackenzie rivers, even to the
Duck-shooting 93
Arctic Sea, rarely in the northern United States,
both east and west of the Rocky Mountains.
Wild lakes and rivers not much frequented by
other ducks are the spots widgeon choose for
their nests, which are placed on high dry ground
in the woods, sometimes half a mile from water.
The nest is constructed among the dry leaves,
usually at the foot of a tree, the eggs well covered
with down. During incubation the males collect
by themselves and moult, assuming through the
summer a dull plumage. In early October they
appear in Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota, choos-
ing the ponds and lakes of larger size. At first
they are shot in some numbers where there are
passes under their flight; but they quickly become
shy and fly high over land. A little later we find
them throughout California and Colorado, and in
the valley of the Salt Lake. By the end of
October they appear on the Atlantic Coast. Here
the mouths of the larger rivers and bays of
brackish water are their haunts. As they keep
well out of range of the points and only fly high
over the marshes, it is difficult to kill them. At
times these birds associate with canvas-back and
black-heads, feeding on the grass the others dive
for, and hence the name poacher. In heavy
weather, with mallard and black duck, they come
on to the marshes within range of the blind. In
these instances the widgeon is usually the first to
94 The Water-fowl Family
give alarm; rising high in the air with strong,
swift flight, it quickly speeds beyond reach.
Often we see flocks of them with pintail, both
birds being of much the same habit. Usually in
small numbers, widgeon collect in large flocks in
the spring. On Currituck Sound, in March of
some years, the numbers of these ducks are
remarkable and yet few are killed. They seem
to have a morning and evening flight. In the
late afternoon, flock after flock, high up, far out of
range, follow each other in quick succession lead-
ing toward the marshes and flats of the upper
bay, returning in the early morning. The line of
flight is abreast, and their clear whistling loud
and characteristic. When wounded the bird
skulks but seldom dives. They feed on wild
celery where it exists, and on various water
grasses, in the South visiting the rice-fields. It
is one of our highly esteemed ducks for the table.
In the various locations where it is found it goes
by various names, such as the American widgeon,
poacher, wheat-duck, baldcrown, baldpate, green-
headed widgeon, zan-zan.
The female of this species resembles slightly
the gadwall, but distinction can readily be made
by the speculum, which is gray in the gadwall, in
the widgeon black, and by the dark mandible.
Duck-shooting 95
EUROPEAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL
(NVettion crecca)
Adult male— Similar to the American species, but without white
bar on the breast; the forehead and wing-coverts bordered by a
pale buff line; the black and white markings on back and sides
are broader. The female is hardly distinguishable from the
female of the American green-winged teal.
f1/abitat—Inhabits the northern parts of eastern hemisphere, breed-
ing from Iceland to the Commander Islands, and south to north-
western Africa and Japan, and in winter occurs from the
Canary Islands, northern Africa, Somaliland, and India, east
to the Philippines. Recorded in North America from Green-
land, Labrador, Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New
York, Virginia, California, and the Aleutian Islands.
This bird has occasionally been taken in many
parts of America, and is probably more common
than supposed, it being overlooked on account
of its close resemblance to the North American
variety.
In size, eggs, and habits it resembles our
species.
GREEN-WINGED TEAL
(Wetton carolinensis)
Adult male— Head and neck, chestnut, with broad, metallic green
band from eye to nape, terminating in a tuft of purplish black ;
a narrow, buff line borders the under side of the green band;
chin, black; back and sides, crossed with narrow, wavy black
and white lines; lower back, dark brownish gray; upper tail-
coverts, dusky, edged with white; tail feathers, brownish gray,
edged with white; a broad white bar in front of bend of wing ;
speculum, metallic green, bordered beneath by a broad, black
bar, tipped with white; breast, light buff, mottled with round,
black spots, growing indistinct on under parts, which are white ;
96 The Water-fowl Family
buff patch on each side of crissum; under tail-coverts, black ;
bill, black; legs and feet, dark brown; webs, dusky.
Measurements — Length, 14.50 inches; wing, 7.25 inches; culmen,
1.50 inches ; tarsus, 1.25 inches.
Adult female —Top of head and neck, brown, feathers edged with
ochraceous; sides of head and neck, light buff, speckled with
dusky ; chin and throat, buff; upper parts, dusky, feathers barred
and margined with pale buff; wing, similar to male; rump, tail,
and upper tail-coverts, brown, edged with white; upper part of
breast, dark buff, spotted with brown; rest of under parts, white,
with dusky spots; legs and feet, brown; webs, dusky.
Measurements — Length, 14.25 inches; wing, 6.70 inches; culmen,
1.40 inches; tarsus, I inch.
Young male —Like the female, but under parts, except sides, pure
white. The wing is usually brighter.
Downy young— Upper parts, grayish brown, a buff spot on each
side of back and rump; head, neck, and lower parts, pale buff;
top of head, darker brown.
Eggs — Eight to sixteen in number, pale buff in color, and measure
1.80 by 1.30 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Vermont,
Quebec, possibly Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, and Ontario,
Minnesota, South Dakota, Utah, and Oregon, and south in the
mountains to Colorado, Arizona, and probably New Mexico,
north to Labrador, possibly Greenland, Fort Anderson, Kotzebue
Sound, and St. Michael, Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands. Win-
ters from Maryland, casually north to Maine, western New York,
Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Texas, Nevada, Brit-
ish Columbia, and the Aleutian Islands, south to the West
Indies, Central America, and Lower California. Recorded from
Great Britain, Bermuda, and Hawaii.
This beautiful bird resembles almost exactly the
European variety. While well known through-
out our country it is not particularly common
on the Atlantic Coast. The green-winged teal
breeds farther north than the blue-winged, and
Duck-shooting 97
follows it on the southern migration. In summer
passing into the British provinces, they nest as
far north as Hudson Bay and Alaska, the south-
ern limit of their breeding range being our
northern mountain states. The nest, placed in
a marsh and composed of grass, is neatly hidden.
In mountainous countries a meadow along the
stream is often the site. Occasionally the nearest
water is some distance off, but this is an excep-
tion. The broods are often large, and we some-
times see this little duck with a charge of eighteen
or more ducklings. The young, about the size
of bantam chicks, follow the mother, keeping
close to the shore in shallow water, seldom ven-
turing far from the cover of grass or weeds.
On September 10, 1890, at the Magdalen Islands,
I flushed a female of this species. The bird ex-
hibited every sign of distress. Soon a faint peep
almost under foot revealed a little teal just
hatched. After a careful search we found several
others in the short grass. The old bird kept
close by, flying within a few feet of us, uttering
a plaintive note of alarm. This was undoubtedly
a late second brood.
The green-winged teal arrive in the United
States after the blue-winged, and we find them
in flocks together in September. They associate
often with mallard and black duck, and have many
habits in common. In Mexico the three varie-
H
98 The Water-fowl Family
ties of teal are abundant, occurring together for a
short time in the spring of the year. In April
the green- and blue-winged were about equal in
number with an occasional cinnamon teal. Three
weeks later the green-winged teal had mostly gone,
but we saw the blue-winged with the cinnamon.
On the Atlantic Coast this bird occasionally
stragegles offshore and is killed with the sea
ducks. An instance of this came to my notice
last winter, when a full-plumaged male was killed
by Charles Langfare, off Branford, Connecticut,
in the Sound; it came to broadbill decoys.
The favorite haunts of the green-winged teal
in the United States are the marshes and shallow
lakes of the Western states. It is common in the
Rocky Mountain states and in California, arriv-
ing early in September and remaining until the
first cold weather, when it is one of the first of
our ducks to leave for warmer climates. They
follow the Mississippi Valley to the Gulf states
and are found along the Gulf of Mexico as far
south as the shores of Central America, and at
times are numerous in the West Indies. Popular
with sportsmen and killed relentlessly by market
gunners, this bird is exposed everywhere within
its available range to persecution; yet it is a
pleasure to feel there are some localities where
the green-winged teal still exists in large numbers,
gentle and undisturbed.
Duck-shooting 99
BLUE-WINGED TEAL
(Querquedula discors)
Adult male — Top of head, chin, and space along base of bill, black ;
a crescentric band of white, edged with black, goes from the
forehead in front of the eye to the throat; rest of head and
neck plumbaceous, with a metallic purple gloss on occiput;
back, dusky, with bars of buff; long scapulars, greenish black,
with a central stripe of buff; lesser wing-coverts, pale blue;
greater coverts, dusky, with white tips forming a bar in front of
the speculum, which is metallic green ; lower back and upper tail-
coverts, dusky; a white patch on each side of the tail; entire
lower parts, reddish buff, spotted with dusky, becoming paler on
lower breast ; under tail-coverts, black ; iris, brown; bill, black ;
legs and feet, yellow, with dusky webs.
Measurements — Length, 15 inches; wing, 7.30 inches; culmen,
1.70 inches ; tarsus, 1.20 inches.
Adult female — Top of head, black; remainder of head and neck,
buff, streaked with dusky; chin and throat, white; upper parts,
dusky, feathers edged with buff; wing-coverts, blue, but green
speculum is wanting; under parts, buff, with dusky markings ;
bill, greenish black; legs and feet, greenish yellow. The blue
patch on the shoulder is distinctive.
Measurements — Length, 15 inches; wing, 7 inches; culmen, 1.40
inches ; tarsus, I.12 inches.
Young male — Similar to female; white throat, speckled with dusky ;
green speculum is visible; under parts, buff, barred with dusky.
Male during breeding season assumes the dull plumage of the
female.
Downy young — Top of head and upper parts, brown; buff spots in
front of wing, across wing, and at side of rump; forehead, line
to eye and lower parts, pale buff; sides of head and hind neck,
ochraceous buff.
£ggs —Ten to twelve in number, pale buff in color, and measure
1.85 by 1.30 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Maine, occasionally Rhode Island, western
New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado,
Nevada, Wyoming, and British Columbia, and probably Texas,
L. of C.
100 The Waterfowl Family
Arizona, Mexico, and Lower California, north to New Bruns-
wick, Labrador, Repulse Bay, Great Slave Lake, Saskatchewan,
and possibly the Yukon Delta. Winters from Maryland, Ken-
tucky, Missouri, Texas, and California, south to the West Indies,
and South America to Ecuador. Rare on the Pacific Coast,
and in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in migration. Re-
corded from Europe and Bermuda.
While the blue-winged teal is generously dis-
tributed in the northern United States and lower
provinces of Canada, the birds are in no way
partial to cold weather and hurry along at the
first frosts. True to the sunny South, they loiter
on its inland waters and winter along the bays
and lagoons of the Gulf Coast, well into the
tropics. This bird loves the rice-fields, where
the nature of the place affords protection when
once the flocks are settled, their danger being on
the flight to and from the feeding-ground. On
this diet the teal attains the high reputation it
holds among epicures. In late August we find
them fully fledged, frequenting the marshes of
the West where the wild rice grows. They are
relentlessly hunted from time of first arrival. Dur-
ing the hours that are sacred to the duck marsh,
the time after dawn and toward dusk, they are
found. At first many are killed by pushing
through the grass as they jump up in front of the
skiff or on their line of flight between the ponds.
At the approach of evening the first line appears
over the tops of the rush-grass, flying low and with
Duck-shooting 101
a speed possessed only bya teal. Another minute
and they have passed; the rush of their wings
told how closely they came; but no one but an
old hand could have stopped one. The next
flock follow, the gunner rises in time, and they
sheer off, crowding together in an attempt to
turn; but a well-placed shot drops several birds.
So they come on until dark, when the soft
whistling overhead tells of ducks still looking
for a spot to feed and spend the night in
peace.
The male blue-winged teal in his full spring
dress is one of our beautiful water-fowl. The
delicate brown speckling of the breast, the light
blue and white of the wing, and the soft violet of
the head, with a face of white, make a pleasing
combination. In this plumage he is seen in
April and May, but not commonly on the eastern
coast, the journey north being along the water-
courses of the interior. We found large numbers
of them near Tampico. It was late April, and
they were mated but still in small flocks. Undis-
turbed and tame, they gathered at the water’s
edge on the shores, keeping company with the
yellowlegs and other waders; if alarmed, they ran
along the flats with the speed of a plover, or
springing up they settled at a safer distance.
The blue-winged teal undoubtedly breeds spar-
ingly far south on its range, but most abundantly
102 The Water-fowl Family
on the northern prairies of the United States and
Manitoba, choosing the borders of the sloughs of
rush-grass. Here the nest is concealed among the
weeds and rushes and consists of an accumula-
tion of grass lined with feathers. The duck covers
her eggs while away from the nest. June is the
time for incubation. The male now loses his fine
attire and takes on a plain brown plumage, closely
resembling that of the duck. In late August
the young are fledged and we see the first flocks,
the mark of early fall.
CINNAMON TEAL
(Querquedula cyanoptera)
Adult male — Top of head, blackish; rest of head, neck, and lower
parts, bright chestnut; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail,
olive-brown, feathers lighter on edges ; wing-coverts, pale blue ;
tips of greater wing-coverts, white, forming bar over a green
speculum ; bill, black; legs and feet, orange; webs, dusky ; iris,
orange.
Measurements —Length, 17 inches; wing, 7.25 inches; culmen,
1.80 inches ; tarsus, 1.25 inches.
Adult female — Resembles the female blue-winged teal, but more
reddish ; sides of head and throat, deep buff ; back, olive-brown ;
entire under parts, light brown; breast, rufous, with dusky spots ;
bill, dusky ; feet, yellowish.
Measurements — Length, 16.50 inches; wing, 6.75 inches; culmen,
1.70 inches; tarsus, 1.25 inches.
Young male — Resembles female, but speculum is more distinct and
under parts are streaked instead of spotted.
Downy young—Top of head and upper parts, olive; under parts,
sides of head, and a stripe over the eye, yellowish buff; a narrow,
dark brown stripe on sides of head; two pair of buff spots, one
on sides of back, the other on sides of rump.
Duck-shooting 103
£ggs — Twelve to fourteen in number; color, ivory-white; measure
1.80 by 1.35 inches.
Habitat — Breeds in western North America, north to British Colum-
bia, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado, and east to western
Kansas, and in western South America, probably south to Chili,
where it is known to breed; occurring also in Argentina, Pata-
gonia, and the Falkland Islands. All winter south of the United
States, excepting stragglers in Louisiana. Recorded also from
the West Indies, Florida, New York, Texas, Nebraska, Illinois,
Minnesota, Manitoba, and Alberta.
The cinnamon teal is hardly common in the
United States, where it is found chiefly in Cali-
fornia, and is known as the red-breasted teal; but
in Mexico, throughout the table-lands, the bird is
abundant. The first arrivals come late in March,
and by May they are common on all the lakes
and lagoons of the mesa. March 20, 1901, while
looking for ducks along a little creek near Laguna,
I saw, just below the edge of the bank, in the
shallow water, some thirty or forty teal, mostly
green-winged. After watching them for several
minutes in the seclusion of their pool, a hawk
started the flock, and as they rose, the dark red
of one attracted my attention. It was shot. This
was my first introduction to the cinnamon teal,
and few birds have given me more pleasure at
first acquaintance. By early May they were com-
mon wherever there was water, at first associating
with the flocks of other teal. These, however,
soon left on their journey north, and the cinna-
mon teal was abandoned to the companionship
104 The Water-fowl Family
of gadwall and shovellers. We often saw this trio
of species, the teal frequenting the edges of the
ponds, running along the flats, sometimes jump-
ing up from the grass near the shore. They were
in pairs, and very tame. Undoubtedly these birds
came on to the high lands to breed at this time,
for they are not found here after the early fall, in
September and October resorting to the coasts.
The nest is placed near the edge of the pond or
marsh, on the ground, and composed of grass,
lined with feathers, often concealed by more or
less rush-grass loosely scattered over it.
RUDDY SHELDRAKE
(Casarca casarca)
Adult male — Head and neck, buff, grading into orange-brown on
the lower portion of the neck, which is surrounded by a black
ring; back, breast, and under parts, fox-red; rump, yellowish
red, streaked with black; wing-coverts, white, with a speculum
of greenish purple; tail and tail-coverts, black; bill, legs, and
feet, blackish ; iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 24 inches; wing, 14.50 inches; culmen,
1.75 inches; tarsus, 2.25 inches.
Adult female — Similar to the male ; plumage is generally lighter and
the color at the base of neck is lacking.
Eggs — Eight to ten in number, cream color, measuring 2.55 by 1.85
inches.
Habitat — Southern Europe, northern Africa, and southern Asia, east
to China and Japan, straggling occasionally to Scandinavia and
Iceland, and recorded twice from Greenland.
This species has been included among the
North American birds on account of the doubtful
Duck-shooting 105
evidence of two Greenland specimens. One of
these birds was found by Dr. Vanhoffen, while
naturalist of the expedition sent to West Green-
land in 1892 by the Geographical Society of
Berlin, in a small collection of birds’ skins made
that year in the district of Upernavik, and the
fact that several were taken that year in Iceland
increases the probability that this specimen was
collected in Greenland.
In many of its habits more like a goose than a
duck, the ruddy sheldrake associates with geese,
and has a call note that is gooselike in quality.
It is a shy bird, feeding in the ponds and marshes
at night, and spending the day on open plains
where it can guard against danger. It breeds
very early, seeking retired islands in lakes in Asia
Minor. There it lays in holes among the rocks
or sometimes in a burrow in the ground.
SHOVELLER
(Spatula clypeata)
Adult male — Head and neck, dark metallic green; dusky line on
hind neck from head to back; upper part of back, breast, and
anterior scapulars, white ; rump, and upper and under tail-coverts,
black glossed with green; wing-coverts, pale blue; speculum,
metallic green; tail, brown edged with white, a white patch on
each side of base of tail; entire under parts, deep chestnut ; bill,
black ; iris, yellow; legs and feet, orange-red.
Measurements — Length, 19 inches ; wing, 9.50 inches; culmen, 2.80
inches; tarsus, 1.40 inches.
Adult female — Head, neck, and sides, buff, streaked with dusky;
chin and throat, buff; speculum, green ; back, brown, edged with
106 The Water-fowl Family
buff; under parts, buff, spotted with brown ; bill, brown; base of
maxilla and mandible, orange; iris, yellow; legs, orange.
Measurements — Length, 1g inches ; wing, 8.75 inches ; culmen, 2.50
inches ; tarsus, 1.20 inches.
Young male — Resembles female, but coloring is deeper ; under parts
darker. Adult male when moulting resembles female.
Downy young — Back of neck and upper parts, olive-brown, otherwise
pale buff; yellowish spots on each side of back and rump; the
bill is like that of the other ducklings, not enlarged.
£ggs — Eight to twelve in number, greenish white in color, and
measure 2.05 by 1.40 inches.
Habitat — Europe, Asia, and northern portions of Africa in the Old
World. In North America breeds from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, and California and probably
Lower California and Mexico, north to the Bering Sea coast of
Alaska, Saskatchewan, Kenewatin, and probably to Fort Ander-
son, and east to Ontario. Winters from Maryland, occasionally
New Jersey, possibly Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Arizona,
and British Columbia, south to the West Indies and Central
America; also in Hawaii. Occasional in migrations on the
Atlantic Coast, north to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland; and
in Bermuda.
In the United States the shoveller has a wide
range, but is rare on the Atlantic Coast. It is
most abundant through the prairie states, south
into Texas and Mexico. This species undoubtedly
breeds along a large part of its range. It is found
nesting regularly in the fur countries, in the
vicinity of the Yukon River, Lake Winnipeg, and
the Barren Grounds, and commonly in Montana,
Dakota, and Manitoba. The nest is close to the
water on the edge of a marsh or island, concealed
under grass or brush, and consists of a mere de-
pression, roughly lined with grass. A nest found
SHOVELLERS— MALE AND FEMALE
Duck-shooting 107
by Mr. B. F. Goss at Horicon Lake, southern
Wisconsin, May 24, is described as situated
near the highest part of a small island, some five
feet from the water on bare ground, and in com-
pany with numbers of mallards. The nest con-
tained ten fresh eggs. It breeds from late May
to July, the time corresponding to the locality.
There isa record of a brood of shovellers hatched
in the garden of the Zodlogical Society in England
in the summer of 1841. After the duties of incu-
bation the bright plumage of the male is shed,
and the bird assumes an attire like that of the
female, but darker, not resuming his splendid
dress of winter until October. During the latter
part of August the shoveller is perhaps the com-
monest duck of our Western states, frequenting the
ponds and sloughs of the prairies. Here they are
found with large numbers of other ducks, and are
the tamest and most readily approached of all the
flocks. They feed on various vegetable and animal
substances which the peculiar, broad bill is specially
adapted for sifting from the water. The flesh,
while good, is not equal to that of the mallard or
teal. When the vast numbers of ducks congregat-
ing on the lake are disturbed, the shovellers cross
the land low down, and while the flight is speedy,
they are readily killed. These birds come well to
decoys; but as the localities where they are most
abundant are rather beyond the range of the ordi-
108 The Water-fowl Family
nary duck-hunter, not many are killed in this way.
Late fall and early winter finds the shoveller in the
Southwestern states and Mexico, going well into
the tropics. The male in his adult plumage is
one of our most beautiful ducks. The combina-
tion of light blue and white of the wing, with the
rich brown of the breast, is particularly striking.
The green head and rather large appearance cause
him sometimes at a distance to be confused with
the mallard, but when nearer the distinction is
readily made. In Mexico the shoveller, with the
gadwall and cinnamon teal, stay latest. In April,
1901, I saw ina small pool near one of the ranches
in northern Mexico a flock of several hundred
shovellers, the large majority of them males.
They allowed close approach and continued to
preen their feathers, at times uttering a low gut-
tural quack. The brilliant coloring of these birds
in the bright sunlight was a splendid sight. This
small pond was the only water for twenty miles,
and the Mexicans informed us they arrived in
small relays in March, staying until May. Late
in May, near Chihuahua, shovellers were numerous.
At this time they were mated. A number of males,
shot then, showed evidence of abeginning of change
in plumage. The lagoons of the Gulf Coast of
Mexico are the winter resort of great numbers of
these birds, as well as the bays of California and
the Pacific Coast of Mexico. This bird is common
Duck-shooting 109
in Texas and Louisiana, and is found sparingly on
the Atlantic Coast of the Southern states, but is
rare north of North Carolina and a straggler in
New England. Twoare recorded from Rye Beach,
Massachusetts, in August, 1872. Four killed on
the sand-bars just outside of New Haven harbor
in September, 1886, were brought to the writer.
The shoveller is known by a variety of names,
such as spoonbill, blue-winged shoveller, red-
breasted shoveller, spoon-billed teal, spoon-billed
widgeon, broadbill, swaddlebill, mud_ shoveller,
mesquin.
PINTAIL
(Dajila acuta)
Adult male — Head and upper neck, brown, darkest on the crown;
sides of head with metallic purple reflections; upper part of
neck, black behind, lower part lighter, with faint white undula-
tion; a white stripe beginning at upper edge of black portion
passes down sides of neck and is continuous with the white of
lower parts; back and sides waved with fine, narrow, white and
dusky lines; wing-coverts, brownish gray, the last row tipped
with cinnamon, forming a bar across the wing ; speculum, bronze,
with copper and green reflections, with an outside black bar
and white tip; under parts, pure white; upper tail-coverts,
black, edged with white, and lengthened ; tail feathers, pointed,
dark brown on outer side, gray on inner; the two central feath-
ers black, long, and pointed, extending beyond the others;
under tail-coverts, black, edged with white; iris, brown; bill,
slate, black on tip; legs and feet, slate; webs, dusky.
Measurements — Length, 26 inches; wing, 10.50 inches; culmen,
2.30 inches; tarsus, 1.60 inches; tail, 7 inches.
Adult female —Top of head, brown, streaked with black; rest of
head, buff, streaked with dusky; upper parts, dusky, crossed
with bars of buff; under parts, white, streaked with dusky;
110 The Water-fowl Family
upper tail-coverts, spotted with black and white; bill, bluish
gray, blackish on top; legs and feet, slate; webs, dusky.
Measurements — Length, 21 inches ; wing, 9.30 inches ; culmen, 1.80
inches; tarsus, 1.60 inches. This bird is easily distinguished
from female ducks of other species by its long, slender neck.
Young male — Similar to female, but with speculum on wing.
Downy young — Top of head, back of neck and upper parts, olive-
brown; a dull white stripe on each side of back, and over eye;
a brown stripe through the eye from bill; under parts, grayish
white.
£ggs — Five to nine in number, pale grayish green and measure 2.30
by 1.55 inches.
Habitat —In the Old World, Europe, breeding south to the Rhone
Delta, Asia, northern Africa, China, and Japan. In North
America, breeds in New Brunswick and from Minnesota, IIli-
nois, Missouri, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, and Washington,
possibly Arizona and California, north to the Bering Sea coast
of Alaska, Kotzebue Sound, Point Barrow, and Fort Anderson,
and probably east to Davis Strait and Hudson Bay. Winters
from Virginia, rarely Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, possibly Wis-
consin, Kansas, Arizona, Nevada, and British Columbia, south
to the West Indies and Central America; also in Hawaii.
Occasional on the Atlantic Coast in migration, north to New-
foundland and Labrador, in Greenland and in Bermuda.
With a range as extensive as the mallard’s,
this species is nowhere as common. We find the
pintail widely dispersed in the Old World, and
occurring throughout North America, inland and
on the coasts. The northern regions of both
continents are their breeding-grounds. In North
America through the Barren Grounds to the
Arctic Sea and from Great Slave Lake to Alaska,
this bird nests as far south as the northern border
of the United States. Nelson, observing the birds,
Duck-shooting III
breeding on the Yukon, speaks of their habits
at this time as interesting and peculiar. “The
duck rises to a great height after the manner of
a snipe, and setting the wings descends with a
rush, causing a roaring noise which is heard at
considerable distance.” The nest is placed on
low, dry ground, a short distance from water,
underethe shelter of bushes: It 1s) a mere: de-
pression, lined with down and feathers. The
duck lays from six to ten eggs. On the prairies
of Dakota, Montana, and Manitoba the pintail
occupy the same marshes as the mallards for
their nesting, but the birds do not associate.
The duck is a close sitter, and loath to leave her
eggs. During early incubation the male is some-
times seen in the vicinity, but later leaves to
moult, and during this period assumes a brown
plumage not unlike the female, but darker, distin-
guishable by the tail feathers and the brighter
speculum of its wing. The young are hatched
early in July, and able to fly in September, when
fledged frequenting the larger ponds in company
with numbers of other ducks. If disturbed, they
are among the first birds to take flight, springing
into the air, coming over the pass with a speed
that makes them the easiest of birds to miss.
In October we see the first evidences of the
winter plumage. The males now are in full
dress, with the exception of their long tail
112 The Water-fowl Family
feathers, which are not yet fully grown. By the
last of the month they are scattered over their
fall haunts, and are seen in numbers throughout
the West and South.
In portions of the West, where they frequent
the ponds and smaller lakes, they are much more
easily killed than on larger bodies of water. The
pintail arrive on the coast of North Carolina late
in October, and are found in numbers through the
brackish sounds. Decoys attract them occasion-
ally, but never in as large numbers as the other
ducks, for they are always wary and quick to
suspect danger. These birds can be distin-
guished afar. The white under parts of the male
and their long necks mark them at once. The
flight is high in lines abreast, but almost before
the flock is seen they are by and out of sight.
When about to decoy no bird is more graceful;
they often drop from a height far out of range
and circle about the stool, watching carefully for
the slightest motion; finally they swing within
range and plunge among the wooden ducks.
After realizing the mistake, they spring up all
together, and are out of shot almost before you
realize the chance is gone.
On the water, pintail maintain the same grace
they show in flight, carrying themselves with all
the ease of a swan. Many of the flocks winter
much farther south than North Carolina, and
Duck-shooting 113
arrive in the spring on the journey north in large
numbers. The birds are seen at this time pass-
ing high over the marshes, where they feed at
night, often with the black duck and mallard,
leaving early in the morning. The flight is like
the widgeons’, but quieter, their whistling not
as noticeable. They have the same habit of
alarming other ducks, and spoil many chances
for the hunter. The pintail resort to large open
bodies of water, especially when much disturbed
by hunting; but they are surface feeders and do
not dive for food; grasses and various vegetable
matter growing in the shallow water form the
diet. The flesh is excellent, and the bird is
highly esteemed for the table. When wounded,
they will dive to effect escape, but prefer to skulk
and hide. On the New England coast the pin-
tail is rare, nor is it common on Long Island.
Only a few instances of its occurrence in Con-
necticut are known to the writer, and these were
birds killed at dusk with black duck.
This species is known by a variety of names,
sprigtail, spiketail, spindletail, spreetail, pigeon-
tail, and smee.
WOOD DUCK
(Azx sponsa)
Adult male — Head with a crest reaching well down to the back, of
green and violet metallic hues ; a narrow white line at the angle
of the maxilla passes over its edge and reaches to the end of the
I
114 The Waterfowl Family
crest; another white line beginning below and behind the eye
extends along the lower end of crest; cheeks and sides of neck,
violet-black; crest, silky in texture of metallic greens and
purples ; throat and front of neck, pure white; back, dark brown
glossed with green; lower back and rump darker, grading into
black on upper tail-coverts ; wing-coverts, steel-blue with black
tips; scapulars, black with metallic reflections; the longer
tertials tipped with a white bar; lower portion of throat and
breast extending well on to the sides, chestnut, mottled in front
with white; on the sides of the breast, above shoulder, is a
broad black bar over which is another of white; sides and
flanks, buff crossed by fine wavy black lines; feathers of the
upper borders having at their ends two bars of black enclosing
a white one; lower breast, pure white; on each side of rump is
a patch of dark purple ; under tail-coverts, dark greenish brown ;
tail, black, with metallic reflections ; bill, purple, red behind the
nostrils with a black spot on the culmen; nail, black ; an oblong
spot of white from nostril to nail; basal outline, yellow; legs
and feet, brownish yellow with dark webs; eyelids, vermilion ;
iris, red, sometimes reddish brown.
Measurements — Length, 19 inches; wing, 9.30 inches; tail, 4.70
inches; tarsus, 1.50 inches; culmen, 1.40 inches.
Adult female — Head, gray ; crest shorter and smaller than drake’s ;
back and rump and upper tail-coverts, brown, glossed with
bronze; wings similar to male’s but with wider band of white;
breast, reddish brown ; under parts, white ; flanks, brown spotted
with white; bill, dark lead color with a black nail; legs and
feet, yellowish brown; eyelids, yellow; iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 17 inches; wing, 8.30 inches; tarsus, I.30
inches ; culmen, 1.30 inches.
Downy young — Head and upper parts, dark brown; sides of the
head, with a stripe over the eye, buff; dull white spots on the
shoulder and on each side of the rump.
£ggs — Eight to fourteen in number, ivory-white when unsoiled, and
measure 2.10 inches in length by 1.50 in breadth.
Habitat — Breeds from Florida and the Gulf states, Colorado,
Nevada, and California, north to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
possibly Labrador, Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and
British Columbia. Winters chiefly in the United States, from
Duck-shooting Tas
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Texas,
south to the West Indies and Mexico, and in Oregon and
California. Accidental in Europe and Bermuda.
Any hunter could well repent his ruthlessness
as he holds in his hand the dead wood-drake,
and wish him alive and back again, a beautiful
ornament to woodland waters. The stream, where
it broadens into quiet water, well protected by a
thick growth of alders, or some old mill-pond
back in the woods, long since deserted, will miss
him. Here he spent the late spring and early
summer with his mate, and saw the young brood
fledged. In October he brought them to the spot
where young oaks line the water’s edge and hide
the swamp, affording their favorite food, acorns.
And now with October foliage at its height, when
cold nights warned him to push farther south and
take his charge, he falls, his splendid plumage
blood-stained. No bird less deserved the fate.
Wood duck are found in the woodland dis-
tricts of the United States and Canada, north to
the soth parallel. They arrive in New England
and the northern United States early in May,
and frequent the secluded streams and lakes. At
first in flocks of several, they soon separate and
each pair seeks a nesting-place. This is generally
the hollow of a tree or broken stump, rarely a
deserted crow’s nest. The aperture is thirty or
forty feet from the ground and surprisingly small
116 The Water-fowl Family
for the size of the bird, the eggs being some-
times three or four feet from the opening. The
bird flies through the woods and lights on the
tree with all the speed and grace of a wild dove.
Wilson describes a nest of the summer duck
found on the Tuckahoe River, New Jersey, May 18:
“The tree was twenty yards from water on a
declivity; in its hollow and broken top about six
feet down, lying on soft decayed wood, were thir-
teen eggs, covered with down. This tree had
been repeatedly occupied.” ;
In an instance the writer has noticed, a pair of
wood duck for years built in a broken branch of
an elm, standing on the edge of a mill-pond ina
small New England town. When the young
were hatched the brood regularly disappeared,
the birds trusting the locality for nesting purposes,
but not for rearing their young.
Professor Kumlien describes a nest found in
Wisconsin, in a high burr oak, in a thicket three-
quarters of a mile from water.
The young are carried to the ground by the
old bird in her bill. The little brood frequent
some wild spot where foliage hides them, or a
secluded pool along a stream. They feed on
insects, water larva, or tender buds. The mother’s
note is low and prolonged, resembling the sylla-
bles whee-whee, and the young answer with a
soft peep. The brood fly in September, and in
Duck-shooting ay
the fall we look for them in spots where acorns
drop into the water. On this food they quickly
fatten, and the bird in some localities goes by the
name of acorn duck. With the first threatenings
of winter they pass on toward the south and we
find them in our Gulf states, frequenting the
ponds and rivers.
This bird is also known as the summer duck,
bridal duck, wood widgeon, and branchier in
Louisiana.
Gentle and readily domesticated, the wood
duck deserves all possible protection; but the
excellence of its flesh and demand for its feath-
ers expose it to a relentless persecution, and this
species is rapidly decreasing.
CHARTER. 11
DUCK-SHOOTING (CONTINUED)
THE SEA-DUCKS
(fuliguling)
Near -y allied to the river-ducks in most points,
a sea-duck can be distinguished always by the
membranous lobe on the hind toe. Their feet
and palmations are also larger, and their legs
set farther back on the body, with the result that
their walk is even more of a waddle. In many
of their habits they closely resemble the river-
ducks, but they are fond of deep water at all
seasons of the year, and sometimes occur in flocks
containing thousands of individuals. Except in
the breeding season, few of them frequent fresh
water to any extent, but gather in large beds off
the coasts, flying into some bay in the morning to
feed, and retiring far from shore at night. They
are expert divers, often obtaining their food at great
depth, sometimes seeking the bottom even in one
hundred and fifty feet of water. Their bodies,
however, are so heavy relatively to their wings,
that most of them cannot rise from the water
118
Duck-shooting 119
except against the wind, and after they have
started, the flight is usually not so graceful as that
of the river-duck. They feed chiefly on shellfish
and crustacea, and their flesh is rank and fishy ;
but some, as the red-head, canvas-back and ruddy
duck, live on vegetable substances, and are highly
valued by epicures.
Though distributed throughout the world, the
majority of the forty or more species in the
family inhabit the northern hemisphere, breeding
far to the north. Some species lay their eggs in
large colonies on retired islands on the northern
coasts, the males collecting in enormous flocks
and living on the ocean some distance from the
land, while the females assume all the responsi-
bilities of incubation and raise the young. The
nests are on the ground, often under bushes,
and consist of a few twigs, grass, and leaves,
mixed with the down of the parent. This down
in the eider is so abundant that it has become an
article of commerce, and on the coasts of Green-
land, Iceland, and Norway the breeding colonies
are visited regularly by the inhabitants, and the
nests and many of the eggs collected. An aver-
age nest will weigh about an ounce and a third,
and from Greenland and Iceland nearly six thou-
sand pounds of down are exported annually.
These birds are carefully protected, and become
so tame that they sometimes breed in the houses
120 The Waterfowl Family
of the inhabitants, and will allow themselves to
be lifted from their eggs without a struggle.
The sea-ducks are very hardy birds, some of
them spending the winter on the ocean, not very
far from the Arctic circle, cold apparently not
troubling them in the least, as long as food is
abundant and water sufficient for their needs
remains unfrozen. The sexes differ in plumage,
that of the male being often very handsome. A
metallic speculum on the wing is rare. In many
species the males assume in summer a dull plu-
mage resembling the female, as do the river-ducks,
this plumage persisting for only a few weeks.
There is wide variation between the different
members of this family. While the scoters are
black and white with brightly colored bills, the
males and females differing little, the eiders, with
strangely shaped bills, are black and white in, the
male, and brown in the female. Both of these
groups are large and clumsy. Contrasting with
them we find the small and graceful old squaw,
with its long central tail feathers, and the little
ruddy duck, its tail feathers long and stiff, and
the male colored bright red. The Labrador
duck, which occurred formerly on the coasts of
New England and the Middle states, was a near
relative of the eiders.
A strange species of sea-duck living in South
America is known as the steamer-duck, because
Duck-shooting 121
its movements when swimming are said to resem-
ble those of a side-wheel steamer. Young birds
of this species can fly, but as they grow older
they lose this power, and content themselves with
diving and swimming. Australia possesses, as
might be expected, a very peculiar sea-duck. In
this species both sexes are brownish black in color,
but the male is nearly twice the size of the female,
and has a large wattle under the chin. It flies
rarely, but is a wonderful diver, staying under
water a remarkably long time. The male in the
breeding season gives out a strong odor of musk.
RUFOUS-CRESTED DUCK
(Vetta rujfina)
Adult male — Head and upper neck, vinaceous rufous, the soft and
bushy crest, paler; stripe on hind neck, rump, upper tail-coverts
and lower parts, brownish black; back and scapulars, grayish
brown; speculum, outer portion of scapulars, anterior border
and under side of wing, axillars and broad space on flanks,
white; primaries, whitish, the tips of all and outer webs of first
five, grayish brown; tail, grayish brown; bill, bright vermilion-
red, tipped with white; irides, reddish brown; legs, orange-red.
Measurements — Length, 21 inches; wing, 10.25 inches; tail, 4
inches ; culmen, 2 inches; tarsus, I.50 inches.
Adult female — Crest smaller than adult male; top of head and
stripe on hind neck, hair brown; rest of upper parts, grayish
brown, darker on rump and upper tail-coverts ; white scapular
patch wanting, and white border to wings indistinct ; speculum,
pale ashy, darker terminally and tipped with white; sides of
head, neck, and abdomen, pale ashy; rest of lower parts, brown-
ish white, becoming white on under tail-coverts ; primaries, like
male but slightly darker; bill, blackish tipped with pink ; irides,
hazel; legs, pinkish; palmations, blackish.
122 The Waterfowl Family
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, 10 inches; tail, 3.75
inches; culmen, I.go inches; tarsus, 1.50 inches.
Young male — Similar to adult female, but crest smaller and more
reddish ; the border of wing distinctly white, and white scapular
patch plainly indicated.
Downy young—Upper parts, dull olive-gray; lower parts and
scapular spots, pale yellowish gray; yellowish gray superciliary
stripe; olive-gray stripes on lores, one passing above supercili-
ary stripe and the other below eye to auriculars.
Eggs — Eight to ten, pea-green, measuring 2.20 by 1.70 inches.
Habitat — Eastern hemisphere, from the Mediterranean basin to
Turkestan and India, breeding irregularly north to Scotland, the
Kola Peninsula, and on the Yenisei River, Siberia, to within the
Arctic circle. Accidental in eastern United States.
The only claim of this species to rank as an
American bird is that on February 2, 1872, Mr.
George A. Boardman found a young male in Ful-
ton Market, New York, and this bird is believed
to have been shot on Long Island Sound.
It is a rather shy and solitary bird, not found
in large flocks or associating much with other
ducks. Not being an expert at diving it fre-
quents shallow, fresh-water marshes, feeding on
water-plants of various kinds. It breeds on small
islands in the Rhone Delta of southern France,
where Mr. W. Eagle Clarke found two nests on
May 17,1894. They were on the ground m
the centre of thick and tangled masses of shrub-
bery, and were reached by covered passages fully
two feet long, which had been worked through
the bottom of the bushes. These nests, com-
posed of down, held ten and seventeen eggs; but
Duck-shooting 129
the latter were doubtless laid by two females, as
they differed in size and color. The males were
swimming near these islands and impressed Mr.
Clarke with their great beauty, their crests look-
ing as if “fringed with gold.”
RED-HEAD
(Aythya americana)
Adult male — Head and neck, rich reddish brown, glossed with
purple; lower neck, chest, upper parts of back, rump, and upper
and lower tail-coverts, black; remainder of back, sides, and
flanks, grayish white, finely undulated with black; wing-coverts,
gray; speculum, ash-gray, bordered above with black, and
posteriorly with white; tail, dark brown; under parts white,
growing gray toward under tail-coverts; bill, broad and fiat,
rising at the base abruptly to the forehead; slate in color
and crossed by a black bar near the tip; iris, orange; legs and
feet, plumbous ; webs, dusky.
Measurements — Length, 19.50 inches ; wing, ginches; culmen, 2.10
inches ; tarsus, 1.40 inches; bill .80 inch in width.
Plumage of male in post-nuptial dress similar to female.
Adult female — Head and neck, pale brown, darkest on top; chin
and throat, white; cheeks, grayish brown; back and scapulars
of the same color; feathers tipped with light gray ; wing-coverts,
light gray; speculum, ash-gray ; lower back, dark brown; chest
and sides, gray-brown; feathers of abdomen broadly edged with
whitish ; bill, slate with a black nail; legs and feet, slate; webs,
dusky.
Measurements — Length, 19 inches; wing, 9 inches; culmen, 2
inches ; tarsus, 1.35 inches.
Downy young— Top of head and upper parts, olive with a yellow
spot on the sides of body and rump and on the borders of
wings ; sides of head, neck, and lower parts, buff.
£ggs — Eight to twenty in number, grayish white, and measure 2.40
by 1.70 inches.
124 The Water-fowl Family
Flabitat — Breeds from Michigan, possibly Indiana, Minnesota,
Nebraska, Missouri, possibly Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and
California, and reported as breeding in Maine, north to the fur
countries west of Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and
British Columbia. Winters from Maryland, rarely north to
Massachusetts, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Wyoming, Arizona,
Nevada, and British Columbia, south to the West Indies, Mexico,
and Lower California. In the migrations, found occasionally on
the Atlantic, north to the coast of Labrador.
The red-head is an associate of the canvas-back
in many localities and a close second in popular-
ity. The same persecution along the eastern
coast has decimated the flocks and driven the
birds away, yet small numbers are still seen in
their old haunts, while the canvas-back are prac-
tically gone.
The lakes and watercourses of our Western
states were the former resorts of countless myr-
iads of these birds, and even now in Minnesota,
Dakota, and Montana the red-head is still abun-
dant, breeding in the prairie sloughs, and north
into Manitoba on the shores and islands of wild
marshy lakes. Here red-heads breed in colonies
by themselves or in the company of mallards.
The nest is somewhat elevated, constructed of
grass and loose material, carefully canopied over,
frequently built up from the bottom in shallow
water among clumps of rushes. The eggs are
eight to twenty in number, and with them are occa-
sionally seen those of the ruddy duck. Incuba-
tion is begun in early June, and the duck is left
Duck-shooting 125
in charge alone, her mate disappearing to moult
and change his dress, going into a brown plumage
for the summer. The marshes of central North
America through the fur countries afford breed-
ing-grounds for numbers of red-head. The young
are fledged in late August, and many are killed
near their nesting-places, as they are not wild and
are readily approached. In North Dakota a hunter
can easily tire of shooting, but destruction of this
sort now is fortunately prevented by well-enforced
game laws. If other Western states protected
their wild fowl against the ravages of the pot-
hunter and the wanton sportsman in the same
efficient way, much would be accomplished in
preserving our wild duck.
In the fall of 1894, near Sanborn, North Dakota,
warm weather had persisted until late September,
when the first frost came. A few days later, about
October 1, I noticed the first flocks of flight red-
head. These passed over high up, for the most
part far out of range. The few we killed were all
old males with well-marked traces of the summer
plumage. This was most apparent in the brown
feathers of the head and breast. By the middle
of October they appear on the marshes of the
West, and are common from the Great Lake states
to the Rocky Mountains, and along the Missouri
and Mississippi valleys to the states bordering on
the Gulf of Mexico.
126 The Water-fowl Family
Numbers remain in Illinois, Iowa,and Missouri
until driven farther south by cold weather. In
November and December they are found in Texas
and in the bays and lagoons along the Mexican
coast. The red-head is numerous in California
and Colorado; abundant in the valley of the Salt
Lake, passing into Mexico, where it winters on
the interior lakes and along the Pacific Coast.
These birds reach the Chesapeake early in Novem-
ber, crossing the interior and not following to any
extent the Atlantic coast-line. They winter off
the coast of North Carolina, remaining until
March, some passing as far south as Florida and
the Bahamas. On the Chesapeake they feed on the
vallisneria, and under these circumstances the
flesh equals that of the canvas-back. The red-
head has many of the habits of the canvas-back,
and is killed in the same way,—from blinds on
the points along the line of flight, batteries off-
shore, or brush blinds staked out in shallow bays on
their feeding-grounds. In Currituck and Pamlico
sounds the regular method of shooting is from
batteries and brush blinds. The brush is set out
and left unused for some time until the birds
become accustomed; then, when the opportunity
offers, at the first streak of dawn the skiff is
pushed out of sight in the brush tops, well sur-
rounded by stool. The first small flocks of six
or eight soon appear, usually taking some certain
Duck-shooting 127
course. Once within sight of the decoys, one or
two ducks turn in on set wings; another instant
and the flock hover in front. When startled,
they often spring together, and the gunner of ex-
perience waits for this chance. Red-head come
to decoys with a grace few ducks possess, if only
they decide to come; but many times in full sight
of the stool they turn neither to right nor left,
keeping the same aggravating course, just out of
range.
These birds hail to a red flag almost as well as
the broadbill, but at the present time of more
gunners than ducks, tolling is seldom used.
On Long Island the red-head is found in small
flocks. The eastern end of Great South Bay and
of Shinnecock Bay for the past two years have
been the resort of these birds. North of Long
Island, along the coast, this species is rare. In
Connecticut the red-head I have seen have usually
been in flocks of the large broadbill, and several
birds in my possession were shot under these cir-
cumstances. In March, 1goo, five red-head were
killed on Lake Saltonstall, near New Haven. In
the spring of the year these birds are killed in
large numbers in certain places along the Missis-
sippi and its tributaries, when the woods are
flooded. The red-head is a high, fast flyer, a
gentle whistling marking the flight. Occasionally
a low quack is heard, but generally the bird is
128 The Water-fowl Family
silent. They dive and skulk with a skill that
saves many a wounded bird. The similarity in
size and marking of the red-head to the canvas-
back has made it possible to substitute it for
the latter. The bill always distinguishes the birds,
being broad and flat in the red-head and long and
thin in the canvas-back.
This species is also known as the raft-duck and
pochard.
CANVAS-BACK
(Aythya vallisneria)
Adult male — Top of head and feathers at the base of bill, black;
rest of head and neck, brownish red; upper part of back, chest,
and upper and under tail-coverts, black ; wing-coverts, gray, ver-
miculated with white; speculum, gray; tips vermiculated with
white, and inner feathers edged externally with black; rest of
plumage, white, finely undulated on the back with black; bill,
narrow, widening slightly toward the end and longer than the
head, black in color; tail, black; iris, red; legs and feet, slate.
Measurements — Length, 20 inches ; wing, 9.10 inches ; culmen, 2.40
inches; tarsus, 1.70 inches.
Adult female — Head, neck, and upper part of back, brown, rest of
back, darker; tips of the feathers undulated with white; under
parts, white; speculum, gray tipped with white, inner feathers
edged with black on outer web; tail, dark brown; iris, brown;
bill, black; legs and feet, slate.
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, 9 inches; culmen, 2.25
inches; tarsus, 1.50 inches.
Downy young— Upper parts, brown, with buff spots on sides of chest,
lower back, and rump ; space around eye, sides of head and neck,
and lower parts, buffy white.
Eggs — Six to ten in number; pale gray green in color, and measure
2.50 by 1.80 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Nevada,
Oregon, and British Columbia, north to Fort Anderson and Fort
Duck-shooting 129
Yukon. Winters in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, for-
merly abundantly, now rarely ; occasionally south to Florida and
straggling to the West Indies; and from western New York
rarely, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, and
British Columbia, south to California, Mexico, Central America,
and the Gulf Coast. In the migrations occurs on the Atlantic
Coast rarely, north to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and in
Bermuda.
The story of this duck on our eastern coast is
one of days that are past. In the halcyon times
when Chesapeake Bay and the canvas-back duck
were words inseparable, the winter home was here.
The large flocks arrived about the middle of No-
vember, tired and thin from their long flight; they
gathered on the bars offshore, rising only when
disturbed, feeding on the beds of tape-grass or
vallisneria (not the wild celery, as popularly sup-
posed). On this diet the flesh attained its highest
degree of excellence. In December the birds had
fattened and become more active, passing up and
down the bay to and from their feeding-grounds
in morning and evening flights, keeping well off-
shore in fair weather, leading over the points
when driven by wind or storm. The more famous
locations were the Narrows, Taylor’s and Abbey
islands on the western shore, Miller’s Island, and
Carroll’s Island. When driven from the bay by
constant shooting, they resorted to the larger
rivers. Blinds and decoys in all possible loca-
tions, batteries and sink-boxes offshore, awaited
K
130 The Water-fowl Family
them. They were drifted on when gathered on
their feeding-grounds. At night bedded on the
resting-places, the rafts of ducks were shot into
by means of large-bore guns or cannon as they
huddled together in front of the gunner’s light.
Occasionally they were taken in gill nets offshore.
Eagerly sought for and greedily hunted, killed by
every device known to man, this bird, the noblest
of all our water-fowl, has been driven from its old
haunts; and the Chesapeake Bay knows it no
more.
The few flocks occasionally seen in the vicinity
now bear sad testimony of the wanton destruction
of the past. Farther south, along the coast,
canvas-back still winter in some numbers, but
are seldom killed in any quantity, and then only
in heavy weather, or when ice holes afford a
limited feeding-ground. A few are found on the
James River. In 1893, when scarcely a canvas-
back was killed on the Chesapeake, there were
large flocks on the James. They often bedded
in the coves across the river from Westover, in
fair weather keeping well out in the centre, flying
up and down morning and evening. Ina heavy
snowstorm on Christmas day we shot them from
brush blinds on the south shore. There are few
more stirring sights than flocks of canvas-back
leading up within range of the blind, flying in
wedge-shaped lines high in air; as they come
Duck-shooting 131
nearer, the white back and red neck mark them.
They see the stool, and the flock wheels; two or
three leaders turn toward the decoys, and the
others follow. When alarmed, they rise high up,
and their powerful flight soon takes them beyond
danger. If wounded, the bird is quick to dive,
and swims a long distance under water, showing
the top of the head or bill, and then only for an
instant.
In Currituck and Pamlico sounds the canvas-
back are rarely shot from the points of marsh, but
almost entirely from batteries and bush blinds
far offshore. Nowadays a bag of ten or fifteen
ducks represents a good day’s shooting. Formerly,
all through the winter and well into the spring,
the canvas-back remained in the waters of Virginia
and North Carolina, leaving for the north in April.
The breeding range is from Oregon and the
northern portions of the western United States to
the northern limits of the fur countries on the
interior bodies of water. It has been found nest-
ing in the mountainous portions of northern
Oregon and California, Montana, and Dakota, in
the Devil’s Lake region, on the Anderson and
Fraser rivers, and in numbers on the Yukon.
Arriving at its breeding-ground late in May, by
the middle of June incubation is well started.
The nest is made from rushes and grass built up
from shallow water, and is situated in clumps of
132 The Water-fowl Family
rushes out in the sloughs, its top being canopied
over with the same material. The eggs are de-
posited before construction is complete, and are
from seven to ten in number. Occasionally the
eggs of the red-head and ruddy duck are found in
the same nest. Soon after incubation has been
begun the male leaves the duck and, seeking the
seclusion of larger neighboring bodies of water,
moults, losing the characteristic attire of spring,
the plumage at this time being a dull brown.
The ducklings are hatched in July, and quickly
become expert in hiding and diving, soon leaving
the more protected resorts of their nesting-places.
When full-fledged they frequent more open water
and the deeper, larger lakes.) Flere they @ane
joined by other families, and the flocks form.
With the cold nights and first frosts of early fall
they push along, and by late September the
advance flight is in evidence along the northern
boundaries of Montana and Dakota. These
birds are nearly all females and young. It is
early October before. we see the flocks of old
birds. The migration from the North is over the
watercourses of the interior, until near the boun-
daries of the United States; here some birds
strike the Pacific shore, a large body pass over
the prairie to Texas and Mexico, wintering on
the larger inland bodies of water and along both
coasts to Central America. Another smaller
Duck-shooting 133
flight is over the Great Lakes to the Chesapeake
and south. This is the course of those birds
wintering on the Atlantic Coast.
North of the Chesapeake, on the Atlantic, the
bird has always been scarce. It is now occasion-
ally killed on Long Island by battery gunners.
A few are sometimes taken in Barnstable County,
southeastern Massachusetts. Dr. Woods has
obtained them on the Connecticut River. Two
adult males were brought to me, killed on Lake
Saltonstall, near New Haven, December 25, 1go1.
Throughout the West canvas-back have been
driven from the thickly populated states; on the
rivers and lakes of Illinois they no longer abound.
In the prairie states, and in Colorado and Cali-
fornia, however, they are still killed in consider-
able numbers. They are not superior for the table
to many of the commoner ducks.
In the spring of 1go1, late in April, I was sur-
prised to see several flocks of canvas-back near
Tampico, Mexico. They were wilder than the
other ducks, but allowed us to approach surpris-
ingly near. Throughout the interior of Mexico
this bird is common, but does not frequent the
smaller sloughs with the thousands of other duck,
choosing the small lakes more inaccessible from
the ranches.
The canvas-back is known ‘by the names white-
back, bull-neck, and in New Orleans, cheval.
134 The Water-fowl Family
SCAUP DUCK
(Aythya marila)
Adult male— Head, neck, front of back and breast, black; head
and neck with metallic green reflections; lower part of back
and rump and under tail-coverts, black; middle of back, scap-
ulars, and anal region, white with black undulations; wing-
coverts, black, finely barred with white ; speculum, white, bounded
in front by black line; tail, blackish brown; belly and sides,
white; bill, blue-gray; nail, black; iris, yellow; legs and feet,
plumbeous.
Male in summer — Similar to female, but head blacker and back
whiter.
Measurements — Length, 19 inches; wing, 8.40 inches; culmen, 2
inches; tarsus, I.40 inches.
Adult female — Forehead and sides of head at base of bill, white ;
rest of head, neck, and breast, brown; upper parts, dusky brown;
back and scapulars, undulated slightly with white ; wings, brown,
with white speculum; belly, white; under tail-coverts and anal
region, dark brown; iris, bill, and feet, as in the male.
Measurements — Length, 19 inches; wing, 8.40 inches; culmen,
1.75 inches ; tarsus, 1.40 inches.
Downy young — Similar to the Lesser Scaup.
£ggs — Eight to twelve in number, pale olive-gray, and measure 2.55
by 1.70 inches.
fTabitat— Northern parts of northern hemisphere, breeding far
north, and, in the eastern hemisphere, wintering south to the
Mediterranean, Japan, China, and Formosa. In North Amer-
ica, breeds from the Magdalen Islands, Manitoba, Assiniboia,
Alberta, and British Columbia, possibly Michigan, Minnesota,
Iowa, and Oregon, north to Labrador, Hudson Bay, probably
Fort’ Anderson, Kotzebue Sound, and the Yukon Delta, Alaska,
and the Aleutian Islands. Winters from Maine to Florida and
the Bahamas on the Atlantic Coast ; on the Gulf Coast ; and from
Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada, south to Guatemala; and on
the Pacific Coast on the Aleutian Islands, and from British
Columbia to California. Rare in the migrations in Newfound-
Jand and Nova Scotia.
Duck-shooting 135
While the greater broadbill, or scaup, occurs
throughout North America, it is especially a bird
of the eastern coast, Chesapeake Bay marking
the common limit of its southern range. The
close relationship between the greater and the
lesser broadbill has led to considerable confusion
as regards the distribution of species. South of
the Chesapeake Bay and inland it is replaced by
the lesser variety. The summer home of the
broadbill is far in the North, along the farther
shores of Hudson Bay, Greenland, and Alaska.
The nest has been taken as far south as the
Magdalen Islands. It is roughly constructed of
grass and drift placed in a mere depression on
the ground. The eggs are covered well with down
and cared for entirely by the duck, for during
incubation the drakes associate by themselves.
Late October and early November mark their
arrival on the New England and Long Island
coasts ; the first small flocks are swelled in size by
newcomers, and the late fall finds them well estab-
lished in winter quarters. They soon accustom
themselves to surroundings and become wild and
hard of approach, in calm weather gathering in
vast flocks far out in the bay, passing to and from
their feeding-grounds in a characteristic undulat-
ing line,—if near land or disturbed by boats,
keeping high in air. Under these circumstances
batteries anchored out in the bay along their line
136 The Water-fowl Family
of flight bring the smaller flocks in range. Some-
times they drop to the stool when high overhead,
coming up to the decoys gracefully and tumbling
over themselves to settle among the wooden con-
gregation. If wounded, they dive almost at the
flash, and swim a long distance under water,
appearing at the surface for an instant with just
the head showing.
When stormy weather protects them from con-
stant gunning, they gather in vast flocks seeking
more sheltered water. The first clear day may
offer the opportunity. Be early. As the duck-
boat is quietly pushed out of the harbor to the
outer islands the birds seem in thousands, rising
in front and on all sides, leaving the water with a
loud splashing; then the whir of wings, and they
are gone. Now the first streak of light shows
the black shadow of a flock close by. The first
impulse is to shoot, the next to reach the blind.
It seems an age before the decoys are set and
everything is ready. Presently a flock leading by
the decoys calls for attention. It is still a little
early, and the stools hardly show; now four birds
hovering in front call forth the first two shots. The
silence is broken, flock after flock of frightened,
bewildered birds leave the water, circling, then
passing on. Soon the wavy lines far off mark
the departed; but your patience is not long taxed,
a small flock return and presently another, follow-
\
Duck-shooting 137
img seach) other initheysame™ precise ‘line. The
shooting is constant, and the gun grows hot; but
pick up your birds quickly, and don’t waste time,
for the flight is thick and fast, but short, and
broadbill do not make mistakes often.
This bird is highly prized by gunners of the
eastern coast, and when vegetable matter and the
various grasses found on the flats and bars com-
prise its diet, the flesh is excellent. Often the
food consists of barnacles and crustacea, which
impart a slightly fishy flavor to the flesh.
This species is also known as greater scaup
duck and bluebill.
LESSER SCAUP DUCK
(Aythya affinis)
Adult male — Head, neck, and front of body, black, with metallic
purple reflections on head; back and scapulars, white, barred
with narrow black lines; wing-coverts, dusky, mottled with
white; speculum, white; rump and upper tail-coverts, black;
breast and abdomen, white; sides, white, marked with dusky ;
tail, black; bill, slate; nail, black; legs and feet, slate; webs,
black ; iris, yellow.
Measurements — Length, 16 inches; wing, 8 inches; tail, 3 inches ;
tarsus, I.30 inches ; culmen, 1.70 inches.
Adult female — Space at base of bill, white; rest of head and neck,
brown; upper back and breast, umber-brown; wings, dark
brown; speculum, white ; under parts, white; rump and upper
tail-coverts, dark brown; bill and feet, slate; webs, dusky ;
iris, yellow.
Measurements — Similar to male.
Downy young — Upper parts, dark brown, with buff spots on side of
back and rump; lower parts, buff; forehead and side of head,
138 The Water-fowl Family
brownish buff; narrow brown ring across neck in front connect-
ing with brown of upper parts.
Eggs — Eight to twelve in number, pale gray buff tinged with olive,
and measure 2.30 by 1.50 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Nova Scotia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illi-
nois, Minnesota, North Dakota, Assiniboia, and Alberta, and
probably New York, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Wyo-
ming, north to Hudson Strait, Fort Anderson, and the Yukon
Valley, Alaska, and probably in Greenland. Winters from New
Jersey, rarely Massachusetts, Lake Erie, Louisiana, Texas, Colo-
rado, Arizona, Nevada, and British Columbia, south to the West
Indies, Guatemala, and Lower California. Not known to breed
in New England, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. Acci-
dental in Europe. Occurs in Bermuda.
For a long time this species was not differenti-
ated from the preceding, and considerable con-
fusion resulted. It can readily be distinguished
by its smaller size, the bill and feet being notice-
ably smaller and especially the breadth of the
nail of the bill, The head has a distinctly purple
sheen instead of the green of the greater broad-
bill. We find the lesser broadbill well dispersed
throughout the United States; in fall and winter
occurring on inland lakes and rivers, where it
often goes by the name of pond or creek broad-
bill. It continues south through Mexico to Gua-
temala, and is found along the South Atlantic
Coast below the Chesapeake, common in Florida
and the Gulf of Mexico. North of the Chesa-
peake this bird is more rare. Most of the
instances of its occurrence in New England
that have come under the writer’s observation
=
Duck-shooting 139
have been in the early fall, and then generally in
the company of the greater scaup.
The lesser broadbill breeds along the Yukon
and Anderson rivers and through the Arctic
regions north of Hudson Bay. The nest has
been taken as far south as Dakota. Marshes and
swamps of the fresh-water lakes close to the coast
are the favorite resorts in the North. The nest is
constructed in a rude manner of grass and rushes
well lined with down. Early July is the breeding-
time. According to MacFarlane, the male bird is
found with its mate well along in the period of
incubation. Early in October the first flocks
appear within our boundary, and by November
they are common throughout the West and along
the southern coast. The lesser broadbill possesses
all the habits of its near relative, but is found more
often on the shallow bays and in smaller bodies of
water. They come well to decoys and are occa-
sionally baited by grain scattered on their feeding-
ground. If these ducks have fed undisturbed for
a short time under such circumstances, they
return so persistently to the spot that a large
proportion of the flock are killed. Curiosity, a
trait associated with disaster, is not wanting in
both varieties of broadbill. If the situation favors,
a red flag is gently waved from a place of conceal-
ment. Phe flock at once notices it, the birds
become restless, soon one or two swim near,
140 The Water-fowl Family
others follow, and if the tolling is carefully man-
aged they are brought within close range.
On Currituck Sound in 1895, I saw several
hundred broadbill killed in the vicinity, all of
this species. They frequent the larger rivers
near the coast. While hunting on the James
River one day in December from a brush blind
in one of the bays, I noticed a small flock of
broadbill late in the afternoon leading up a creek
near by. They were soon followed by another,
and continually until dark, little bunches of these
birds coming from the same direction in the same
line, disappeared through the woods, evidently
going to some pond farther in for the night. The
lesser broadbill winters in Florida and along the
Gulf Coast, and in places where protection is af-
forded they become very tame, in some instances
staying near the hotels and winter resorts.
Their extensive distribution gives them a num-
ber of different names, and this species is variously
known as little broadbill, lesser scaup duck, little
bluebill, little black-head, river broadbill, raft-
duck.
RING-NECKED DUCK
(Aythya collaris)
Adult male — Head, neck, breast, upper parts, and under tail-coverts,
black, with a sheen of reddish purple on the head, which has a
slight crest ; a narrow chestnut collar around the middle of the
neck; a small triangular white spot on the chin; wings, dark
brown with a green gloss; speculum, gray; under parts, white,
a
Duck-shooting 141
the flanks and side waved with fine black lines; bill, black,
crossed by a bar of slate; legs and feet, slate; webs, dusky ; iris,
yellow.
Measurements — Length, 17.50 inches; wing, 8 inches; tail, 3.40
inches ; culmen, 1.90 inches; tarsus, 1.25 inches.
Adult female — Top of head and back of neck, dark brown; sides of
head, grayish white spotted with dusky; forehead, throat, and
neck in front, yellowish white; sides of neck, light brown; back
and wings, dark brown; speculum, gray, edged with white;
lower back and rump, black; upper breast, sides, and flanks,
yellowish brown; lower breast and belly, white; bill, iris, and
feet, as in the male.
Measurements — Length, 16 to 18 inches; wing, 8 inches; culmen,
1.25 to 2 inches; tarsus, 1.30 inches.
Male in breeding season goes into dull plumage resembling
female.
Downy young — Top of head, neck, and upper parts, dark grayish
brown, rest of head, neck, and lower parts, pale buff; a spot of
light buff in the centre of the back and on each side of the back
and rump.
£eggs—Nine to twelve in number, grayish or buff in color, and
measure 2.10 by 1.65 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Illinois, lowa, North Dakota, Utah, and Ore-
gon, north to the Mackenzie River and probably Fort Anderson,
and reported in summer at St. Michael, Alaska, and on the
Aleutian Islands. Said to have bred in Maine. Winters from
New Jersey, Illinois, Nevada, British Columbia, and the Aleu-
tians, south to the West Indies, Guatemala, and Lower Califor-
nia. Occurs in migration north on the Atlantic to Newfoundland,
Nova Scotia, and Quebec, and it has been recorded from Eng-
land and Bermuda.
The ring-neck as compared with other ducks is
nowhere a common variety. It 1s most abundant
through the Western states and Mississippi Valley,
and is found sparingly along the Pacific Coast.
On the Atlantic Coast it is taken most frequently
142 The Water-fowl Family
in the Southern states. Occasionally there has
been quite a spring flight through Illinois and
the adjacent states, numbers finding their way to
Chicago markets. In Maine and Massachusetts
the ring-neck is sometimes taken. In southern
New England it is rare; and the writer knows of
but two specimens killed in Connecticut: one was
an adult male shot in the winter of 1886 in a small
pond near New Haven, the other a young male
killed on Lake Saltonstall, December, 1900.
South it is more abundant, and on the large
sounds off Virginia and North Carolina a few are
shot, although the inland rivers and ponds seem
to be their favorite abode. In Georgia, Florida,
and along the Gulf of Mexico the ring-neck is
found in small flocks.
The breeding-ground is in the far North, but
the bird has been found on our northern border,
in Dakota and other of the Western states, and in
Maine, in the vicinity of Calais, by Mr. George
Boardman. Here in the summer of 1884 he took
a nest with eleven eggs. It was placed among
the reeds and thick grass on the banks of the St.
Croix River, and was constructed of grass without
down. The birds appear within the United States
early in November, and while going far south, a
few stay through the winter in the Northern states
until the last ice holes freeze. They are seen in
small flocks of from six to twelve, keeping pretty
Duck-shooting 143
much to themselves ; but sometimes they associate
with the lesser broadbill, whose habits they much
resemble. The ring-neck is a strong flyer, rising
easily and quickly from the water, the flight hav-
ing the wavy appearance of the broadbill. They
come readily to decoys, but are a difficult mark,
and when wounded readily escape by diving,
swimming well under water, showing just the
head when coming to the surface. A low, guttural
note is heard at times, but the birds are usually
quiet. The flesh is excellent. Other names for
this species are tufted duck, ring-bill bastard,
ring-bill black-head, ring-neck scaup, ring-bill
shaffer.
AMERICAN GOLDEN-EYE
(Clangula clangula americana)
Adult male — Head, occipital crest, and upper part of neck, glossy
green with sometimes violet reflections ; a large, oval, white spot
close to the base of bill on each side; lower part of neck, upper
part of back, greater wing-coverts, and under parts, pure white ;
rest of upper parts, long scapulars, and some secondaries, black ;
tail, ashy ; bill, black; feet, yellowish ; webs, dusky ; iris, yellow.
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, 8.85 inches; tail, 4.50
inches; tarsus, 1.50 inches; culmen, 1.60 inches.
Adult female — Head and upper part of neck, brown; a slight oc-
cipital crest; a narrow collar on neck of white, streaked with
gray; back, dark brown; feathers on upper back, edged with
gray; those of upper tail-coverts, tipped with pale brown;
white on wings not so extensive as those on male; tips of greater
wing-coverts, black, forming a bar across the white; a band of
bluish gray across upper part of breast; under parts, white ;
thighs, dusky ; tail, brown; bill, dull yellow, varied with brown ;
iris, light yellow; legs and feet, yellowish ; webs, dusky.
144 The Water-fowl Family
Measurements — Length, 17 inches; wing, 8 inches; tail, 4.50
inches; culmen, 1.30 inches; tarsus, 1.40 inches; height of bill
from point of angle to nearest cutting edge less than the dis-
tance between the farthest edge of the nostril and nearest
feathers at base of bill; in distinction from female Barrow’s
golden-eye.
Young male — Similar to female, but larger, and head not crested.
Downy young — Upper parts, including the upper half of the head,
sides, and thighs, deep, sooty brown, lighter on the jugulum.
Four pair of grayish white spots, situated one on the posterior
border of each wing, one on each side of the back, one on each
side of the rump, one on each flank; chin and throat, white;
remaining lower parts, grayish white.
Eggs — Ten to seventeen in number, bright pea-green in color,
measure 2.40 by 1.70 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Maine, New York, Minnesota, North Dakota,
Montana, probably Colorado, Alberta, and British Columbia,
north to Newfoundland, Labrador, Hudson Bay, the Mackenzie
Delta, Yukon Valley, and Cook Inlet, Alaska. Winters from
New Brunswick, Maine, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan,
Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Nevada, British Columbia,
and the Aleutian Islands, south to the West Indies, Mexico,
and California. Occurs in Bermuda.
We associate this sprightly duck with cold
weather. The smallest ice holes, when all the bays
and lakes are frozen, give it a chance for a liveli-
hood. The golden-eye remains fat and contented
under these circumstances, when other members
of the duck family quickly show the results of
starvation rations. This bird has a wide acquaint-
ance; in summer the Eskimo, in winter the
Florida Indian and the Mexican, with all varieties
of gunners in between. The American golden-
eye is common on the lakes and streams of the
Duck-shooting 145
Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Coast, throughout
the interior, and along the Atlantic.
The breeding range is from the northern
United States to the Arctic sea. Small streams
and lakes are their favorite resorts; here they
select a hollow tree at a comfortable distance
from the nearest water and raise their brood.
The female undertakes their entire charge and
teaches them the golden-eye tricks. In the sum-
mer of 1895, while travelling through the Cascade
Range in British Columbia, we found nearly
every small lake had its brood of golden-eye. It
was early in August, and the birds were not
fledged. The flocks were surprisingly large, in
some instances consisting of twenty or more
young ducks, and with them one old bird.
When disturbed, the duck at once flew to the
farther end of the pond, directing the course of
the young ones by a guttural note, which I have
never at other times heard from the golden-eye.
They breed commonly as far south as northern
New England, often frequenting the same lakes
and streams as the American merganser.
The golden-eye are in no hurry to leave their
northern home, and we hardly see them on the
coast before late October. They come in small
flocks, keeping pretty much to themselves, and
frequent the shallow, sandy bays, feeding on the
flats and bars, often going up the rivers to spend
L
146 The Water-fowl Family
the day; always wary and suspicious, remaining
in open places, and seldom trusting themselves in
range of land. These birds in the fall do not
often come to decoys. When the harbors are
frozen, and the current or tide leaves a little open
water, the opportunity is afforded. There is no
colder shooting. A small, white ice-boat is a
convenient contrivance for this purpose. It is
rigged on a sled and pulled out to the edge of the
ice. The ducks are there’ and loath to leave!
They begin to return almost before the few
decoys are set and you have finished warming
your fingers. There are few sounds more attrac-
tive than their whistling wings, heard and not seen,
in the cold gray of dawn,—so close overhead,
you feel the birds must be in sight even in the
dim light. All is ready; soon you see a flock
high up, coming with speed. The flight is un-
mistakable, and the white breasts of the birds
noticeable. . They circle and plunge intomthe
decoys, but are up again and off almost before
the shot. A frightened bird still sits among the
stool; you wait for him to follow his comrades,
but he dives, coming up well out of range.
They come in nicely, but the bag is small and
well earned, for the cripples are difficult to kill,
and the cold makes you slow.
The golden-eye subsists on a variety of food, —
small shellfish and crustacea and various vege-
Duck-shooting 147
table matter, in the South delighting in the rice-
fields; hence the character of the flesh varies.
Among the wildest of our ducks, they are quick
to appreciate protection. On the Charles River,
flocks of these birds are seen through the winter
feeding in close proximity to the docks and
bridges of Boston.
The golden-eye has a variety of names: whis-
tler, whistle wing, whiffler, spirit duck, bullhead ;
in Louisiana, plongeur.
BARROWS GOLDEN-EYE
(Clangula tslandica)
Adult male — Head, crest, and upper part of neck, glossy bluish
black with blue reflections ; a crescentric-shaped white patch at
the base of bill; lower part of neck and under parts, pure white ;
upper parts, black; outer row of scapulars, with oblong white
spots ; a lengthened white patch on the wing; bases of greater
wing-coverts, black, forming a bar across the white portion;
feathers of sides and flanks, white with outer edges black; tail,
black; bill, black; feet and legs, orange, with dusky webs;
iris, yellow.
Measurements — Length, 22 inches; wing, 9 inches; tarsus, I.50
inches ; culmen, 1.30 inches; height of bill, at base, 1 inch.
Adult female — Head and neck, brown, darkest on top of head and
back of neck; a narrow white collar at base of neck; upper
parts, brownish black; feathers of back, edged with gray;
white patch on wing, crossed by black bar; upper part of breast
and sides, gray; rest of under parts, white; bill, horn color;
legs and feet, pale orange ; webs, dusky.
Measurements — Length, 20 inches ; wing, 8.40 inches ; culmen, 1.50
inches ; height of bill at base, .go inch.
This bird resembles the female of the common golden-eye, but
is somewhat larger. According to Ridgeway, it can be distin-
148 The Water-fowl Family
guished by the height of the maxilla as compared with the dis-
tance from the feathered edge at base of the bill to the anterior
edge of nostril. In the female Barrow’s golden-eye these
measurements should be equal.
Downy young — Top and sides of head, brown; neck, chest, and
sides, pale; throat and under parts, white.
£:ggs — Six to ten in number, grayish pea-green in color, and meas-
ure 2.40 by 1.60 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Quebec and Washington, the mountains
of Oregon, south in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado, north
to Chilkat Peninsula, Alaska, Fort Anderson, and southern
Greenland, and in Iceland. Winters chiefly north of the United
States, from southern Greenland and southeastern Alaska, rarely
to North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, South
Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and California. Acci-
dental in Europe.
The Barrow’s golden-eye is one of our rarer
ducks. The full-plumaged male is a showy bird,
the soft steel-blue sheen of his crest and the
bright black and white of the back being a
marked contrast to the brown and white of his
mate. This bird ranges from Arctic America to
the northern border of the United States and
breeds throughout these limits. We see the
Barrow’s golden-eye among the lakes and rivers
of the Rocky Mountains, from Colorado north
through British Columbia to Alaska. The breed-
ing-ground is often in mountainous districts, the
bird choosing the hollow of a tree near some
stream or lake for its nesting-place. In the
writer’s collection a set of eggs from Iceland
bears the following label: “Myvatis, June 23,
Duck-shooting 149
1889, nest composed of down and feathers, located
in a box fastened to a tree.” In Iceland the bird
is not uncommon and often breeds in holes in the
ground at a considerable depth, where trees are
scarce. Mr. Edwin Carter of Colorado probably
first discovered the nest and eggs in this country.
In 1876 he took a set of ten, and since then has
repeatedly seen the young brood. On the Atlantic
coast the Barrow’s golden-eye is taken regularly
in Maine and New Brunswick. Professor D. G.
Elliot at times has found it numerous on the St.
Lawrence near Ogdensburg, and has here killed
it over decoys. Both species were associated on
the river, the flight being up and down in the
direction of Lake Ene, the birds stopping occa-
sionally in the coves to feed, and floating down
with the current.’
On the coast of Massachusetts the Barrow’s
golden-eye is rare. In the collection of Mr.
William Brewster are several birds from Boston
markets killed in the vicinity. Along the southern
New England coast it is seldom met with, and I
have never seen a specimen from Long Island
Sound, although from descriptions of gunners
there is no doubt it occasionally occurs. The
bird is possessed of all the habits of the common
golden-eye, flying high and fast, with the same
shrill, whistling flight. It is a quick diver, dis-
1“ Wild Fowl of North America,” by D. G. Elliot.
150 The Waterfowl Family
appearing often at the flash; when wounded
swimming a long distance under water, appear-
ing a second at the surface, and disappearing
before there is time to raise a gun. The flesh,
like that of the common golden-eye, is frequently
fishy, although when the birds have frequented
fresh-water ponds and lakes this flavor disappears.
The species is known also as the Rocky Moun-
tain golden-eye or garrot.
BUFFLE-HEAD
(Charitonetta albeola)
Adult male — A broad, white band extends from behind and beneath
the eye to the occiput; rest of head and whole of neck, glossed
with green, violet, and bronze reflections; the feathers of the
head are puffed out on sides and back ; lower part of neck, entire
under parts, a large patch on wing composed of wing-coverts, and
outer webs of secondaries, and scapulars, white ; primaries, black ;
back and rump, black, fading into pearl-gray of the upper tail-
coverts ; tail, dark gray, with white edges ; bill, slate ; nail, black ;
iris, dark brown; legs and feet, flesh color.
Measurements — Length, 14.50 inches; wing, 6.50 inches; culmen,
1.20 inches; tarsus, 1.20 inches.
Adult female — Head and neck, dusky ; top of head, blackish, a white
stripe on cheeks and ear-coverts; upper parts, blackish gray,
grading into black on the rump; apical half of outer webs of
secondaries, white, forming speculum; upper parts of breast,
sides, anal region, and lower tail-coverts, dull gray; rest of
under parts, white; tail, gray; bill, dusky; legs and feet, slate ;
webs, dusky ; iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 13.50 inches; wing, 5.90 inches; culmen,
I inch; tarsus, 1.10 inches.
Plumage of male in the first year resembles female, but the
feathers of the head are more puffed.
Duck-shooting 151
£ggs — Seven to ten in number, of a grayish white color, with a
tinge of green, and measure 2 by 1.45 inches.
ffabitat — Breeds from New Brunswick, Maine, Ontario, Manitoba,
Montana, Alberta, and British Columbia, and probably Michigan,
Minnesota, Iowa, Wyoming, and Colorado, north to Labrador,
Greenland, Hudson Bay, the lower Mackenzie, and the upper
Yukon. Winters from New Brunswick, western New York,
Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Idaho,
British Columbia, and the Aleutian Islands, south to Cuba,
Mexico, and Lower California. Recorded also from Nova Scotia
and Newfoundland, Bermuda, Great Britain, the Alaskan coast
of Bering Sea, Bering Island, and Hawaii.
This sprite is always a pleasure to see. The
male with his buffle head of white and violet
can well be proud of his plumage. Lightly and
gracefully floating on the water’s surface, if occa-
sion requires he dives like a flash or springs into
the air with the speed of a teal. The female is
plain and insignificant, except in her power to get
through space. The species is widely distributed
through North America, its range extending to
the Arctic region. In the North, on account of
its traits, this species is known as spirit duck.
The breeding-ground is as far south as the
northern border of the United States, and from
Alaska to Greenland. The nest has not been
found often. It is generally in the hole of a tree
near the water’s edge. Mr. Lockhart describes a
Gest trom)’ the Yukon River. It was in’ the
hollow of a rotten stump near the bank, and con-
tained nine eggs. The same gentleman discov-
Tae The Water-fowl Family
ered a second nest on the Black River, June 7.
It was in the hollow of a poplar tree some twenty
feet from the ground. The hole was dug out like
a woodpecker’s, an arm’s length in depth, and
contained ten eggs. In early October we find
them generally distributed throughout the United
States. The females and young predominate at
first. Inland, the smaller bodies of water, lakes,
and rivers are their favorite haunts. They are
seen usually in small flocks by themselves, diving
near the shore for their food, and can readily be
approached. Generally one or two birds remain
on the surface, ready to give an alarm, and if
startled they take quick leave. The butterball is
common on both coasts, and is fond of shallow,
sandy bays, frequenting the tide-rips and mouths
of rivers, remaining through the coldest weather.
A few years ago this bird was common all along
the New England shore. Large numbers wintered
on the Sound between New Haven and Stratford,
where the coast is shallow and sandy, early in
the morning leaving the outer flats and feeding up
the rivers. It was a simple matter to shoot them
on their flight, as they came over the bars, low
down and usually in the same course. Recently
the butterball seem to have largely disappeared
from the New England coast, though still common
on bays farther south. They are conspicuous as
being the least, but by no means last, of our wild-
Duck-shooting 153
fowl family. The other common names for this
species are butterball, butterbox, dipper, spirit
duck, marionette.
OLD-SQUAW
(Harelda hyemalis)
Adult male in winter —Lores, cheeks, and orbital regions, mouse-
gray; rest of head, eyelids, lower part of neck, upper part of
jugulum, and back, white; side of neck, black, ochraceous pos-
teriorly ; middle of back, rump, upper tail-coverts, tail, wings,
whole of breast, and upper abdomen, black or brownish black ;
scapulars, pearl-gray; secondaries, brown; tail, four median
feathers, black, with central pair much elongated; rest of tail,
white; under parts, white; bill black at base, terminal portion
yellow, band of pink between; legs and feet, pale slate, webs,
dusky ; iris, light brown.
Measurements — Length, 21 to 23 inches, according to elongation of
central tail feathers ; wing, 8.90 inches ; culmen, 1.10 inches ; tar-
sus, I.35 inches; middle tail feathers, 8 to 9.50 inches.
Adult female tn winter — Head, neck, and lower parts, mostly white ;
forehead and crown, dusky; chin, throat, and face, tinged with
gray; upper parts, dusky brown; tail, grayish brown, central
pair of feathers not elongated.
Measurements — Length, 18 inches; wing, 8.25 inches; culmen,
I inch; tarsus, 1.25 inches.
Adult male in summer — Lores, cheeks, and sides of forehead, mouse-
gray; eyelids and a line passing over the eye to ear-coverts,
white; rest of head, neck, and upper parts, sooty black; the
feathers on upper part of back and the scapulars, variegated
with brown; wing-coverts, brownish black; secondaries, gray
on outer web, edged with white; four centre tail feathers, black,
with middle pair greatly elongated ; breast and upper abdomen,
brownish black; rest of under parts, white; feet and iris as
described above.
Adult female in summer — Head and neck grayish brown; space
around the eye and on each side of neck, grayish white; upper
parts, dark brown; scapulars, light brown; wings like male;
154 The Waterfowl Family
upper tail-coverts, blackish; tail, dark brown in centre, lighter
at the edges; central feathers not elongated; upper part of
breast and sides, light brown; rest of under parts, pure white ;
bill, dusky ; legs and feet, bluish gray ; webs, dusky ; iris, hazel.
Young — Plumage similar to female. In the young male the char-
acteristic plumage of adult is more or less noticeable.
Downy young— Head and upper parts, brown, grayish markings
near the eye; a dusky stripe from the bill to back of head;
under parts, white, with a dark brown band across the breast.
£ggs — Six to nine in number; pale grayish green in color, and
measure 2 inches by 1.40.
Habitat— The northern hemisphere. In North America breeds
from southern Labrador, Hudson Bay, the upper Mackenzie,
the interior of Alaska, and possibly British Columbia, north to
northern Greenland, Grinnell Land, the Arctic coasts and
islands, the Bering Sea coast of Alaska, and the Aleutians and
islands in Bering Sea, and accidentally in New York (?). Win-
ters in southern Greenland, and from the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
south regularly to North Carolina and the Great Lakes, and
rarely to Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Colorado; about the
Bering Sea islands and the Aleutians, south regularly to Wash-
ington, and rarely to San Diego Bay, California.
The old-squaw brings up recollections of win-
ter on the New England coast. Arriving in
November, and often ushered in by a storm,
these birds frequent the bays and sounds, becom-
ing more and more abundant with increasing ice
and freezing nights, gathering in vast rafts in our
harbors if not too much molested. They are of
a social disposition, and their musical note is
always in evidence —the more the merrier. The
honk, honk a link, honk a link, tells of snow at
Christmas. All winter long they stay, with
milder weather leaving their nooks inshore and
ie SR]AMG Bess yy wnay
ATIVNGA AUNV FAIVN
—SMVNOS
d10
Duck-shooting 035
resorting to the open water, feeding at a con-
siderable depth on small molluscs and shellfish.
The male old-squaw, in his winter plumage of
black and white, with the white plumes of his
wing and long tail feathers, is a very handsome
bird. With spring this attire changes, and he
assumes a dark dress, so that when it comes time
for him to take leave, we scarce can recognize the
same bird. While these birds are good examples
of rugged New Englanders, we find them along
the shallow bays of Long Island and New Jersey,
even wintering in some numbers off the coasts of
our Southern states. On the Pacific Coast they
are found in Alaska during the summer, but do
not occur in large numbers farther south. The
bird is regularly met with on the Great Lakes,
and is a straggler on the larger rivers. Arctic
America is their breeding-ground, Greenland,
Hudson Bay, the shores of the Arctic sea, and
the Aleutian Islands. The shores and islands of
fresh-water lakes, a short distance inland, are
favorite sites. The nest is of grass, the duck lin-
ing it with down as incubation progresses, and
remaining the sole guardian of her brood.
The writer saw, in the summer of 1886, a pair
of old-squaws with their young ducks off Little
Gull Island, in Long Island Sound. One of the
old birds was doubtless a cripple. At the first
approach of danger the brood would disappear,
156 The Waterfowl Family
diving in the open water. The flight is graceful
and fast, but near the water, and they pass with-
out hesitation over the line of boats anchored in
the path. When startled by the gunner the flock
bunches, and if this chance is waited for, several
birds fall at a shot, the others often circling over
the wounded. Few crippled ducks are quicker
about getting under, and when once they appreci-
ate their predicament, it 1s good-by, old-squaw;
they dive at the flash, and you will save time by
letting them go, and wishing them luck. These
birds are easily decoyed, and, by imitating their
note, are often turned from their course and
called in. They drop among the stool with a
sociable grunt. You wait for them to rise, but
they may think differently, and just disappear,
coming to the surface and taking wing out of
range. Asan edible bird the old-squaw is not a
success, and the only excuse for shooting him is
sport, pure and simple. The natives alongshore
pick the bird, and their breast feathers have
stuffed many a pillow down east.
This species is known by various names:
south southerly, oldwife, old Indian, cockawee,
coween, long-tailed duck, scolder. On mild days
in spring and fall old-squaws sometimes ‘ tower,”
collecting in large flocks, and flying so high in
the air as to be hardly visible, then descending to
the water with a rush, the whistling of their wings
Duck-shooting 157
being audible from a distance. This habit is
described by Mr. George H. Mackay in the Auk
for October, 1892.
HARLEQUIN DUCK
(Histrionicus histrionicus)
Adult male — Loral region, with a stripe on each side of crown, a
round spot near the ears, a long, narrow stripe on each side of
upper hind neck, a narrow collar around lower part of neck, a
broad bar across sides of breast in front of wing, middle of
scapulars, portion of tertials, a round spot on lesser wing-
coverts, tips of some of greater wing-coverts, and a round spot
on each side of breast above and below, pure white; under side
of neck and bar on side of breast above and below the white,
black; centre of forehead, crown, and nape, black, bordered
on each side with chestnut; rest of head and neck, dark
slate, glossed with violet ; upper parts, leaden blue grading
into blue-black on lower part of rump and upper tail-coverts ;
wing-coverts, bluish slate; speculum, bluish violet; primaries
and tail feathers, dusky black; breast, plumbeous, becoming
bluish gray on abdomen, grading into black of the under tail-
coverts ; sides and flanks, bright rufous ; bill, slate ; base, olive-
gray ; tip, paler; iris, hazel; legs and feet, slate; webs, dusky.
Measurements — Length, 17.59 inches; wing, 7.80 inches; culmen,
I inch; tarsus, 1.40 inches.
Adult female — Head, neck, and jugulum, grayish brown; a white
spot near the auricular region; the lores and sides of head,
tinged with white; sides and flanks, grayish brown; bill and
feet, slate; webs, dusky; iris, brown.
Young male — Bright markings of the adult male, indistinct; on the
upper parts the white is not well defined and there is no blue-
black ; the speculum, dull gray, without gloss ; lower parts, gray-
ish white, each feather marked with a transverse spot of grayish
brown; the sides and flanks, grayish brown, without rufous ; the
collar around the lower neck, imperfect.
Young female — Resembles the adult female, but the upper parts are
darker and the lower parts more tinged with brown.
158 The Water-fowl Family
Downy young — Top of head and upper parts, blackish brown; face
and neck, white ; under parts and a spot on each wing and thigh,
white.
£ggs — Seven to ten in number, a dark brownish gray in color, and
measure 2.20 by 1.70 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Newfoundland, Labrador, Fort Rae, and
British Columbia, and south in the mountains to Colorado and
California, north to Greenland, the Arctic Coast, and the Kowak
and Yukon rivers, Alaska, and occurs all summer in flocks near
the Pribilof and Aleutian islands. Breeds also in northeastern
Asia and in Iceland. On the Atlantic Coast occurs south regu-
larly in winter to Maine, and rarely to New Jersey; in the inte-
rior rarely to western New York, Minnesota, Wisconsin, I]linois,
Missouri, and Colorado; and on the Pacific Coast from the
Aleutians to Monterey, California. Frequently taken in Europe
and in Asia, south to Japan.
Harlequin well named, this beautiful duck is
seldom found within our country. The Alaskan
Indian and Eskimo see him along their shores
and inland lakes. There it breeds and lives, con-
tent with winter’s cold if left with open water,
occasionally in severe weather coming within the
limit of the United States. In Alaska the harle-
quin breeds on the mountain streams of the inte-
rior and early resorts to the islands of the coast.
Here about the Aleutian Islands and at Unalaska
they gather in large flocks, feeding on various
shellfish and crustacea. In June and through
the summer they are found on the water near the
ice and cliffs, floating gracefully on the surface,
or flying low in lines, fitting ornaments of the
wild coast.
Duck-shooting 159
Instances of this bird breeding in the United
Statessarenmecorded.) (According) to'ME) 1. Bel-
ding, several pair of this duck breed regularly on
the Stanislaus River, Calaveras County, California.
The bird was seen with young just able to fly
near Chief Mountain Lake, Montana, by Dr.
Coues. Professor D. G. Elliot saw a brood of
eight or nine, in July, 1879, near Wenatchee, Wash-
ington, on the upper Columbia, and he secured
two of the birds. A very interesting instance of
the breeding of a pair of harlequin in confine-
ment, in the Melbourne Gardens, is published in
the Zodlogist of 1850, by Mr. J. J. Briggs. “ Al-
though kept in confinement for several years,
they did not breed until 1849. In these grounds,
at a considerable distance from the pool where the
birds had lived, was an ice-house, against which
some thatched sheaves had been placed. Upon
these, sheltered from wet and sun, at a height of
three feet, the pair nested and laid eight eggs,
which were hatched about the middle of June.
When the female left the eggs she carefully cov-
ered them with down. After feeding she was
escorted back to the nest by the male, who,
however, took no share in sitting on the eggs.
Several of the young ducks were reared.”
Small, swift-running streams are favorite loca-
tions for the nest, which is placed on the bank,
or sometimes in the hollow of atree. In Iceland,
160 The Water-fowl Family
where this bird is found, nests have been taken
from holesin the bank. The little brood frequent
the rapids and pools, playing about and diving
much after the manner of a dipper. In the
winter the harlequin occurs in small numbers off
the coast of Maine, rarely straggling to Massa-
chusetts. It is taken occasionally in Puget Sound.
The bird is a quick, strong diver, and readily
escapes if wounded. The flesh is unfit for the
table. Lord and lady, and painted duck, are
other names applied to this species.
LABRADOR DUCK (PIED-DUCK)
(Camptolaimus labradorius)
Adult male — Head, neck, breast, scapulars, and wings, except pri-
maries, white; stripe on crown and nape, ring around lower
neck, back, rump, primaries, upper tail-coverts, tail and entire
lower parts, black; the tail has a grayish tinge; cheeks,
yellowish white; long scapulars, pearl-gray; bill, black, slate
along base of culmen, and orange at base and along edges
of maxilla and mandible; eye, reddish brown; feet and legs,
slate.
Measurements — Length, 23 inches; wing, 8.70 inches; culmen,
1.75 inches; tarsus, 1.50 inches.
Adult female — General plumage, uniform brownish gray ; tertials,
silvery gray, edged with black; secondaries, white, edged with
black.
Measurements — Length, 18 inches; wing, 8.40 inches; culmen,
1.60 inches; tarsus, I.40 inches.
Young male — Similar to adult female, with chin and throat white,
and in some specimens breast also; greater wing-coverts are
also white.
Habitat — Formerly the northern Atlantic Coast and recorded from
Hudson Bay; supposed to breed in Labrador, and wintering
Duck-shooting 161
from Nova Scotia south to Chesapeake Bay, and occurring in
the interior as far as Montreal; now probably extinct. The
Michigan record was a mistake.
While always a rare bird, previous to 1855 the
Labrador duck was taken frequently along the
Atlantic Coast as far south as Long Island and
New Jersey. It was supposed to breed off the
coast of Labrador and in the islands in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. In 1833 John Audubon was
shown deserted nests of this bird on the top
of low tangled fir-bushes, on a visit to Blace
Sablon. That these nests belonged to the Labra-
dor duck, however, we may be permitted to doubt.
The nest and eggs are unknown, and probably no
man except a northern savage has ever seen them.
Nearly all the specimens have come from the
Nova Scotian, New Brunswick, and New England
coasts, although at times the birds were noticed
in New York markets, probably from the vicinity
of Long Island and New Jersey. These speci-
mens were mostly females and young males, the
adult male being seldom met with. After 1860
the occurrence of the bird became exceedingly
rare, and-the last one recorded was killed by Mr.
Cheney in 1871, near Eastport, Maine. In 1843
this bird was rare on Long Island, where it was
known as the skunk-duck, from the black and
white appearance of the male. The historic pair
killed by Daniel Webster, at Vineyard Haven,
M
162 The Water-fowl Family
and by him presented to Audubon, are now in
the Smithsonian Institution. The most beauti-
ful collection of these birds in existence is in the
New York Museum, where one case contains five
finely mounted specimens, two of which are adult
males. They were collected by Professor D. G.
Elliot.
The Labrador duck was a strong flyer and
diver, apparently able in every way to protect
itself against the depredations of enemies, yet it
has passed into extinction and no satisfactory
reasons can be given for its disappearance. The
flesh was coarse and fishy. Probably the breed-
ing area was limited, and natural causes effected its
destruction.
STELLER’S DUCK
(Enzconetta stellert)
Adult male — Greater part of head and upper neck, glossy white;
lores and tuft of feathers on occiput, olive-green; chin and
throat, black; lower part of neck, middle of back and rump, and
upper tail-coverts, glossy black; long scapulars, blue-black on
outer, and white on inner web; other scapulars bend down
across the wing; wing-coverts, anterior scapulars, and sides of
back, white; speculum, blue-black, with white bar ; under parts,
light chestnut, becoming darker on the abdomen; a round,
black spot on each side of the breast in front of wing-coverts ;
anal region and under tail-coverts, black; tail, brownish black ;
bill, slate, yellowish at tip; iris, dark brown; legs and feet,
brownish.
Measurements — Length, 18 inches; wing, 8 inches; tarsus, 1.35
inches; culmen, 1.45 inches.
Adult female — Head and neck, reddish brown, speckled with dusky ;
upper parts, dusky brown, feathers tipped with lighter; wings
Duck-shooting 163
dusky ; tips of greater coverts and secondaries, white, forming
two narrow bars across the wing; speculum, purplish brown;
upper parts of breast, rusty, spotted with black; bill, slate ; legs
and feet, brownish; iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 17.50 inches; wing, 8 inches; tarsus, 1.15
inches; culmen, 1.40 inches.
Young male — Similar to the female, but the speculum is a dull gray-
ish brown without any gloss; the tertials slightly curved, with
no white.
£ggs — Six to ten in number, pale grayish green, and measure 2.30
by 1.60 inches.
Habitat — Found in summer in North America, in Greenland, Cum-
berland, and from Point Barrow, Alaska, along the coast to the
Alaskan peninsula, the Aleutian Islands, the Shumagins, and
islands in Bering Sea. In winter, the islands in Bering Sea,
the Aleutians south to the Kenai peninsula, and two taken in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Probably breeds in most of its sum-
mer range, as it does abundantly in Siberia.
The chief claim this handsome bird has to a
residence in North America is its presence on
the Alaskan coast. It is common on the shore
and islands of Bering Sea, and is occasionally
numerous on the Aleutian Islands and near Una-
laska. Closely related to the eiders, the Steller’s
duck is found in the Arctic regions associating
with the king eider. Farther south it is some-
times seen among flocks of Pacific eiders. They
frequent the islands offshore, feeding in the tide-
rips and at the mouths of rivers on various crus-
tacea and mollusks found in these waters. In
May, as soon as the ice leaves the bays, the flocks
separate into pairs. Later in the summer they
are seen in large flocks, the young birds and
164 The Water-fowl Family
females outnumbering the males. In fall and
winter they frequent the open water, more to the
south, but do not range below Alaska. North
of Nome, along the Alaskan coast, the natives
use the skins for ornaments in their dress. The
breeding-grounds are on the northern shores of
Siberia, and the islands of Bering Sea. A nest
was found near Unalaska by Mr. Dall, in May,
1872. It was on the ground, carefully concealed
by slanting grass, and contained a single egg of
a pale green color. Other ornithologists have
doubted that this nest was correctly identified.
The male, after incubation is established, loses
his striking plumage, which he does not resume
until the late fall. Like all the sea-ducks of its
class, the Steller’s duck is hardy and braves the
severest storms and cold of the North, asking
only the privilege of open water.
Steller’s duck is said to breed by tens of thou-
sands on the Arctic coast of Siberia, and to ap-
pear in large flocks off Bering Islands about
November 1. All winter they are common at
the latter locality, frequenting the most rocky
parts of the coast, where the breakers are most
violent. In April their numbers are enormously
increased, and flocks may be seen covering many
acres of the sea; but by the end of May all have
disappeared.
Duck-shooting 165
SPECTACLED EIDER
(Arctonetta fischert)
Adult male — Feathers projecting on the bill, yellowish white, grad-
ing anteriorly into sea-green on the forehead and lores; this
color extends in a narrow line along the crown and in a rather
broad stripe beneath the eye patch, broadening out on the thick
occipital crest; the green is deepest on the lores, and on the
stripe under the eye, and edge of crest; a large circle of satiny
white surrounds the eye, covering nearly all the side of the face
and crown, bordered above and on either side by a narrow line
of black ; chin, throat, neck, back, scapulars, and a large patch on
each side of the rump, white; greater wing-coverts, primaries,
and tail, dark brown; lower back and rump, upper tail-coverts,
and breast, dark plumbeous, grading into smoky black on lower
breast; bill, orange, palest on nail; iris, brown, surrounded by
a bluish ring; legs and feet, olive-brown.
Measurements — Length, 21.50 inches ; wing, 11 inches; tarsus, 1.90
inches; culmen, 1 inch.
Adult female — Top and back of head, yellowish buff, streaked with
dusky; a broad stripe in front of eyes beginning at the corners
of mouth and extending on to centre of head; space around
eyes and cheeks, buff, streaked with dusky ; upper parts, barred
coarsely with brown and black, also breast and sides ; remainder
of under parts, grayish brown; bill, slate; legs and feet, yellowish
brown.
Measurements — Length, 21 inches; wing, I0.50 inches; tarsus,
1.75 inches; culmen, 1 inch.
£ggs — Five to nine in number, grayish white, measure 2.55 by 1.75
inches.
Habitat— Breeds on the Alaskan coast, from the mouth of the Kus-
kokwin to Point Barrow, and is said to be a common breeding
resident on the Near Islands. Winter range unknown, probably
the Aleutian Islands.
With a limited range of some four hundred
miles of Alaskan coast, an area exposed through-
out its entire extent to the ravages of natives, the
166 The Water-fowl Family
spectacled eider is threatened with extinction, and
is now rare in collections. Two specimens of this
bird were secured for me by Mr. Dunham, in May,
1902, both taken in the vicinity of St. Lawrence
Island, the only ones seen on a collecting trip of
two months. As soon as the ice leaves the bays
and mouths of the rivers, the spectacled eider fre-
quents the open water, along with the vast number
of sea-ducks, waiting the opportunity of working
north to the breeding-grounds. It is seen usually
singly or in pairs, rarely in flocks. They frequent
the muddy, shallow water and the extensive
marshes that line the Alaskan coast of Bering
Sea, in their habits resembling the commoner
members of the eider family. Marshes on the
islands or remote portions of the coast are their
breeding-ground. The nest is of dry grass, and
the duck is devoted to her charge. During the
breeding-season the male, after the custom of
other eider, moults into a brown plumage. Later
in the summer the birds congregate in small
flocks offshore.
NORTHERN EIDER
(Somateria mollissima borealis)
Adult male — Top of head, black, with a white stripe in the centre
of the occipital region; nape and posterior area, sea-green;
cheeks, neck, chin, throat, back, smaller wing-coverts, and a large
patch on each side of rump, pure white; greater wing-coverts
and secondaries, black; primaries, brown; lower part of back
and rump, upper and under tail-coverts, and entire under parts
Duck-shooting 167
below breast, deep black; breast, cream color; tail, pale brown;
bill, legs, and feet, olive-green ; a black V sometimes found on
throat.
Measurements — Length, 22 inches; wing, 12 inches; bill, culmen,
1.90 inches; from tip to end of frontal angle, 2.75 inches;
width of angle, .30 inch; tarsus, 1.80 inches.
Adult female — Head and neck, rufous brown, streaked with narrow
black lines; rest of plumage, chestnut-brown, the upper parts
and breast barred with black; the under parts, grayish, with
dusky bars; wing, like the back, with two whitish bars; prima-
ries and tail, blackish brown; bill, legs, and feet like those of
the male, but darker.
Measurements — Similar to the male.
Downy young— Plain, gray-brown, lighter beneath; a distinct, light,
superciliary stripe.
£ggs — Four to six in number, pale green in color, and measure 3 by
1.90 inches.
ffabitat — Breeds from Labrador north to Cumberland and the
coast of Greenland, and probably in Hudson Bay. Winters in
southern Greenland and south rarely to Massachusetts.
The eider of the Atlantic Coast was for a long
time supposed to be identical with the European
bird, but two distinct species are now separated.
A subspecies of the European, or common eider
of northern Europe, ranges on the Atlantic Coast
of North America from Greenland to the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, and the American eider, whose
range is from Labrador to New England. To
the native of the North the eider is essential, pro-
viding him with food and raiment. The eggs and
flesh are almost staple articles among the Eski-
mos, while the down is part of his commerce. In
various parts of Iceland and Norway these birds
168 The Water-fowl Family
breed in protected colonies and become exceed-
ingly tame, the duck allowing herself to be raised
from the nest while the down is removed. Incu-
bation begins in June, and lasts about a month.
In the late summer and early fall they congregate
in large flocks offshore, frequenting the rocky
islands. Winter drives them only to open water.
I was told by natives that in the winter of 1900
the outer water about the Magdalen Islands was
frozen for a long distance from shore. Large
flocks of these ducks congregated on the ice,
where they were surrounded and killed with
sticks.
AMERICAN EIDER
(Somateria dressert)
Similar in plumage to the Greenland eider but differs in the bill.
The frontal angles or naked portion running from the base of
the bill on to each side of forehead in the American eider are
broad, rounded, and much corrugated, while in S. borealis
molisstma they are narrow and smooth. The female possesses
the same characteristics. Sometimes a black V similar to that
on the Pacific eider occurs on the throat of the males.
Measurements are similar in the two species except the angle
of bill, which in the present species is .45 of an inch in its
greatest width.
£ggs — Four to eight in number, olive-green in color, and measure
3 by 1.80 inches.
Habitat — Breeds in Newfoundland, and from Maine north on the
coast to Hudson Strait, and south in Hudson Bay to James
Bay, also on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Winters in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the St. Lawrence River,
and south on the Atlantic Coast, regularly to Massachusetts,
rarely to Virginia; and in the interior rarely to western New
York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Colorado.
Duck-shooting 169
The American eider has a more southern range
than the northern bird, nesting from the coasts of
Labrador as far south as Maine, where it summers
on the rocky islands off Grand Manan, unfortu-
nately now in sadly diminished numbers. Far-
ther north small islands off the coast, more rarely
the mainland, afford sites for their breeding pur-
poses. The nest is on the ground, and the scrub
brush with which the shores are lined often gives
ita shelter. In the fall flocks of these birds gather
far out in the open water. The wild islands
offshore give them a resting-place when they
need one; storms and cold do not worry, and
few conditions prevent them from a living. Mol-
lusks and various shellfish are their food. In
winter we see them off Massachusetts, rarely
farther south. The long lines of heavy, cumber-
some birds, marked by the striking black and
white of the male, are unmistakable. They keep
close to the water with powerful flight and pass
on their way, giving little heed to outsiders; strong
and difficult to bring down, the wounded bird
readily escapes. Occasionally this species is found
on the Great Lakes in cold winters.
The American eider is usually very common
in winter in the shallow waters of Nantucket
Sound, and Mr. George H. Mackay states that
on March 18, 1890, he saw near Nantucket a
flock containing about twelve thousand of this
170 The Water-fowl Family
species. Each morning at dawn the eiders appear
in small flocks at their feeding-grounds to feast
on mussels and other shellfish that abound in
these waters, and in the evening fly out to sea
to spend the night far from land. They are shot
from stool, to which at times they will decoy well,
or from points of land near which they are accus-
tomed to pass in their morning and evening
flights; this latter plan often proving very suc-
cessful in certain conditions of the weather, and
especially just before they start north in April.
At this time a roll or so of seaweed placed on the
shore, or a few dead eiders, will lure the passing
flocks; at others, a single dead duck drifting into
a flock will put all to flight. Sometimes they
will swim in to the brant decoys at Monomoy ;
and then their great skill in diving is evident,
a heavy charge fired at close range often failing
to bag a bird. This bird is also known as the sea-
duck, shoal-duck, wamp, and black and white coot.
PACIFIC EIDER
(Somaterita v-nigra)
Adult male — Similar in plumage to both the common and American
eider, except that on the throat there is a long black V mark
beginning on the chin and extending to a line intersecting the
occiput. The bill differs from that of the other eiders, being
broader and deeper through the base with shorter and more
acute frontal angles. The color of the bill is reddish orange at
the base, grading into pale orange at the tip; iris, brown; legs
and feet, dusky orange.
Duck-shooting 171
Measurements — Length, 22 inches ; wing, 11.50 inches ; culmen, 2.25
inches.
Adult female — Head, chin, throat, and neck, pale brown with dusky
streaks, darkest on the top of head. Upper parts rufous with
black bars, the broadest on back; lesser coverts, dusky with
whitish tips ; primaries and secondaries, dark brown; breast and
sides, pale buff; under parts, grayish brown.
Measurements — Wing, 11.50 inches; culmen, 1.75 inches; tarsus,
1.75 inches.
Downy young — Resembles that of the common eider.
£ggs — Five to seven in number, light gray-green in color, and
measure 3 inches by 2.
Habitat —In North America, breeds on the Aleutian Islands and
the coast of Alaska, from Cook Inlet north to Point Barrow,
and eastward along the Arctic Coast to Franklin Bay. Winters
in Bering Sea, about the Aleutian Islands, and probably the
southeastern coast of Alaska; recorded from Great Slave Lake,
Hudson Bay, and Kansas. Breeds also on the Commander
Islands and in northeastern Siberia.
According to Nelson, these birds arrive off the
shores near the mouth of the Yukon, about the
middle of May, choosing for their nesting-places
the marshy islands in the adjacent ponds. The
nest is a depression on the ground and is com-
posed of grass and seaweed. The eggs are six in
number, the duck carefully covering them with
down. During the period of incubation the males
gather in flocks near by and moult, taking on a
dull plumage. The young are hatched in early
July, and until they are able to fly, in September,
remain on the smaller bodies of water. Later
they gather in large flocks offshore, in stormy
weather seeking the protection of the islands and
172 The Water-fowl Family
beaches, when they are frequently killed in large
numbers by the natives, for they seem to hesitate
to fly. Like the other members of its family, this
species is a powerful diver and secures its food of
mollusks and crustacea in deep water. The flight
is in lines low down, the bird uttering a guttural
note. The natives depend at times on this bird
for food and use the skins for various ornaments.
KING EIDER
(Somateria spectabilis)
Adult male — Feathers surrounding the base of maxilla and a spot
beneath and behind the eye, black; a large, black, V-shaped
mark on the throat; entire top of head and upper part of nape,
delicate pearl-blue; upper and frontal portion of the cheeks
below the eye, sea-green; remainder of head, neck, and middle
of back, smaller wing-coverts, and a patch on each side of rump,
white; breast and jugulum, cream-buff; remainder of plumage,
dull black ; bill, flesh color; sides of upper mandible and soft,
frontal lores, bright orange; iris, yellow; feet, dusky orange ;
webs, dusky.
Measurements — Length, 23 inches; wing, 11 inches; culmen, I.10
inches ; tarsus, 1.75 inches.
Adult female — Head, chin, and throat, dark buff, streaked with
brown; darkest on top of head; breast and sides, light buff,
with irregular markings ; greater coverts and secondaries, black,
with whitish tips forming two narrow bars across the wing;
rump and upper tail-coverts, dark buff, with black bars; tail,
black ; under parts, dark brown; bill, greenish yellow; legs and
feet, ochre, with dusky webs; iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 23 inches; wing, 10.75 inches; culmen,
1.25 inches; tarsus, 1.75 inches.
Downy young — Upper parts, dark brown, more rufous than in the
other eiders; cheeks, throat, and under parts, buff. Its mark-
ings are more distinct than in the young of other eiders.
Duck-shooting 173
£ggs — Six to eight in number, olive-gray in color, and measure
2.77 by 1.80 inches.
ffabitat — The northern part of the northern hemisphere. In
North America, breeds from Labrador, rarely Quebec, along
the coast north to northern Greenland and the Arctic coasts
at Franklin Bay and Point Barrow. Winters in southern Green-
land and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, south on the Atlantic
Coast, regularly to New York, and rarely to Georgia; in the
interior rarely to western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wiscon-
sin, Minnesota, Illinois, Ontario, and Alberta; on the Aleutian
Islands, and recorded once from California. Occurs also in the
interior of Alaska, and in Hudson Bay.
Of all the eiders, the most beautiful. The
plumage of the male king eider, with his lavender
hood and delicate sea-green face, is unequalled,
while the black V on his throat is the mark of
an aristocrat. This variety keeps farther north
than the commoner members of the family, and
only in severe winters straggles within our reach.
The most northern shores of both coasts are
their resorts. In Alaska, St. Michael seems to
be the southern limit. On the Atlantic the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. In summer, Greenland and
the shores of the Arctic Sea are the haunts.
Marshes adjacent to the shore are the sites
selected to breed in. The nest is a mere de-
pression on the ground, composed of grass and
down. An adult male of this species in the
writer’s collection, killed in August off the north
coast of Hudson Bay, has the brown feathers
still in the head and breast, and is evidently just
174 The Water-fowl Familp
coming out of the summer plumage. When the
young fly they congregate in flocks, often far off-
shore. These birds are excellent divers and secure
their food in deep water. In winter small numbers
of king eiders straggle south as far as the New
England coast. I have three specimens of this
duck killed near New Haven, Connecticut, and
know of several others taken in the same location.
In January, 1901, a few of these birds were seen
in Branford harbor, Connecticut. They remained
by themselves, paying little heed to the scoters
and other ducks. Eventually two were shot. The
king eider occasionally visits the Great Lakes.
Most of the specimens taken in these localities
have been young birds of the first year.
AMERICAN SCOTER
(Oidemia americana)
Adult male — Bill, black, with a bright orange base; entire plumage,
jet-black with a gloss on the head and neck; iris, brown; legs
and feet, brownish black.
Measurements — Length, 18 inches; wing, 8.75 inches; culmen,
1.75 inches; tarsus, 1.80 inches.
Adult female — Front, crown, and back of neck, dark brown; rest of
head and neck, lighter; upper parts, sooty brown, with lighter
tips to feathers ; under parts of a grayish cast; bill, black, normal
in shape; legs and feet, olive-brown ; webs, black.
Measurements — Length, 18 inches; wing, 8.50 inches; culmen,
1.70 inches; tarsus, 1.60 inches.
Young males, of the first year, resemble the female; later they are
distinguished by occasional black feathers or patches of black
in the otherwise brown plumage.
Duck-shooting 17s
Downy young — Upper parts and breast, dark brown; lower parts,
lighter brown; throat, white.
£ggs — Six to ten in number; ivory-white, with pinkish tinge; and
measure 2.60 by 1.60 inches.
Habitat — Occurs in summer near Newfoundland and in the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, and breeds probably in Labrador, and from Hud-
son Bay north to Franklin Bay, and on the Bering Sea coast
of Alaska north to Kotzebue Sound, on the Aleutians, and
islands of Bering Sea. Winters about Newfoundland and
from Maine south rarely to Florida; in the interior rarely to
western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Wyo-
ming, and Louisiana, occurring also in Manitoba; on the Aleu-
tians, and islands in the Bering Sea, and south rarely to Santa
Catalina Islands, California.
The American scoter is found throughout the
same ranges as the white-winged scoter and surf
duck, but nowhere in the same abundance. In
full plumage, the male of this duck is readily dis-
tinguished by the bright orange prominence at
the base of the bill. The coloring of the young
birds of all three varieties is more or less similar;
distinction, however, can readily be made by the
differences in their bills. The immature birds of
this species are common on Long Island Sound
in early October, but seem to leave early. They
are known as little gray coots, and many are killed
every fall. The adult male in this locality is
decidedly rare. On the south shore of Long
Island they are more abundant and go by the
name of butterbill or broadbill coot. They are
considered good eating, although this reputation
176 The Water-fowl Family
would probably tempt few besides the natives.
The birds are seen in small flocks, flying close to
the water, their characteristic whistle marking the
flight. Anything in the shape of decoys attracts
scoters, if only dark in color, and in certain loca-
tions strings of bladders are employed for this
purpose. This duck is a good diver and when
wounded cares well for itself, easily escaping.
Throughout the interior of the United States
the American scoter is an occasional straggler,
but is found regularly on the Great Lakes. The
breeding-grounds are about Hudson Bay, and
great numbers breed off the Alaskan coast. Here
they frequent the small bodies of water a short
distance inland. The nest is concealed by some
overhanging shrub near the water’s edge, and the
eggs are carefully covered with down. At this
time the males keep offshore in flocks, moulting
and preparing for the return trip south, while the
female brings up the young brood.
The scoters are perhaps the least interesting
of our sea-ducks; yet the time will come, and in
places is now at hand, when the duck-hunter will
put up with despised “coots” or go without.
EE Vibe Vini Ss COMER
(Ozdemia fusca)
Adult male — Bill marked by a basal prominence of black; edges
of upper mandible with a streak on each side of nail, black; the
sides orange; nail and part of the ridge, a reddish flesh color;
Duck-shooting 177
basal half of lower mandible, black, the remainder, lake-red ;
general plumage, jet-black; eyelids and spots under the eyes,
white; speculum, white; iris, white; legs and feet, carmine,
with black webs.
Measurements — Length, 22 inches; wing, 11 inches; culmen, 1.60
inches ; tarsus, 1.90 inches.
Adult female— General plumage, sooty brown, darkest above;
speculum, white, no white spot on head; bill, dusky; feet and
legs, brownish orange; webs, black.
Young male — Resembles the female after the first year; however,
has traces of the white spot under the eye, and the bill begins
to assume the characteristics of the adult male.
£ggs — Eight to ten in number; white, measuring 2.90 by 1.90
inches.
Habitat — Northern portions of eastern hemisphere; breeding from
Iceland to Bering Straits, accidental in Greenland.
This bird has all of the habits and characteris-
tics of the white-winged scoter, closely resembling
it in plumage, but is readily distinguished by the
bill.
The velvet scoter usually spends the winter in
the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland and in the
Baltic; but when very cold weather turns their
winter quarters to a mass of ice, they appear in
myriads near Heligoland. There they gather
with the black scoters and other sea-ducks on the
lee of the ice-fields. Large and clumsy, like our
scoters, they find it difficult to rise from the
water except against the wind. They are willing
to change their shellfish diet for something better
when opportunity offers, Gatke tells us. A ship
laden with small gray beans stranded on the
N
178 The Water-fowl Family
coast of Heligoland one stormy winter's night and
went to pieces, its cargo being scattered on the
bottom in about ten fathoms of water. Thou-
sands of scoters fed on these beans until their
flesh had entirely lost its fishy flavor, which ren-
ders it, as a rule, unacceptable to a civilized pal-
ate. These ducks are caught at Heligoland in
nets set horizontally in shallow water so that
they become bare at low tide. Stones are tied
at the four corners, which keep the net a little
below the surface as the rising tide elevates the
corks. Scoters driving for their food through
this net become entangled, drown, and are col-
lected at the next low water.
While the females are incubating the males
gather in flocks, like our scoters, and frequent the
waters of the bays. The nest is on the ground.
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER
(Ordemia degland)
Adult male — A small spot underneath and behind the eye and the
speculum of wing, white ; entire remainder of plumage, black ;
flanks occasionally tinged with brown ; base of maxilla with
elevated culmen, black; sides, deep red, grading into orange on
culmen ; nail, vermilion; between nail and nostril, white ; iris,
white ; legs and feet, scarlet, with joints and webs, black.
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, 11 inches; culmen, 1.60
inches; tarsus, 2 inches.
Adult female — Head, neck, and upper parts, sooty brown ; a spot
behind the ear and speculum of wings, white; under parts,
grayish brown; iris, dark; legs and feet, brownish red; webs,
dusky.
Duck-shooting 179
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, 10.50 inches; culmen,
1.60 inches; tarsus, 1.70 inches.
Young male — Similar to female.
Downy young — Upper parts, flanks, and ring on neck, dusky;
lower parts, white.
Eggs — Six to seventeen in number, of a pale cream color, and
measure 2.70 by 1.90 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Labrador, probably Newfoundland and
Quebec, North Dakota, Assiniboia, Alberta, and British Colum-
bia, north to Fort Anderson, Point Barrow, Kotzebue Sound,
and St. Michael, Alaska. Winters from Nova Scotia and Quebec,
south rarely to Florida; in the interior rather rarely in migra-
tions or winter, to western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri,
Colorado, Wyoming, and Louisiana; winters also on Bering
Island and the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to San
Quentin Bay, Lower California. Occurs also in summer in
northeastern Siberia, wintering in Japan and China. Birds of
this species, probably barren, occur in America in summer as
far south as Rhode Island, and Monterey, California.
The most abundant and well known of all our
sea-ducks, frequenting both coasts and also com-
mon on the Great Lakes, especially Lake Michi-
gan. The first small flocks of white-winged
scoters appear off New England in early Sep-
tember, and by the first week in October they
are present in large numbers. Long Island
Sound is a favorite resort, and in the fall we
see countless numbers of them congregated in
the open water offshore, diving a considerable
depth for the small coot clams and _ shellfish
which constitute their food, preferring the deeper
water of the sound to the shallow bays. The
180 The Water-fowl Family
first aggregation is composed largely of young
birds. On their arrival, tame, readily coming to
decoys, hundreds are killed. The most popular
method of shooting coots, for this is their Yankee
name, is from a line of boats. The mouth of a
harbor or some projecting point is the place
selected, and with the first streak of light comes
the shooting. A bunch of birds low down over
the water appear in sight, looking black and
large ; now you hear their soft whistling close to
the boats, they rise a little but still keep on, and
the first shot is straight overhead. The rear
birds swerve just enough to give your next-door
neighbor a chance; more lucky than you, his first
bird falls with a heavy splash, but dives out of
harm’s way and it is almost useless to chase him.
Soon they come thick and fast, your gun grows
hot, and for a time the booming of guns is echoed
and reéchoed along the shores of the sound.
Occasionally a bird loses all idea of sensible direc-
tion and passes over the entire line, calling forth
both barrels from every boat, and then whistles
by safe over the last one: hard hit likely, but
well able to continue. They are strong and diffi-
cult to kill, seldom giving up unless mortally hurt,
and then often diving, not to reappear. The only
excuse for killing these birds is that somebody,
who knows less about coots than you do, will be
willing to eat them; but this individual is never
Duck-shooting 181
found but once, for they are too fishy for most
mankind.
All winter long the white-winged scoter stays
in the open water of Long Island Sound, although
most abundant in fall and spring. Many pass
farther south, where they frequent the ocean
along the coast, keeping out beyond the surf, in
heavy weather seeking the shelter of the bays.
These birds are heavy and must rise from the
water against the wind. This fact enables them
to be sailed on; as the craft approaches, the flock
becomes uneasy and the ducks raise their necks
as if taking a last long breath. Now they rise
in a cumbersome way toward the boat and sheer
off within easy range. Shooting from sailing
vessels and launches is, however, generally prohib-
ited. In April vast flocks congregate, preparatory
to departure, and by May a few only remain. The
breeding-ground is in Labrador and the regions
about Hudson Bay, rarely in the northern United
States, where it has been found in North Dakota.
The nest is near water, always on the ground
among the rushes and reeds that line the slough,
by which it is well concealed. On the coast,
foliage or brush serve this same purpose. The
egg is larger than that of any other duck save
the eider.
Many of the white-winged scoters that winter
in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts, are said to
182 The Water-fowl Family
migrate in May westward as far as Noank, Con-
necticut. From there they pass in evening, high
in air, in a northwest course. Possibly these are
the birds that breed in the interior from North
Dakota northward. This species has many names
among our gunners, the best known being velvet
duck, velvet scoter, white-winged surf duck, black
surf duck, and coot.
SURF SCOTER
(Ozdemia persfpicillata)
Adult male — Large white patch on the back of the neck, and a
triangular white spot between the eyes on the forehead ; entire
remainder of plumage, black; bill, striking and characteristic ;
upper mandible at base, including nostrils, dull crimson chang-
ing to scarlet over the front; nail, yellow; on each side of the
base of bill a large rounded spot of black, separated from the
black feathering above by a streak of orange, and posteriorly
by a narrow line of crimson; beneath these black patches and
in front, continuously white; the remainder of the sides of bill,
orange ; the lower mandible similar but terminating at the base
irregularly in white; feet, crimson or orange-vermilion, with
joints and webs black ; iris, white.
Measurements — Length, 21 inches; wing, 9.25 inches; culmen,
1.50 inches; tarsus, 1.70 inches.
Adult female — An indistinct white patch on lores and behind the
ears ; head, neck, and upper parts, dusky; under parts, paler,
lightest on abdomen; bill, black, with greenish or brownish
tinge; iris, brown; feet and legs, brown, with black webs.
Measurements — Length, 19 inches; wing, 9 inches; culmen, 1.40
inches; tarsus, 1.40 inches.
Young male — Resembles the female in its general plumage, but the
bill is somewhat larger and more colored, and the white on the
forehead and neck posteriorly more marked.
£ggs — Five to eight in number, ivory-white, with a pink tinge, and
measure 2.45 by 1.60 inches.
Duck-shooting 183
Habitat — Breeds from Labrador and probably Hudson Bay, Great
Slave Lake, and British Columbia, north to the Arctic Coast at
Franklin Bay and Kotzebue Sound, the Bering Sea coast of
Alaska and the Aleutian Islands; occurs also in Greenland in
summer and south on the Atlantic Coast to New York, and on
the Pacific to Monterey, California. Winters on the Atlantic
Coast from Maine to North Carolina and rarely to Florida and
Jamaica ; on the Aleutian Islands, and on the Pacific Coast from
British Columbia at least, south to San Quentin Bay, Lower Cali-
fornia. Occurs not commonly in the interior, in Manitoba and
Ontario, and south to western New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Colo-
rado, Wyoming, and Louisiana. Frequently taken in Europe,
and occurs in Bermuda.
A relative and intimate companion of the
white-winged scoter, the surf duck, is seen under
the same circumstances on our coasts, but is more
common in the interior, turning up frequently in
unexpected places. We see the first flocks of
these birds along the shores of the northern
United States in early fall, and by October in
abundance. They congregate on the same
feeding-grounds with the other scoters, but
usually remain by themselves. The surf duck
is readily distinguished from the white-winged
scoter by the absence of white on the wings and
its more peculiarly shaped bill. On account of
the white patch on the head of the male, this bird
often goes by the name of skunk-head coot in
New England and on Long Island.
The surf duck is killed with decoys and over
lines of boats anchored at short intervals apart.
184 The Waterfowl Family
They fly low down, and as the flocks come within
range, often close together, affording the oppor-
tunity of killing several ata shot. The flight is
marked by a shrill whistling, and when the birds
are in large numbers this sound is heard a long
distance off. The flesh is hardly fit for the table,
but natives alongshore skin the young birds and
eat them. Under these circumstances much of
the fishy flavor is said to be lost. In localities
where scoters abound the feathers are regularly
saved and readily sold.
Nelson describes a vast flock of surf ducks
near St. Michael extending out to sea for miles,
and we find them on the Atlantic Coast in con-
siderable numbers just before their flight north in
late April. The regions about Hudson Bay north
to the Arctic Sea, Sitka, St. Michael, and vari-
ous parts of the Alaskan coast are their breeding-
grounds. The nest is on the ground, well made
of grass and concealed under brush or scrub,
sometimes at a considerable distance from water.
At this time when disturbed the duck often utters
a guttural note. At other times the birds are
silent. During the period of incubation the males
of the different varieties of scoters moult and for
a time are unable to fly, in this condition, like many
another bird, falling victims to the natives. While
these species are perhaps the least interesting of
our wild fowl, there is a certain satisfaction in
Duck-shooting 185
feeling that some birds stand a chance of surviv-
ing man’s wantonness, even if they be scoters.
RUDDY DUCK
(Erismatura jamaicensts)
Adult male — In full plumage, upper part of head, including eye and
back of neck, glossy black; sides of head and chin, white;
throat and rest of neck, back, upper tail-coverts, scapulars, and
flanks, bright reddish chestnut ; wing-coverts, lower back, and
rump, grayish brown; primaries, dull brown, speckled near
outer edge with gray; tail, brownish black; under parts below
the upper part of breast, silvery white, the hidden portion of the
feathers being gray; the breast is tinged with rust color; under
tail-coverts, white ; bill, bright blue; eyelids, slate; iris, brown;
legs and feet, slate; webs, dusky.
Measurements — Length, 16 inches; wing, 6 inches; culmen, 1.60
inches; tarsus, 1.20 inches.
Adult female — Upper half of head, including eyes, dark brown;
cheeks, lighter brown; a white stripe from below the eye goes
to the nape; chin, white; throat and neck, brownish gray ; tips
of feathers on lower neck in front, white; upper parts, dusky
brown, mottled and speckled with grayish buff; lower parts, sil-
very white, as in the male; a yellowish wash on upper part of
breast; sides and flanks barred with brown; wings, scapulars,
and tail, dark brown, in some instances broadly margined with
gray; under tail-coverts, white; bill, slate; legs and feet, slate ;
webs, dark.
Measurements — Length, 15.50 inches; wing, 5.50 inches; culmen,
1.50 inches; tarsus, I.12 inches.
Young bird in fall plumage —Top of head, brown; chin, throat,
sides of head, grayish white; back, scapulars, and rump, brown ;
under parts, silvery gray, frequently with tinges of rust.
Downy young — Upper parts and head, smoky brown; a brownish
white stripe beneath the eye posteriorly ; breast, sooty brown ;
under parts, grayish white.
Eggs — Twelve to eighteen in number, dull white in color, and
measure 2.45 by 1.80 inches.
186 The Water-fowl Family
Habitat — Breeds in the West Indies, and from Guatemala, Texas,
and Lower California, north locally to Hudson Bay, Great Slave
Lake, and British Columbia; very rare in the United States in
the breeding season east of the Mississippi, except in north-
ern Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, but recorded, and in
several instances eggs found, in Michigan, Ohio, Maryland,
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine. Winters from
New Jersey, Illinois, Missouri(?), Nevada, and British Columbia,
south to West Indies, Columbia, and Lower California. Occurs,
in migration on the Atlantic Coast north to Newfoundland, and
in Bermuda.
The reputation of the ruddy duck is recent,
and dates back to the first scarcity of red-head
and canvas-back along our eastern coast. Thena
price was put upon its head, and this was followed
by a persecution so relentless that shortly one of
the commonest, and in many respects most insig-
nificant, of our ducks will no longer be known in
the old haunts. If it could only acquire the
instinct of changing a diet composed of the most
delicate grasses and vegetable matter on the duck
bill of fare to sea food, it would live to old age
unmolested and happy. This bird has nothing to
commend it to sportsmen, no use for decoys, keeps
off by itself, and, if occasion requires, disappears
with the skill of a hell-diver. How unfortunate
that a poor duck with such chances for peace-
ful existence should be fated!
The ruddy duck is exclusively an American
bird, occurring throughout the United States and
British provinces to Hudson Bay, breeding in
Duck-shooting 187
most of its range. The spring plumage of the
male is striking, but in his dress of red he is sel-
dom seen. This bird nests on the prairie sloughs in
company with the red-head and canvas-back, some-
times depositing its eggs in the nests of the former,
from which they can readily be distinguished by
their large size. The nest is built of rushes, often
detached and floating. The young are hatched
in July, and before September are fledged. We
often see the brood remaining on the ponds when
all the other ducks have taken flight, calmly wait-
ing for the approach of danger, then sinking out
of sight like a grebe, rising to the surface with
just its bill protruding. The ruddy ducks are
well distributed through the United States, in
October occurring inland and on the coasts, but
on the Atlantic they are not very abundant north
of, Virginia. “Of North’ Carelina, ‘and '} farther
south, they are common, and seen in all the
brackish bays. Keeping by themselves, they take
to wing only when forced, and then fly a short
distance. After the morning shooting is over
the market gunner turns his attention to the
boobies, for this is the name they go by, and well
deserve. A number of boats quietly approach
the ducks, gradually rounding them into some
bay and lining out across its entrance; then the
birds are started. Nothing will induce a ruddy
duck to fly over land; it prefers open water and
188 The Water-fowl Family
destruction. They come over the boats in ones
and twos and flocks, low down, an easy mark.
For a time the fusillade is furious, and many are
killed. The birds that escape proceed to fall into
the same trap over again, as soon as opportunity
offers. Other names for this bird are booby,
broadbill dipper, bumble-bee coot, salt-water teal,
spine-tail, bull-neck, steel-head.
MASKED DUCK
(Nomonyx dominicus)
Adult male — Head, except nape and chin, black; nape, throat,
neck, back, scapulars, and upper tail-coverts, dark cinnamon;
centre of feathers, black; lower back and rump, dark brown
spotted with black; upper part of breast, dark cinnamon; sides
darker with black centres to the feathers ;\ wings, blackish brown
with long, narrow, white speculum ; under tail-coverts, cinnamon
blotched with black ; tail, dark brown, shafts of feathers black;
bill, slate; median line on maxilla, nail and skin at base of chin,
black; mandible, reddish white; tip, black.
Measurements — Length, 15 inches; wing, 5.75 inches; culmen, 1.30
inches; tarsus, I inch.
Adult female — Top of head, stripe from base of bill through eye to
occiput and one from nape to occiput, black; rest of head, buff,
becoming whitish on throat; neck, buff mottled with brown;
upper parts, black edged with buff; wings, dark brown; feathers,
tipped with yellowish white ; speculum, white; tail, dark brown,
under parts ochraceous with blackish spots on breast, flanks,
and anal region; bill, brown; nail, black.
Measurements — Length, 13 inches; wing, 5 inches; culmen, 1.30
inches; tarsus, I inch.
Young male —Sides of head mottled with buff and under parts
whitish, otherwise resembles adult male. Still younger speci-
mens resemble female.
Habitat — Breeds in the West Indies and tropical America, ranging
Duck-shooting 189
north on the Gulf Coast to the Rio Grande in Texas. Recorded
also in North America, from Cedar Lake, Saskatchewan, Wis-
consin, Massachusetts, and Vermont; the last possibly an escaped
caged bird, and the Cedar Lake, Saskatchewan, bird was wrongly
identified. Occurs in South America, south to Argentina and
Chili.
A tropical relative of the ruddy duck, which it
resembles in habits. Found throughout northern
South America and in the tropical parts of
Mexico and Central America. There are three
instances of its occurrence in the United States:
one, on the Vermont shore of Lake Champlain,
the bird being an adult male; the second speci-
men was taken on Rock River, Wisconsin, No-
vember, 1870, by Mr. L. Kumlein; the third at
Malden, Massachusetts, in 1889.
This bird frequents the rivers and lagoons of
its habitat, and is seen in pairs and small flocks.
Like the ruddy duck, it is an expert diver, often
swimming with the head and a small portion of
the back exposed.
The masked duck, more than most species,
keeps to the water, and when on dry land pre-
sents an awkward appearance, because of the feet,
which are so far back as to disturb equilibrium.
The flight is rapid, close to the water, and not
well sustained. In Trinidad and the West Indies
this variety is common, and while to a certain
extent migratory, occurs throughout the year.
The flesh is excellent.
CHAP TER 1V
DUCK-SHOOTING (CONTINUED)
THE MERGANSERS
(Mergine)
THE mergansers are a small group of eight or
ten species, living chiefly in the northern hem1-
sphere, but occurring also in most of the world.
Their food is almost entirely fish, which they
follow and catch under the water. As a conse-
quence they have a long and cylindrical bill with
pointed “teeth” along the sides and a sharp hook
on the end. Their feet are webbed, but they dif-
fer from the river-ducks in having a small mem-
branous flap on the hind toe. They have short
legs, long necks, a crested head, and pointed wings,
and are swift fliers and capital swimmers and
divers. In consequence of their fish diet, their
flesh is strong and poor for food, although they
are eaten in some: localities: | ihe» malesijane
handsome birds of brightly colored plumage, —
our own hooded merganser being, on the whole,
the most beautiful of the group. They frequent
the lakes and rivers, and the bays of the coasts,
seldom occurring in the centre of large bodies of
190
Duck-shooting IgI
water, and are very rarely found in large flocks.
Many of them breed in holes in trees, others lay-
ing on the ground, under bushes, and close to the
shore. Occasionally they breed in colonies. Like
the ducks many of the male mergansers wear for
a few weeks in summer a plumage resembling
that of the female.
An interesting genus of this family inhabits the
swift mountain torrents of the highest Andes
from Columbia to Chili, and can swim and dive
with great rapidity against the fast-rushing water.
Their bills are more like that of a duck than those
of the other mergansers, and they have a large
and sharp spur on the wing. On account of their
habits these birds are known as the torrent ducks.
AMERICAN MERGANSER
(Merganser americanus)
Adult male— Head and upper part of neck, dark, glossy green;
feathers on nape elongated ; back and inner scapulars, jet-black ;
rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail, ashy gray; sides of crissum
and femoral region, whitish, narrowly barred with slate color;
neck, white; breast and under parts, fine salmon color, fading
to white in dried skins; primaries, black; secondaries, white,
edged with black; lesser wing-coverts, black proximally, white
distally; inner greater coverts, black, outer, white; base of
greater coverts, black, forming a bar halfway across the wing ;
bill, vermilion, with culmen and nail, black; feet, vermilion ;
iris, red, or reddish brown.
Measurements — Length, 27 inches; wing, 11 to 11.25 inches; cul-
men, 2 inches ; tarsus, I.go inches.
Adult female — Head, neck, and occipital crest, reddish brown ; chin
and throat, white ; upper parts, gray, edged with paler and with
192 The Water-fowl Family
dark shaft streaks; primaries, black; speculum, white; flanks,
ash; lower parts, white, with a tinge of buff, fading in dried
skins; tail, gray; bill, reddish brown; culmen, blackish; feet,
reddish orange; webs, dusky; iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 22 inches ; wing, 9.60 inches; tarsus, 1.80
inches; culmen, I.go inches.
Young male — With general characteristics of female, but larger in
measurement.
Downy young — Upper parts, brown, marked with four white spots ;
upper half of head and neck, rusty ; rest of head, neck, and under
parts, white.
Eggs — Seven to ten in number, ivory-white, with a tinge of buff,
and measure 2.63 by 1.75 inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Newfoundland, Sable Island (?), Maine, Ver-
mont, New York, formerly Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa,
Nebraska, and Washington, and south in the mountains to Penn-
sylvania, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, north to Labra-
dor, Great Slave Lake, probably Fort Anderson, Fort Yukon,
and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Winters from New Bruns-
wick, Vermont rarely, Ontario, Wisconsin, Kansas, Colorado,
Idaho, British Columbia, and the Aleutian and Pribilof islands,
south to Florida, Louisiana, Texas, northern Mexico, and Cali-
fornia. Occurs in Bermuda.
Fond of the sport and a clever fisherman, but
no respecter of a six-inch law, the American mer-
ganser knows every trout stream and lake from
northern New England to as far north as trout
streams flow. In July we see the female with her
little brood on the secluded lakes and rivers.
They were bred in the hole of some tree not far
from water, and since the time the old duck car-
ried them to the ground in her bill they have
been learning merganser manners, and now are
well skilled in diving, hiding, and scooting along
Duck-shooting 193
the water. The mother is a devoted parent and
is often seen with a little one on her back. When
danger threatens they scatter and disappear, the
old bird keeping close until she can call them to
a place of safety. In late August and September
they are full-fledged and congregate with other
families, forming a respectable flock. When
startled, they run along the surface of the water,
flapping their wings with much noise and commo-
tion, on account of which habit the bird often
goes by the name of steamboat. In October and
November the American merganser appears
along our coast and inland, frequenting the open
rivers and lakes, remaining until the last ice hole
is closed, under these circumstances keeping well
fed and fat. I noticed one winter that among a
number of ducks killed in a freeze-up these
birds were the only ones in good condition.
Their crops were gorged with little eels. We
often see them in bays near the mouths of rivers,
keeping pretty much their own company and
feeding on the schools of small fish abounding in
these places, the bird when wounded often eject-
ing what it has swallowed. The flight is strong
and they are hard to kill, carrying away a heavy
charge of shot; if wing broken, diving quickly
and swimming a long distance under water.
When freshly killed the bright salmon color of
the breast, in the male bird, is a striking feature
Oo
194 The Water-fowl Family
of his plumage. In the spring the American
merganser is fond of the smaller rivers and
streams, swimming through the rapids without
hesitation, diving for his food in the pools. We
get our last glimpse of him in April. Other names
for this species are American sheldrake, pond
sheldrake, goosander, saw-bill, breakhorn, and
fisherman.
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER
(Merganser serrator)
Adult male — Head and occipital crest of lengthened feathers, dark
glossy green with purple reflections; neck immediately below,
white in the form of a collar with a black streak posteriorly ;
upper part of breast, buff streaked with black; under parts,
white; back and inner scapulars, glossy black ; lower back and
rump, gray with black and white mottling; primaries, dark
brown; wing, mostly white crossed by two black bars; on the
sides of the breast, in front of shoulder, is a patch of white
feathers, bordered with black; flanks, finely barred with lines
of gray and black; tail, dark gray; bill, carmine with dusky cul-
men; nail, yellowish; legs and feet, red; iris, reddish orange or
carmine. The distance from nostril to nearest feather on head
less than the height of bill at base in both sexes. This is a
point of certain distinction between this and the preceding
species.
Measurements — Length, 22.50 inches; wing, 8.70 inches; tail, 4
inches; tarsus, 1.80 inches; culmen, 2.40 inches.
Adult female — Head, neck, and crest, cinnamon-brown; throat and
lower parts, white; sides, gray; upper parts, dark gray edged
with pale gray, feathers with darker shafts; white patch on the
wing divided by a black bar; bill, legs, and feet, reddish brown ;
iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, 8.50 inches; tarsus, 1.50
inches; culmen, 2.20 inches.
Duck-shooting 195
Young male — Similar to female ; chin and throat, pale reddish ; lower
neck and upper part of breast, brownish; white space on wing
marked by a black bar.
Downy young— Upper parts, top of head and neck, brown; sides
of head and neck, rusty; lower parts, yellowish white, and a
white patch on each side of back and rump.
Eggs — Eight to twelve in number, creamy buff, and measure 2.55
by 1.80 inches.
Habitat — Northern portion of northern hemisphere. Breeds in
North America from Sable Island, Maine, Ontario, Michigan,
Minnesota, Illinois, Manitoba, Alberta, Utah, probably Idaho,
and British Columbia, north to the Aleutians, the western and
Arctic Coast of Alaska, Fort Anderson, Cumberland, and Green-
land south of 73°, chiefly near the coast or on large lakes.
Winters in south Greenland and the Commander Islands, and
in the United States chiefly along the coast, from Maine, Ohio,
Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, Nevada, and Washing-
ton, south to Lower California, Louisiana, and Florida. Occurs
also in Bermuda and Hawaii.
The range of this bird is wide; it is found along
both coasts from the Arctic regions to the south-
ern limits of the United States, and rather prefers
shore resorts to those inland. The red-breasted
merganser breeds from our northern boundary to
Alaska and Hudson Bay. It is common as far
north as the Aleutian Islands, and the natives
here consider the rank and fishy flavor of its flesh
a delicacy. The nest is placed in the marshes
near the coast on the islands or mainland, care-
fully hidden on the ground among the rushes and
reeds. The eggs are well covered up with down.
We see the little ducklings in July, and if sur-
prised they quickly hide, perhaps betraying their
196 The Water-fowl Family
presence by a lonely peep in answer to the dis-
tressed cry of the old bird as she circles around
near by. They are hardy and soon able to shift
for themselves, running and flapping over the
water exactly as the goosander or American mer-
ganser. They fly in September and follow the
coast in their migration, frequenting the shallow
bays and lagoons alongshore, often following up
the larger rivers. Mergansers do not care espe-
cially for the companionship of other ducks, and
we see them in flocks alone, perhaps feeding on
some school of fish which they ravenously pursue
and devour. They fly in a line and have a pecul-
iar habit of depressing the neck and head, when
their attention is attracted by anything in the line
of flight. The ideas of the red-breasted mergan-
ser on the subject of a winter resort vary. Some
stay through the coldest weather along the New
England coast, others push on to Florida; many
loiter between. The male of this species is very
showy; his green hairy crest and handsome body
markings rank him well as a stylish bird. Not
persecuted for the market and careful to mind
their own affairs, this species might well set ex-
amples to the more popular members of our
wild-fowl family. This bird is also known as the
sheldrake, salt-water sheldrake, fishing-duck, and
hairy crown.
Duck-shooting 197
HOODED MERGANSER
(Lophodytes cucullatus)
Adult male— Head and neck, back, and scapulars, black; crest,
black anteriorly; posteriorly white, with narrow black border;
wing-coverts, dark gray, grading into lighter posteriorly ; tertials,
black, with central band of white; wing, rump, and tail, dark
brown; in front of the wing, on the sides, are two black and
two white crescent-shaped bars; flanks, grayish brown, becom-
ing reddish toward the tail, undulated with fine black lines;
under parts, pure white; under tail-coverts, dusky ; bill, black ;
legs and feet, yellowish brown; iris, yellow.
Measurements — Length, 18 inches; wing, 7.50 inches; tail, 4.20
inches; tarsus, 1.10 inches; culmen, 1.50 inches.
Adult female — Head, neck, and upper parts, light brown; crest,
darker; back and tail, dark brown; throat and under parts,
white; flanks, grayish brown; wing, brown, with white patch
crossed by dark bar; bill, black, with yellowish edge; feet,
light brown; iris, hazel.
Measurements — Length, 16.50 inches; wing, 7.20 inches; tarsus,
1.20 inches; culmen, 1.50 inches.
Young male — Head and neck, light brown, with more or less black
mottling; crest, brownish white, with brown edge; upper parts,
dark brown, tipped with lighter; wings, rump, and upper tail-
coverts, dark brown; a few of the tertials with stripe of white ;
upper breast, dusky gray; lower breast and abdomen, white.
Downy young — Upper parts, brown, darkest on back; lower por-
tions of head and throat, light buff; a light grayish spot on each
side of back and rump; breast, pale brown; abdomen, white.
Eggs — Eight to twelve, pure white, and measure 2.10 by 1.70
inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Colorado,
probably Nevada, and Oregon, north locally to Labrador, On-
tario, Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, and northern British Colum-
bia. Winters from Massachusetts, New York, Indiana, Ilinois,
Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado, and British Columbia, south to
Lower California, Mexico, the Gulf states, and Cuba. Rare in
the northeastern part of its range. Recorded from St. Michael,
Alaska, and from Europe and Bermuda.
198 The Waterfowl Family
A flash of black and white, and he is gone.
When other ducks have stopped flying, and you
still stay in the blind not watching all directions
as carefully as in the early morning, suddenly
there is a sensation of something around and you
catch a glimpse of this freak streak, too late to do
anything more. He came and went as only a
hairy crown can. This is the name he goes by
along many parts of our coast, although his wide
distribution and stunning plumage have given
him a number of others, and he is variously
called water-pheasant, hairy-head, cotton-head,
pond-shell drake, and spikebill.
The hooded merganser breeds along most of
its range, from Florida north, but more commonly
from the northern United States throughout the
fur countries. The nest is placed in a hollow
tree often twenty feet from the ground, near a
stream or along the shore of some lake, occa-
sionally at a considerable distance from water.
The birds fly through the woods and light ona
tree with speed and grace. An interesting in-
stance is recorded by Mr. Boardman of where
a female wood duck and a female hooded mer-
ganser contested for the possession of a nesting-
place in the hollow of a tree; later the nest was
found to contain eighteen fresh eggs, about a
third belonging to the merganser. The brood is
first seen in late June, when the young are scarce
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Duck-shooting 199
the size of bantam chicks. They keep close to
the mother and feed on what she selects, seeds
and grubs; later on she fishes for them. By
early fall they all take flight, and hurry south.
We see them on our New England coast in spare
numbers by late September, though in the South
more commonly. Throughout the interior they
are well known on the marshes of most of our
lakes and rivers. The hooded merganser fre-
quents the brackish bays of our Southern states ;
here creeks and ponds in the marshy islands are
the spots he loves. We see him in a small, select
flock or with his little brown mate, keeping
mostly by themselves; in places where protection
is afforded quickly showing their appreciation of
it, and becoming gentle. As the male swims
lightly on the water, he is an ornament of beauty
unsurpassed; if startled, springing into the air
and flying low and fast with unusual speed.
Few birds deserve more consideration for their
good looks. Long may he live!
SMEW
(Mergus albellus)
Adult male — Plumage, white ; a patch at the base of the bill, includ-
ing lores and eyes, lower portion of crest, middle of the back,
two crescentric, narrow lines on the side of the breast and outer
edge of the scapulars and rump, black, with greenish reflections
on the head; upper tail-coverts, gray; middle wing-coverts,
white ; greater coverts, black, tipped with white ; tail, dark gray ;
sides and flanks marked with fine, black, wavy lines on a gray
200 The Water-fowl Family
ground; bill, slate; nail, lighter; iris, light gray; legs and feet,
slate color, with dark webs.
Measurements — Length, 16.75 inches; wing, 7.60 inches; culmen,
1.25 inches; tarsus, 1.12 inches.
Adult female — Head and neck posteriorly, chestnut-brown; lores
and cheeks, darker; throat and sides of neck, white; upper
parts, brownish gray, darkest on the rump; jugulum, slaty gray ;
sides and flanks, brownish gray; under parts, white; tail,
brownish gray.
Downy young — Upper parts with sides of head below eye, including
back of neck, blackish brown; white spots below eye, at wing
joint, on side of back, and side of rump; breast and flanks,
grayish brown; rest of lower parts, white.
Habitat — Breeds in northern Europe and Asia, occurring in migra-
tion east to the Commander Islands. Winters south to the
coasts of the Mediterranean, northern India, China, and Japan.
Recorded from northern North America and by Audubon from
Louisiana.
A female of this bird, in the British Museum,
purchased from the Hudson Bay Company, and
a female, obtained by Audubon in Louisiana, in
1817, are the two instances of the occurrence of
the smew in North America.
The smew has many of the habits of our
hooded merganser, frequenting chiefly rivers and
lakes, seldom occurring in large flocks, and nest-
ing in hollow trees. In summer it occurs as far
north as the Kola Peninsula, Russia, the Yenisei
River, Siberia, and Kamchatka. In England the
adult male is known as the white widgeon, and
females and young males, in Devonshire, as vare
widgeon, from a fancied resemblance to the head
of a weasel there called vare.
Interbreeding 201
INTERBREEDING
When we consider the close relationship exist-
ing between many of our wild fowl, it seems re-
markable that evidences of interbreeding are not
more often observed. Many species utilize a
common breeding-ground and follow the same
migratory courses to the winter haunts. Among
the fresh-water ducks certain different varieties
are prone to associate, notably the mallard, shov-
eller, teal, and pintail. In a limited area the black
duck breeds in the territory of the mallard.
From the general similarities of these two species
it is natural to expect the commonest hybrids
would be between the black duck and mallard,
and this is the case. Crosses between the two
are known to most sportsmen of experience.
The marshes of Ontario and the coast to the
south of the Chesapeake have afforded numerous
instances of this hybrid, and in parts of Ontario
it is incorrectly known as the black mallard. The |
writer recently saw a fine specimen of black duck
and mallard cross killed in North Carolina; it
resembled the black duck, but had distinct mal-
lard markings. Other hybrids resemble the
mallard. The green feathers of the head and
the recurved feathers of the tail are often notice-
able. Two instances of this hybrid are described
under the “mallard.” As would be expected,
202 The Water-fowl Family
they do not differ materially in size from either
species. The mallard is by far the commonest
duck to interbreed, possibly owing to its wide-
spread distribution ; and next to the cross between
mallard and black duck we find several instances
of a hybrid between mallard and muscovy —
specimens of which are likewise described under
“mallard.” The muscovy duck in North America
is a tropical and subtropical species, seldom, if
ever, coming into the United States. The hy-
brids therefore are probably those of the wild
mallard with the domestic muscovy. Mallard
and pintail are also responsible for hybrids, and
there are several striking instances of this cross.
Several years since in October a number of mal-
lard and pintail hybrids were killed at the Long
Point Club, evidently all members of the same
brood. Specimens of a cross between mallard and
gadwall and mallard with widgeon are recorded,
and an interesting instance of a pintail and teal
hybrid as well as a red-head and wood duck. The
hybrid is supposed to be larger than either parent,
a rule which is more noticeable the more dissimilar
the species. There was at one time a specimen
in the collection at Princeton of a supposed hy-
brid between mallard and brant which was con-
siderably larger than a brant, and as ungainly as
might be supposed. Another class of ducks in-
timately associated in their breeding-grounds are
Interbreeding 203
the canvas-back and red-head. These birds breed
in the more open ponds, and it is not uncommon
to find eggs of the red-head in the nest of the can-
vas-back and vce versa; the egg of the ruddy
duck is also occasionally found in the nests of
both the former. Hybrids between these varie-
ties are not to the knowledge of the writer on
record. A cross between canvas-back and ruddy
duck might be a good thing for a bill of fare, but
it would certainly be an oddity in the duck line.
Some of the rarer varieties of ducks are not un-
frequently mistaken for hybrids; this is specially
true in the case of the European widgeon, an
occasional straggler to our shores, where it is
often thought to be a cross between a red-head
and a widgeon, and is called the red-headed widg-
eon. The ring-necked duck, rare in localities,
among many of our gunners goes by the name of
bastard broadbill, and doubtless is so considered.
Among the geese the best instance of interbreed-
ing 1s in the cross between the Canada goose and
the domestic. This hybrid possesses most of the
characteristics of the wild bird. It is regularly
barren, but a superior bird for the table. There
is no better demonstration of the provision of nature
for its own than in the preservation of species. In
all probability eggs, the result of interbreeding,
are less often fertile than under ordinary circum-
stances, and hybrids are regularly barren.
204 The Water-fowl Family
Albinism is not uncommonly noticed among
the ducks, and albinos of many of the varieties
have at one time or another come under the
writer’s observation. An interesting instance of
this was noticed several years ago; in a brood of
young mergansers, two-thirds grown, there were
two perfectly white birds which were subsequently
secured. During the past fall a white teal was
seen on the marshes near Port Rowan, and a year
ago a white pintail was killed in the same locality.
Partial albinism is naturally more common than
complete, and there seem to be in all albinos cer-
tain parts that do not entirely lose the character
of their coloring, such as the feathers of the
speculum. Probably few albinos among our
water-fowl escape observation at one time or
another, and in more than one instance birds
marked in this unusual way have demonstrated
the fact that the migratory courses vary but little.
CEA ERE RV
GOOSE-SHOOTING
ON THE BAYS
In dealing with the wild goose the gunner is
confronted with a bird of extraordinary cunning ;
accustomed to man’s methods from his gosling
days, the older he gets the wiser he grows. His
undoing on occasions is due to the fact that some
of his relatives make shrewd decoys, and as such
have no conscience about making trouble for the
unshot members of the race. Probably the patri-
archs of learning and wisdom in the decoy line
come from down east, Boston way. In one or
two of the clubs there Canada geese are actually
trained to fly among the wild flock and bring it
toward the blind, where a welcome chorus from
the live decoys greets the strangers and alluring
honks bring them in. On Long Island there are
a few stands of live decoys, but Canada geese are
not as regular in their sojourn here as farther
south. In the brackish bays of North Carolina
they winter, vast hordes of them; but even with all
the gunning this country is infested with, compar-
atively few fall victims. In the ordinary weather
205
206 The Water-fowl Family
of fall and winter it is hardly worth while to
waste much time on Canada geese, but when
wind and storm drive the flocks low down under
the lee of land the chance is afforded.
The Currituck Club is the club for geese, and
here many are killed every year. They have the
habit of leaving the quiet shelter of the bay for
the ocean, where they spend the day, crossing the
outer bars and dunes on the journey back and
forth, often low down, coming close to the inner
shore on these trips. Here sink boxes are placed
in the more favorable locations; when storm-
driven the restless flocks lead to and fro, seeking
in vain a Shelter. This is the chance, and it
doesn’t come often. Eight or ten trusted honkers
from the goose pen at the club are boxed up. A
large swan goes along, too, for luck. These are
taken to the blind and carefully tethered on the
flat, or if in shallow water a platform is driven
just under the surface, as swimming all the time
gets monotonous. The sink box is now put in
shape, —it likely needs bailing out, the edge
probably requires a little tinkering, —some sand
is thrown up around the front, or possibly sea-
weed and sedge; then every vestige that could
arouse suspicion is removed. If everything is
favorable, and it’s mighty seldom it is, the gunner
hasn't long to wait. Likely the first intimation of
anything out of the ordinary will be a honk from
Goose-shooting 207
some watchful decoy and successive honks from
a few others, as their attention is roused to the
possibility of callers. Very often all this before
a sound has been heard or a bird seen; but soon
a far-off honk makes it evident there are sharper
eyes than a gunner’s. What the man with the
gun wants to do now is to keep his stomach
pretty close to the ground, stay very insignificant-
like in his box, and trust his business in the hands
of others; they attend to it well. Excitement
prevails outside and the distant honks grow
nearer; they are coming right along, now with
long, low groans of satisfaction at the thought of
companions and a rest. What sort of sensations
the man in the box has been having only he
knows who has been there. To most men under
these circumstances desire gets the better of dis-
cretion, and sooner or later it becomes irresistible.
He just raises his eyes over the edge, and in this
particular instance sees six geese, too near for
comfort. Close together, the poor frightened
things get closer, and at the shot two thump the
ground pretty hard; the second barrel winds up
matters for a third; the other three have changed
their mind about friendly geese and are striking
out for Florida. The decoys are happy; it is the
old story of misery loves company. Things don’t
always connect in just this kind of a way.
Geese, though a good big mark, can be missed,
208 The Water-fowl Family
and under all circumstances are hard to kill.
Their size often causes the distance to be mis-
judged. The man in the present instance who
is fortunate enough to be in this blind at Curri-
tuck on a good goosing day, has had some expe-
rience, and he allows most of the birds to keep
coming when they once start. Several times
since the first chance he has stopped two out of
the small flocks that have come his way and has
piled up some twenty birds. A large flock, low
down, leads toward the blind. Such honking, a
bedlam! Finally, as they are about to turn in,
an old gander raises his voice above the others;
something has caught his eye, he swings the whole
mass around and heads them for the middle of
Currituck Bay. The end goose comes ina bit too
far, and with the shot he makes just twenty-one.
But what of the swan? Tied to his stake he has
enjoyed the performance of the morning as much
as the geese, though he hasn’t honked out any
sentiments. On this particular day he earns his
salt, for along toward noon three swans, an old
bird and two cygnets, see him and come. They
don’t make any noise about it, but the geese honk
away ; and when they are straight overhead a gun
cracks twice, one of the cygnets closes up and
falls on hard ground with an everlasting big thud.
This is a good way to wind up, and the decoys
and dead birds make a boat load. The finish of
SNOW GEESE
Goose-shooting 209
the day came in the evening at the Club, and with
a pipe before the fireplace those birds were all
shot over.
IN THE STUBBLES
Throughout the West, geese frequent the stub-
ble fields, and here they are often shot from pits
or shacks; pits are by far the most satisfactory
means when it is possible to dig them. It is often
desirable to allow the birds to feed about the
changed surroundings for a time before attempt-
ing to use decoys; then if they happen to come in
small relays instead of in a large flock, there may
be a good chance. To me this form of shooting
is particularly attractive, and I recall many times
my first experience in a goose pit.
It was several years ago, in October, and
about the middle of the month, that young Jim
Bosworth walked into the kitchen of the Bos-
worth farm with the information that there was a
big flock of geese feeding on the west stubble.
This was news we had been waiting two weeks
for. Jim had seen the geese that afternoon, and
it was a question if it wouldn’t be a good plan to
let them alone awhile with a little corn for en-
couragement. I had then a first goose to kill, and
the thought of putting off a matter of this sort
didn’t especially appeal. We compromised on
one day; during this time they were to get corn,
the next morning Jim was to dig the pit, and the
210 The Water-fowl Family
following afternoon I hoped to preside at the ob-
sequies of a goose. We started, when it came
time, in a buggy; this doesn’t seem quite in har-
mony with surroundings, for we were in the wilds
of North Dakota, but this special buggy certainly
served our purpose. There was room on the seat
for Jim and me and the hired man, and under the
seat for three young Canada geese, that were un-
ceremoniously jumbled into a sack, where they
kicked around for a while and then became quiet.
We reached the pit about four in the afternoon,
after three miles jogging over stubbles. There
wasn't much left of Jim’s corn, and according to
Jim he hadn’t been stingy. The pit was dug deep,
the dirt well scattered, in fact there were tracks
right up on the edge. It looked like one of those
sure things. Jim staked out the three decoys and
tied a string to each one of their free legs; these
strings were for manipulation behind the screen,
and this was his business in the pit. I had two guns,
a ten and a twelve. It began to get fairly well
along toward sunset, and we were getting a trifle
anxious, when the sound of distant honking bright-
ened up matters. The decoys were young and
didn’t appreciate the importance of speaking up, so
Jim proceeded to pull the legs of two; the result
was a few distressed honks; they were answered,
and a tumultuous droning indicated a big gang of
geese. From the noise now they must be behind
Goose-shooting 211
the high knoll in front, and that is just where
they were; for in a few seconds a great line of
birds came into view, close over the ground; there
was an everlasting host of them. If we ever get
a shot at that line of necks! Gee! they were
coming head on, getting bigger and blacker every
minute, making such a racket you couldn’t hear
yourself think. If there had not been two guns
close by, I believe I would have been afraid.
Just about the critical moment six geese sepa-
rated from the crowd and came straight overhead,
pretty high up, and here is where I made the big-
gest mistake in a life of blunders: I stood up in
the pit and fired at the head bird. He was as
big as the sum total of the other five. The first
shot plastered him all over, the second shot did
likewise, but he never winced. Then there was
the ten-bore, he was still in range; the first I
don’t think touched him, the second put some
shot in a very good place, right in his neck; he
folded up clean and hit that soft stubble with such
a jolt it about one-quarter buried him. When
we finished with his execution, for all that could
be seen and heard, there wasn’t another goose in
North Dakota. That was all; Jim didn’t see any
more geese on the west stubble. We put that
gander in the buggy,—he had to go in front,
there was no room behind. He tipped the Bos-
worth scales at an even eighteen pounds.
212 The Water-fowl Family
GOOSE-SHOOTING IN MEXICO
The large bodies of water that are found at
rare intervals in northern Mexico are the resort
through the winter of countless numbers of geese:
not the Canada goose of the East and Middle
West, but the snow goose and the white-fronted
goose. In early October the hordes arrive, an-
nouncing their coming with discordant clamor.
They choose as a resting-place the shallow alkali
waters, and as a feeding-ground the neighboring
corn stubble, if such there be. A short distance
from Minaca is one of these lakes, some twenty
miles in length. In the Mexican summer, rains
replenish the scanty water supply left over from
the spring, and October finds it a paradise for
water-fowl. Shut in by the rolling hills of the
mesa, yellow with wavy grass, its blue surface
reflects a bluer sky. All around, as far as the
eye can reach, are herds of cattle, for some six
miles away is a ranch; and at this spot, one fall
recently, we stopped. Early in the morning a
breakfast of tortillas and coffee was served, and
before it was finished a Mexican boy appeared
with the horses. Guns were slipped into the sad-
dle-cases. Our attendant found room for most of
- our ammunition in his saddle-bag, and we started
for the lake. It was a ride of about six miles,
over an open country; but the horses were fast,
Goose-shooting 203
and in less than half an hour we looked down
from a knoll on the sheet of water some two
miles away. Along the farther shore was a bank
of white, shining in the light of sunrise —a solid
bank of snow geese. Scattered over its surface
everywhere were flocks of ducks and geese, black
masses of them. We hurried on, passing through
herd after herd of cattle, which increased in num-
bers as the water was approached. A coyote
stopped to take a fleeting glance from the top of
a hill opposite, then disappeared. A jack-rabbit
scurried from in front.
. J ai sf
_ 5
< \ :
‘s nH 7
Goose-shooting 231
fords, it visits the grain-fields, greedily feeding on
the corn and wheat stubble. The bird is excel-
lent for the table, particularly the young. Other
names for this species are laughing goose, speckled
belly, speckled brant, gray brant.
BEAN GOOSE
(Aunser fabalis)
Adult male and female — Upper parts, dark brown, edged with gray-
ish white; head and neck, grayish brown, darkest on the head,
with a white patch on forehead; rump, brownish black; wings,
brown; coverts, grayish, edged with white ; breast, pale brown ;
sides and flanks, brown with pale edges; upper and under tail-
coverts, abdomen, and vent, white; bill, black with a middle
part of deep orange; iris, dark brown; legs and feet, orange.
Measurements — Length, 32 inches; wing, Ig inches; culmen, 2.30
inches ; tarsus, 3.10 inches.
Female averages somewhat smaller than the male.
ffabitat — Breeds in northern Europe and northern Asia, from
Russian Lapland east to the Yenisei River, and north to Nova
Zembla. Winters south to southern Europe, northern Africa,
China, etc. Recorded from northern Greenland.
The only reason for admitting the bean goose
to the check-list of North American birds is the
fact that a single specimen in the museum at
Copenhagen is stated to have come from Green-
land.
Though often common in Europe and Asia in
migrations and in winter, the bean goose, like so
many others of its relatives, seeks the far North
to raise its young. There it lays five or six eggs.
It feeds in the open fields, is very shy, and is less
232 The Water-fowl Family
aquatic in its habits than most water-fowl. If
chased during the moulting season, when from
the loss of its primaries it is unable to fly, it will
attempt to escape observation by flattening it-
self on the ground with its head thrust forward,
and will not take to the water unless absolutely
cornered.
CANADA GOOSE
(Branta canadensis)
Adult male and female — Head and neck, black with a white patch
on each cheek extending across the throat; upper parts, dark
brown; feathers tipped with lighter; lower parts, paler than the
upper, the light gray sometimes fading into white about the
anal region; primaries, rump, and tail, black; upper and under
tail-coverts, white; legs, feet, and bill, black; iris, brown.
Measurements — Average length, 38 inches; wing, 18 inches; tarsus,
3 inches; culmen, 2.15 inches.
Young — Similar to the adult, but the white cheek patches are
speckled with black, and they are somewhat smaller.
Downy young— Above, golden olive-green; below forehead and
sides of head, pale greenish yellow.
£ggs — Five to nine in number, dull white, measure 3.50 by 2.50
inches.
Habitat — Breeds from Newfoundland and Anticosti, Indiana, pos-
sibly Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah,
Nevada, and Oregon, north to northern Labrador, Hudson Bay,
lower Mackenzie, the interior of Alaska (?), and Cook Inlet (?) ;
said to have formerly bred in Massachusetts, and a set of eggs
recorded from Tennessee. Winters from New Jersey, occasionally
north to Massachusetts, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, Ohio,
Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, South Dakota rarely, Nebraska,
Utah, Oregon, and British Columbia, south to Florida, Jamaica,
the Gulf states, Mexico, and Los Angeles County, California.
Less common on the Pacific Coast. Occurs in Bermuda.
Goose-shooting 233
Formerly the wild goose bred throughout tem-
perate North America, and at the present time
occasionally breeds within our boundary, in North
Dakota and the adjacent states. The large body
of western geese, however, pass on to the country
lying north and west of Hudson Bay, the At-
lantic geese breeding in Labrador and to the north
and west of it, and in Newfoundland. In the Hud-
son Bay region they are among the first spring
arrivals, and the foremost stragglers are seen in
April. By early May large numbers have arrived ;
for a time they remain in flocks, and frequent the
shores and shallow water, but soon separate into
pairs and select some small inland lake or marsh.
The nest is usually on the ground, carefully formed
of grasses and weeds, of large size and somewhat
raised. Sometimes a stump is chosen, and there
are instances of the birds nesting in trees, using
the deserted nests of hawks or ravens.
In the Okanogan district of British Columbia
the Canada goose is said to breed frequently in
trees in the deserted nests of hawks. Mr. Charles
de B. Green reports finding there in the same
nest in a tree, two eggs of the osprey and three of
this species, both ospreys and Canada geese being
present and complaining. One egg of the goose
was left in the nest, and a week later he found the
osprey sitting on this egg while the geese were
not seen in the vicinity.
234 The Water-fowl Family
The little goslings at once accompany the old
birds to the water and quickly become expert in
diving and hiding. In July the parents moult, and
are for a time unable to fly. While in this help-
less state they are eagerly hunted by natives.
The mortality at this time might account for the
fact that we seldom see more than three young
birds in one family. Early in September they re-
assemble on the larger bodies of water and await
a favorable time for departure. Restless at the
thought of the long flight, with the first fair wind
the procession starts. Small flocks lead the way,
and soon the entire multitude has gone. Shortly
we hear them within our boundaries. By the
middle of October they are well established for
the fall, and no visitor is more welcome. Their
honking tells of frosts and cold nights. The ad-
vance guards appear in Dakota, Minnesota, and
Montana, and along the coasts at about the same
time. Successive relays augment the first comers,
and by early November they congregate in vast
flocks. As they assemble on their favorite feed-
ing-grounds, the host presents an impressive
sight. The ground selected is well protected
from any attack, no foe can approach unnoticed
and unchallenged. Ever on the alert and wary,
the flock is guarded by sentinels tried in the
service, who know well the arts of man. While
undisturbed they indulge in more or less gabble
Goose-shooting 235
among themselves, but when their suspicions are
aroused —silence! Every neck is craned, another
second and flapping wings announce they are off.
There is no alarm cry, and only when once under
way and out of danger is their honking heard.
The flight is in lines or wedges, the birds in
regular array under the command of an experi-
enced gander. On the migrations their power of
flight is remarkable. All day long, and the dis-
tant music at night, tells of the tedious journey
far overhead still going on. Straight for the
destination, they seldom tarry and then only when
weariness or storm compel. Under these cir-
cumstances the birds are occasionally visitors in
unexpected places. One spring two young
Canada geese were seen in a cemetery on the
outskirts of New Haven, and remained in the
vicinity for a day or more.
The majority of geese frequenting the Atlantic
states follow the coast line in the fall, tarrying in
the large shallow bays of Massachusetts, Long
Island, and New Jersey, but wintering in the
Chesapeake and off North and South Carolina.
Those passing through the middle of the United
States travel along the Mississippi Valley and
winter in Texas, Louisiana, and the adjacent Gulf
Coast.
The approximate dates of occurrence in these
localities are: Massachusetts, Long Island, and
236 The Water-fowl Family
New Jersey, November 20 to December 15,
March 7 to April 1; Chesapeake Bay and south,
November 15 to March 1; Dakota, Minnesota,
and Montana, October 15 to December 1, March
15 to April 7; Kansas and Nebraska, a little
earlier in the spring and later in the fall. South
of the United States the bird is not abundant.
In Massachusetts the small fresh-water lakes
near the coast were formerly favorite resorts for
Canada geese in spring and late fall, and at the
present time many are killed by the clubs now
in possession of the best locations. Here trained
wild geese are employed and decoying reaches
its highest art. Blinds are built in close prox-
imity to the club-house, surrounded by a large
stand of wooden stools. Just outside of these
the live birds are tied. A watcher is on duty
day and night. If the honking of a far-off flock
is heard, fliers are let loose; geese that fly within
sight of the wild birds, perhaps mingle with them,
then returning to the decoys. In this way the
entire flock is brought within range and exposed
to a merciless fire.
Along the coast of North Carolina most of the
geese in quiet weather spend the day well out of
reach offshore, or if much molested in the safe
retreat of the ocean, crossing the bars at the inter-
vals to feed and drink, at dusk seeking the shelter
of the bays. When stormy or windy they remain
Goose-shooting 237
inside, frequenting protected water and the larger
ponds on the marshes. Now is the best oppor-
tunity for shooting them. Live Canada geese
decoys are staked out in front of the blinds, care
being taken to tie them in water they can walk
in. The favorite locations are small bodies of
water or bays in close proximity to the feeding-
ground, or points and bars along the line of flight.
Should heavy weather break up the large flocks
and drive the birds low down, they come to the
stool readily and often forty or fifty are killed in
a day. The wild decoy appreciates well his part
and uses all the means in his power to allure the
on-coming birds, calling to them and flapping his
wings.
In the Western states geese feed on stubbles,
and they are shot from blinds or pits. If not
much hunted they decoy readily, but soon learn
to avoid danger. The bird is very fond of spend-
ing the night on fresh-water ponds and lakes, and
this habit is taken advantage of. At dusk or soon
after they begin to arrive, small flocks leading up
against the wind, each in the same line. Honk-
ing usually betrays their presence, louder and
louder until a black line appears for an instant
overhead, and the thud of a falling bird follows
the gun’s flash. A little of this shooting teaches
them to come to their resting-place from various
directions, high up, and often noiselessly.
238 The Water-fowl Family
When once quiet for the night, they can read-
ily be approached by a light, huddling together
at the strange sight. Night hunting, however,
is at the present time in less repute than formerly
and is fortunately little resorted to. Geese are
sometimes killed in numbers from ice _ blinds,
when small holes of open water are all that
remain in the frozen bay. This method is fre-
quently employed along the northern coast, Nova
Scotia, Prince Edward’s Island, and Cape Breton.
A wounded goose is often exceedingly difficult to
capture, swimming and diving well or skulking
with the head just in sight. The food consists of
various water grasses and vegetables, shellfish
and crustacea; grain, when the locality affords it;
in the summer, insects and berries.
For the table the young bird is excellent, and
it is a common practice in shooting them, to pick
out when possible the smaller geese, for the old
birds are generally decidedly larger.
The Canada goose has long been domesticated
and often breeds in captivity. When once two
captive birds have paired, they not infrequently
breed regularly. I saw a pair of Canada geese
on the Magdalen Islands that raised a brood
each spring, selecting for their nest a large brush
pile, some hundred yards from the house. The
gander carefully protected the nest during the
absence of the goose, keeping off any intruder.
Goose-shooting 239
The hybrids with domestic geese are common
and supposed to be a superior market bird.
While hunted relentlessly from the breeding-
ground to the winter home, the cunning of the
wild goose has stood him well, and it is a pleasant
thought to feel that, perhaps, one member of our
family of water-fowl holds his own.
HUTCHINS’ GOOSE
(Granta canadensis hutchinsit)
Similar to the Canada goose in plumage, but smaller in size. Tail
of 14 to 16 feathers ; in Canada goose, 18 to 20 feathers.
Measurements — Length, 30 inches; wing, 16.25 inches; tail, 5
inches; tarsus, 2.75 inches.
£ggs—Six to eight in number, dull white, measure 3 by 2.05
inches.
ffabitat — Breeds from Hudson Bay and possibly British Columbia
north probably to Cumberland, the coasts and islands of the
Arctic near Fort Anderson and Kotzebue Sound, the Bering
Sea coast of Alaska, and on the Aleutian, Commander, and
Kuril islands. Winters from Kansas, Colorado, Nevada, and
British Columbia, south to Louisiana, Texas, California, San
Quentin Bay, Lower California, Arizona, and doubtless Mexico.
In the migrations, very rare east of the Mississippi Valley, but
recorded from Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Maine,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, and North
Carolina. Recorded also from Japan.
While resembling the Canada goose in plu-
mage, the Hutchins’ goose is readily distinguished
by its size and by the different character of the
note. Asa rule the bird is less wary. -
On the eastern coast specimens of the Hutchins’
240 The Water-fowl Family
goose have been taken off Cape Cod, and at
times appear in Boston markets from this locality.
On Long Island the bird is well known, though
rare, and goes by the name of mud goose. Off
North and South Carolina this goose is occasion-
ally seen in small flocks by itself, or in company
with the Canada geese. Here it is called gab-
bling goose. Along the Pacific Coast the bird is
a common variety, appearing early in October,
and frequenting the salt-water marshes, often
going a considerable distance back from the shore.
When inland, they are sometimes approached
on horseback or driven upon by oxen. Many
are killed in the line of flight. They decoy readily
on their feeding-grounds. Their food consists
of shellfish and crustacea, various water vege-
tables, and when opportunity provides, grain.
The flesh, at times fishy, if the birds have been
feeding inland may be excellent, and is of a
whiter character than that of the Canada goose.
In Dakota and along the Mississippi Valley, the
Hutchins’ goose is more common in spring than
fall, large flocks passing through the interior in
March on their way north.
The breeding-ground is within the Arctic cir-
cle, on the shores and islands of the Arctic Sea,
also on the lower Anderson River.
The birds separate from the flock in pairs early
in June; the nest is placed in marshes near the
Goose-shooting 241
shore or on the sand beaches. It has been found
near the base of cliffs, in company with the nests
of other sea-birds. In one instance the deserted
nest of a crow, in a tree about nine feet from the
ground, was utilized. This might have been
accounted for by the fact that the ground was
covered with snow. (B. B. & R.)
The weight of this bird is from three to six
pounds. Other names are little Canada goose,
little gray goose, prairie goose, bay goose.
THE WHITE-CHEEKED GOOSE
(Branta canadensis occidentalis )
This form is the western representative of the Canada goose, found
along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to California. A differen-
tiation is perhaps questionable, and the two varieties un-
doubtedly occur in company with each other. The distinction
is in the back and wings, which are of a lighter brown than in
the Canada goose, the lower parts being almost as dark, and by
a white collar around the lower part of the neck, where the
black terminates: this collar is noticed in the fall and winter,
but is absent in the spring and summer plumage. The meas-
urements are similar to those of Branta canadensis.
fTabitat — Breeds from northeastern California to Sitka, and possi-
bly Cook Inlet, Alaska. Winters chiefly in the interior of Cali-
fornia. Reported from Michigan, and thought to occur at Fort
Anderson; both probably mistakes.
The white-cheeked goose has a limited distri-
bution, and is not a particularly well-known bird.
In the winter it ranges south into the interior of
California.
R
242 The Water-fowl Family
These birds breed in detached pairs in Okano-
gan County, Washington, sometimes gathering
in the fields to feed. A nest found there by Mr.
William L. Dawson was situated on a shelf of
rock directly over the gorge of the Columbia
River. Four goslings, bright grass-green in
color, mottled with olive, nestled there on a bed
of down, the female flying from the nest as Mr.
Dawson approached.
CACKLING GOOSE
(Bernicla canadensis minima)
This species bears the same relation to the white-cheeked goose as
Hutchins’ goose does to the Canada.
Adult —The white cheek patches are separated by a black bar
about .75 an inch wide. It has a white collar at the base of the
black neck, between it and the upper gray of the breast. Tail
feathers 14 1n number. In the young bird the white collar is
less marked.
Measurements — Length, 24 inches; wing, 13.50 to 14 inches; cul-
men, I.10 inches; tarsus, 2.50 inches.
Eggs — Five to eight in number, white, measure 2.80 by 1.95
inches.
Hatitat — Breeds on the Alaskan shores of Bering Sea, chiefly on
or near the lower Yukon. Winters from British Columbia
south to Ventura County, California. Reported in the migra-
tions from the Pribilof and Aleutian islands, and Hawaii, and
in the United States as far east as Michigan, Wisconsin, and
Colorado.
The cackling goose differs from the white-
cheeked goose in its smaller size and in the
number of its tail feathers, which, in the former
variety, are eighteen to twenty in number. It
Goose-shooting 243
differs from the Hutchins’ goose in the black bar
separating the white cheek patches, and in having
a white collar about the neck. Both of these are
wanting in the Hutchins’. It also averages some-
what smaller, being next to the Ross’s goose, the
smallest of our geese.
This goose ranges from the mouth of the
Yukon along the coast to southern California,
and in localities is a common variety. Through
the Mississippi Valley the bird occurs but rarely.
The summer home is in Alaska, about the mouth
of the Yukon, where it breeds in large numbers,
and quantities of the birds and eggs are taken by
the natives for food. The nest is on the ground,
generally close to water, and composed of grass
or reeds, and lined with down. The young birds
are hatched in early July,and by September are
gathered in flocks, appearing along our Pacific
Coast early in October. The note distinguishes
it from the larger geese, being a low honk.
The flesh is excellent.
COMMON BRANT
(Branta bernicla)
Similar to Branta bernicla glaucogastra, but with the lower parts as
dark as in Branta nigricans ; the white on the neck, however,
not meeting in front.
Habitat — Breeds “in the Taimur Peninsula, Siberia, in Nova
Zembla, Franz-Josef Land, and Spitzbergen.” (Seebohm /de
Coues.) Passes south in the winter on the coasts of Asia and
244 The Water-fowl Family
northern Europe as far as Egypt. Possibly some of the birds
from eastern North America, identified as B. nzgricans, belong
to this form.
BRANT GOOSE. WHITE-BELLIED BRANT.
COMMON BRANT
(Branta bernicla glaucogastra)
Adult male and female — Head, neck, and upper part of breast, and
back at base of neck, black; transverse streaks of white on
each side of the middle of the neck; above, brownish gray, the
feathers tipped with a paler shade; under parts, grayish white ;
anal region, pure white; middle of rump, dark brown; upper
and under tail-coverts, white; tail, black; bill, legs, and feet,
black ; iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 24 to 30 inches; wing, 13 inches; tarsus,
2.40 inches; culmen, 1.50 inches.
Young — Plumage similar to the adult, but with white bars across
the wings. The white patch on the neck is less marked or
absent entirely ; under parts lighter.
£:ggs — Four to six in number, grayish white, measure 2.70 by 1.80
inches.
Habitat —“ Breeds only within the Arctic Circle.” (Coues.) “In
Arctic America, from the west coast of Greenland as far
west as the Parry Islands, and north of latitude 73° as far
as land is known to extend.” (Seebohm fade Coues.) This
bird has been said to breed on the coasts and islands of
Hudson Bay, and the interior of Labrador, north to the
Arctic Sea, and at Pointe des Monts, Quebec, but probably
all are mistakes. Winters on the Atlantic Coast, from
Massachusetts south to North Carolina, and rarely to Florida;
is common on the St. Lawrence River in migration, but
rare elsewhere in the interior, occurring west to Manitoba,
Minnesota, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, Louisiana
and Texas (?), and reported also from western New
York, Ohio (?), Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Occurs also in Great Britain, but less frequently than B.
bernicla.
Goose-shooting 245
The breeding-ground of the brant is in the
remote North, and the nest was first discovered
by Mr. Peilden,Junel2 1.1875; inilatitude 82° 33.
Subsequently, it has been found breeding abun-
dantly on Parry Islands, the nests being numer-
ous and in close proximity to each other. They
were placed on the beach, well lined with down
and feathers, and contained from three to four
eggs. (B.B.& R.) About Bellot’s Strait the birds
were found nesting in the cliffs. The brant reach
their breeding-grounds late in June, and soon
pair off. The gander protects the nest in the
absence of the goose. In July and early August
the old birds moult, and at this time are killed in
numbers by the natives, who salt them for winter
use. With the first favorable winds in late Sep-
tember, the migration south begins. They arrive
at the winter quarters, in the vicinity of the Chesa-
peake and the coast to the south, about the first
of November, spending but little time en route.
The birds are first seen on Long Island by the
middle of October, and at this time show evidence
of a long flight, being in poor flesh and ready to
spend most of their time at rest. Off the North
and South Carolina coasts, the brant gather in
vast flocks, in calm weather remaining bedded in
great numbers; they fly at intervals from one
feeding-ground to another, the entire flock moy-
ing at once. The flight is in long, wavy lines,
246 The Water-fowl Family
one minute high up, the next just over the water’s
edge. This undulating character is unmistakable,
and marks the birds afar. They keep in the open
water, avoiding carefully the points of land and
the bush blinds which are scattered through the
bay, settling on the beds of eel grass that abound
in these shallow sounds. They pluck it up in
quantities, feeding at their leisure. While feed-
ing, the body is kept above water, the bird dipping
down with its neck. Brant have a peculiar fond-
ness for sand, and their habit of frequenting the
bars and beaches is known as “sanding.” The
noise from a large number is great, being a voz,
vonk. During windy or stormy weather the birds
become uneasy and restless. The congregation
breaks up into small flocks. String after string
is seen following the same certain line of flight.
Now they decoy readily. If on the point of pass-
ing by without noticing, a quick motion from the
blind will often attract attention to the stool.
One or two birds circle, and the flock swings
in. A wounded bird is easily captured, as it
does not dive, but skulks with the head out of
water.
On Long Island, batteries, anchored in the line
of flight and surrounded by a large number of
decoys, are employed. Occasionally the birds
lead within range of the smaller islands, though
seldom flying over land.
Goose-shooting 247
On Cape Cod, brant are found in the spring
and fall; they are shot from boxes sunk on the
long sandy points, reaching out into the bay or
on the bars. Live brant decoys are used if possi-
ble. Here the flight is regulated by the tides, so
the time for shooting is short. During the last
of the ebb and the first of the flow, the birds feed
on the flats.
Sometime in April comes a pleasant day, warm
and sunny, with a southwest wind. The several
thousand brant in Chatham Bay feed greedily
until the rising tide removes their food from reach.
Now they assemble in deep water in the centre of
the bay, study the weather, and discuss the advis-
ability of journeying toward their summer home.
Soon fifteen or twenty birds take wing, fly back
and forth over the others, honking loudly, and
circling ever higher until they have reached a
considerable altitude; then the long line swings
straight, headed northeast. Out over the beach,
over the ocean it goes, and the birds in it will not
be seen again. Then another flock follows, tak-
ing exactly the same course; flock after flock
succeeds, and the movement is kept up until dark.
You may sit in the blind next day or sail across
the bay, you will see no brant save a few strag-
glers: branting is through for the year.
The line of flight from Cape Cod is to the
islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Prince
248 The Water-fowl Family
Edward’s Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland,
the birds always keeping close to the coast. They
arrive here during the last of April, and in May.
On the Magdalen Islands at this time the lagoons
are sometimes covered with brant. The natives
shoot them from the bars when a heavy wind
drives the flocks well in toward land, or by put-
ting brush or seaweed in a small boat, drift or
quietly paddle within range. Like all our water-
fowl, brant are easily killed at night, swimming
together in a close mass at the approach of a
light. Under these circumstances the havoc
caused is great; often ten or more birds are killed
by a single shot.
They never breed in captivity, but become gen-
tle and tame and are readily cared for. The flesh
of the young bird is excellent; the old bird is
rather tough for the table. The weight of the
brant is from three to six pounds.
BLACK BRANT
(Branta nigricans)
Adult male and female — Head, neck, and upper parts of breast
black. The middle of the neck has a pure white collar inter-
rupted behind, with oblique white streaks running upward for an
inch outside of the ring. Upper parts, breast, and abdomen,
dark plumbeous. Sides of the rump, anal region, upper and
under tail-coverts, snow-white. Tail black. Bill and feet,
black. Iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 25 inches; wing, 13 inches; culmen, 1.35
inches ; tarsus, 2.50 inches.
Goose-shooting 249
Young — Similar to the adult, but the collar is obscure. The greater
wing-coverts and secondaries, broadly tipped with white. The
feathers of the sides, uniform gray, without white tips.
The black brant differs from the common brant in having a
white collar about the front of the neck, in the latter bird the
sides of the neck being merely streaked with white. The black
brant is characterized also by darker breast and belly.
£ggs — Four to seven in number, grayish white, measure 2.80 by
1.80 inches.
Hlabitat — Breeds at Liverpool Bay on the Arctic Coast and at Point
Barrow, Alaska, occurring abundantly in spring and rarely in
fall on Kotzebue Sound and the Bering Sea coast of Alaska.
Winters on the Pacific Coast from British Columbia south to
Magdalena Bay, Lower California, in Nevada, and probably
Utah. Recorded also as a straggler from Texas, Minnesota,
Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. Reported
also from near Wrangell Land, Bering Island, and Hawaii, and
a “dark-bellied” brant breeds in the Yenisei Delta. Occurs
inland in migrations to Fort Yukon, Okanogan County, Wash-
ington, and eastern Oregon.
The black brant is rare on the Yukon, but
passes the western edge of St. Michael’s Island
in immense flocks, about the middle of May, re-
turning the last week in September.
Its breeding-ground is on the shores of the
Arctic Ocean. Some of the nests are placed on
small islands in the neighboring fresh-water ponds,
or about the mouth of the rivers. The nest is a
depression in the ground lined with down, contain-
ing four or five, sometimes six, eggs. These birds
keep well to the sea, and except in the locali-
ties where they nest, are seldom seen on fresh
water.
250 The Water-fowl Family
The salt-water bays along the coast, in the vi-
cinity of San Diego and farther south, off southern
and Lower California, are the winter homes of the
black brant. North of San Diego the bird is
less common, and probably the flight over a
large part of the distance from Alaska south is
over water.
The bird is killed from the sandy points and
islands, in the lagoons and bays. The flight is on
the ebb tide and for a short time, but the flocks
come fast. Flying in undulating lines, close to
the water, now high up, they first appear, a dark
line in the far distance, steadily growing larger
and blacker till they hover at the edge of the
decoys.
The habits are similar to its eastern relative’s.
It feeds on various grasses and seaweeds, occa-
sionally crustacea. When young the flesh is ten-
der and palatable. The old birds are tough, and
often have a fishy taste.
BARNACLE GOOSE
(Branta leucopsis)
Adult male and female —Lores, back of head, neck, and breast,
black ; remainder of head, nearly white; wings and back, slate,
the feathers marked with a subterminal black bar, and a terminal
one of white; flanks, brownish gray, feathers with white tips;
under parts, grayish white ; bill and feet, black ; iris, dark brown.
Measurements — Length, 25 inches; wing, 15 inches; tarsus, 2.75
inches; culmen, 1.25 inches.
CANADA GEESE
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Goose-shooting 251
Young — Cheeks, spotted with black; wing-coverts and feathers of
back, tinged with rufous; flanks, barred with gray.
Habitat — Breeds in the northern part of the eastern hemisphere as
far north as Spitzbergen. Winters in Great Britain and western
Europe, occurring south to Spain. Occurs in Iceland and so
regularly in Greenland that it has been thought to breed there,
and it has been recorded on the North American continent from
Hudson Bay, Nova Scotia (doubtless escaped from captivity),
Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina.
The barnacle goose is only accidental in North
America, and it is a matter of doubt if most of the
specimens taken along our shores have not escaped
from confinement. A barnacle goose, and the first
one procured, was taken at Rupert House, on the
southern end of Hudson Bay, by Mr. B. R. Ross,
undoubtedly a straggler from Greenland. It has
also been taken in Nova Scotia, Long Island, and
Currituck Sound, North Carolina. This goose is
about the size of a brant and is a handsomer bird
than the other species. It passes much of its time
on land and is specially noisy when feeding and
on the wing. Little is known about the breeding
habits, but the eggs are said to be of a yellowish
cream color. Birds of this species have been
known to live thirty-two years in captivity.
EMPEROR GOOSE
(Philacte canagica)
Adult male and female — Head and neck, white, stained, especially
in front, with rusty; throat and neck frontally, brownish black
or dusky gray; feathers on lower neck, tipped slightly with
252 The Water-fowl Family
white; the remainder of the plumage, blue-gray ; each feather
with a narrow terminal bar of white, and a broader subterminal
bar of black; these markings are specially distinct on the upper
parts, breast, and sides, but nearly wanting on the abdomen;
greater coverts and secondaries, dark slate, edged with white ;
primaries with their coverts, slate; tail, at the base, slate, re-
mainder, white; upper and lower tail-coverts, slate; bill, pale
purplish ; the lower mandible, dark horn-color, with a white spot
on each side; legs and feet, orange; iris, hazel.
Measurements — Length, 26 inches; wing, from 14.50 to 15.50
inches; tarsus, 2.60 inches; culmen, 1.60 inches.
Young — Somewhat similar to the adult, with the head and neck
slate color; top of the head, speckled with white; the barring
of the feathers less distinct than in the adult; bill and feet,
dusky.
Eggs —Five to eight in number, white, measure 3.35 by 2.12
inches.
Habitat — Breeds on the coast of Alaska from mouth of the Kus-
kokwin north to Kotzebue Sound. Winters chiefly on the
Aleutian Islands, very rarely south to British Columbia and the
Sacramento Valley, California, occurring on the Pribilofs in
migration.
This bird is the most beautiful of our geese and
outside of small localities in Alaska almost un-
known. It breeds along the northern coast and
adjacent islands. The nest is in a hollow depres-
sion on the shore, composed of grass and lined
with down. The emperor goose remains in the
North longer than any other species, staying until
the whole coast is icebound, when it migrates south
to open water, wintering about the coast and islands
of southern Alaska. The flight is in pairs or in
flocks of four or five, high in air and strong. The
note is shrill and clear and the bird exceedingly
Goose-shooting 253
shy. In certain localities the eggs and flesh serve
as an important article of food for the natives. The
diet is composed of shellfish and crustacea. The
flesh is strong, of a characteristic garlicky odor,
and unsuitable for the table. A few specimens of
this bird have been taken in California. Other
names for the emperor goose are white-headed
goose, Nudjarlik.
BLACK-BELLIED TREE-DUCK
(Dendrocygna autumnalis)
Adult male and female —Similar in plumage; forehead, pale yel-
lowish brown, top of head, cinnamon; nape and line down back
of neck, black ; sides of head and upper part of neck, gray ; chin
and throat, grayish white; rest of neck, upper portion of breast,
and back, cinnamon-brown; middle of back, rump, and upper
tail-coverts, black ; the wing, when closed, shows a white line for
nearly its entire length ; lower parts, yellowish brown ; abdomen,
flanks, and wing-coverts, black; anal region, white spotted with
black ; under tail-coverts, white; bill, orange-red at the base of
maxilla, with a bluish nail ; legs and feet, flesh color ; iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 22 inches; wing, 9.50 inches; culmen,
I.90 inches ; tarsus, 2.25 inches.
Young — Similar to adult, but duller in color; abdomen and sides,
grayish white, with dusky bars.
Downy young — Upper parts, blackish brown, with patches of buff
on side of back and on each side of rump; a bright buff stripe
over the cheeks and one from cheeks posteriorly, blackish brown ;
under parts, pale buff; belly, white.
Eggs — Twelve to sixteen in number, ivory-white, with greenish
tinge, measure 2 inches by I.50 inches.
Habitat — Ranges through Central America and Mexico, north to the
lower Rio Grande River, in Texas, breeding throughout its range.
A few are said to occur on the coast of Louisiana all the year, and
it has been recorded from Jamaica and Fort Tejon, California.
254 The Water-fowl Family
This duck is common in Honduras and Trini-
dad, breeding in both these localities. In Texas
it occurs near Matamoras and Monterey, and is
met with near Galveston in winter. A single
specimen taken at Fort Tejon, southern Cali-
fornia, is the only instance of its capture in this
state. The black-bellied tree-duck breeds gener-
ally throughout its range, choosing a hole in a
tree or broken stump, often a mile or more from
water, as the site for its nest. This is sometimes
placed thirty feet or more from the ground, a
second and third brood in some instances being
raised. In April, 1901, I found these birds abun-
dant in the vicinity of Tampico, Mexico. They
were most often seen in small flocks of from four
to ten on the banks at the edge of the lagoon.
Their long legs gave them an odd look. At our
approach they would run together, raising their
long necks much like geese. The flight was pe-
culiar and characteristic, low down and in a line,
their large wings with white bands presenting a
striking aspect, and giving the impression of a
much larger bird. We saw them occasionally on
the smaller ponds, and shot several, all of them
males. In one or two instances the appearance
of the breast indicated the bird had been sitting
on eggs. While the males of this species are
supposed to attend to their own affairs during
the period of incubation, it would seem as if they
Goose-shooting ans
occasionally assisted in nesting duties. Once or
twice I saw them near small ponds in woods
apparently nesting, flying from tree to tree with
perfect ease, exhibiting some concern at our pres-
ence:
Both varieties of tree-ducks are nocturnal in
their habits, and fond of visiting the corn-fields,
where they often inflict much damage by alighting
on the stalk and breaking it. The note is a shrill
pe-che-che-ne, and hence the native name. They
are readily tamed, and become very gentle. We
noticed a pair in one of the yards at Tampico
perfectly at home with the barnyard ducks. When
domesticated, they are said to be as good as a
watch-dog, uttering their note at slight provoca-
tion. This bird is known along the lower Rio
Grande as the long-legged duck and the fiddler
duck; in Mexico as the pe-che-che-ne and the
pato maizal, or corn-field duck.
FULVOUS TREE-DUCK
(Dendrocygna fulva)
Adult male and female — Similar in plumage; top of head, rufous,
darkest on nape; sides of head, yellowish brown; a ring of black
feathers with white centres on middle of neck; lower neck, dark
yellowish brown ; back, black tipped with cinnamon, giving it a
barred appearance; wing-coverts, chestnut; wing, black; tail,
black; upper and under tail-coverts, white; throat, light buff;
upper parts of breast, yellowish brown; under parts, cinnamon ;
bill, bluish black ; legs and feet, slate; iris, brown.
256 The Water-fowl Family
Measurements — Length, 20 inches; wing, 8.25 inches; culmen,
1.75 inches; tarsus, 2 inches.
Young — Similar to adult, but with little or no chestnut color on
wing-coverts ; under parts, paler; the upper tail-coverts tipped
with brown.
Downy young — Upper parts, grayish brown; a brown band from the
eyes to the back of neck; another extending down the neck,
posteriorly ; a white band across the back to the head, and one
across the wing; under parts, white.
£ggs — Ten to fifteen in number, pure white, measure 2.20 inches
by 1.50.
Habitat — 1n the United States, breeds in Louisiana, Texas, and the
Sacramento Valley, California; occurs in Nevada, southern and
Lower California in migrations, and winters in Louisiana and
Texas. Is found also in Mexico and in southern Brazil, Uruguay,
and Argentina, in South America, and is said to occur in South
Africa and India. Recorded also from North Carolina and
Missouri.
Mr. Hepburn found the fulvous tree-duck breed-
ing on the marshes at the junction of the Sac-
ramento and San Joaquin rivers. A specimen
killed near San Francisco is in the Museum of
the Boston Natural History Society. There is a
single instance of its capture near New Orleans,
January 22,1870. In South America it has been
noticed in the easterly region of La Plata and on
the Rio Uruguay. In October, at the end of the
rainy season, it is abundant near Mazatlan.
The fulvous tree-duck inhabits a region near the
seacoast, but is found exclusively on fresh water,
through the winter ranging well into the tropics.
It frequents shallow, grassy ponds, feeding on
seeds and various weeds, often going at night to
Goose-shooting 257
the corn-fields. The bird is comparatively easy
of approach, and sometimes many are killed at a
shot. In April they migrate north a short dis-
tance, and breed along the rivers in western
Sonora, passing in limited numbers into the
United States. The nest is a hole in a tree, and
the eggs twelve to fifteen in number, the duck
sometimes raising two or three broods. The note
of this bird is a peculiar whistle, often heard at
night, which is its favorite time for feeding. The
flesh is white, juicy, and excellent for the table.
Alighting on a tree, the long legs give them an
ungainly look. When fledged, the birds congre-
gate in considerable size on neighboring ponds,
often gathering along the shore. The species is
known by various names, such as long-legged
duck, yellow-bellied fiddler duck, and rufous duck.
CHAPTER TV.
THE SWANS
(Cygnine)
Tuts group contains the largest of the water-
fowl. There are about eight species scattered
over the world, but the majority belong in the
northern hemisphere. Swans, while possessing
a bill much like that of a duck, but rather longer
proportionately, differ from all other birds of the
family in having in adult life a space between the
eyes and bill bare of feathers. The neck is exceed-
ingly long, longer than the body, and contains more
vertebree than that of the geese and ducks, and is
therefore extremely flexible. The legs are rather
short and set far back, so that the grace that is
characteristic of the swan in water disappears
when it tries to walk. The hind toe has no mem-
branous lobe or a very small one. The sexes are
alike in color, and the plumage of the adults in all
the species frequenting the northern hemisphere
is pure white. They prefer the temperate regions
of the globe; but the majority of individuals, still
existing wild in the northern hemisphere, now
breed far north. They are seldom found in large
258
Swan-shooting 259
flocks and prefer the shallow waters of the lakes
and rivers, but occur also in the bays of the coast.
Although very rapid swimmers they do not dive,
feeding chiefly on water plants, which they tear
up from the bottom, reaching down their long
necks, sometimes tilting the body like a goose;
occasionally they eat shellfish. The flesh of the
adults is said to be tough and not palatable, that
of the young being far better. They migrate in
V-shaped flocks, frequently uttering loud trum-
peting. Their flight is strong, but an instance is
on record that a flock of whistling swans (Olor
columbianus) while migrating through western
Pennsylvania were overtaken by a storm of sleet,
and their feathers so loaded with ice that they
were forced to the ground and a number caught
alive.
In breeding habits they resemble the geese.
Retiring to an island in some secluded lake or
the fastnesses of a marsh, they build a large nest
of sticks, leaves,and grass. The male guards the
female while she is sitting, attacking with great
courage whatever approaches the nest. Their
voice is clear and powerful, but the sweetness of
“the dying swan’s refrain” must be considered
poetical license.
Swans are frequently kept in captivity and
breed readily if they have surroundings to their
liking. The mute swan is the one most often
260 The Water-fowl Family
seen in parks and zodlogical gardens, and is not
a native of North America. It is an exceedingly
beautiful bird as it floats on the water, carrying its
long neck in a graceful curve. The age to which
swans live is very great. The mute swan has
been known to reach seventy years, and one died
near Amsterdam, in 1675, which bore a metal
collar with the date “1573,” indicating a life of
one hundred and two years.
While all swans of the northern hemisphere
are white, so that “white as a swan” became
proverbial, in Australia—the land of all things
strange — was found a black swan. This is a
very beautiful species, entirely black, with a red
bill crossed by a white bar. The neck is long,
slender, and very graceful, and the inner feathers
of the wings are curled and raised. It has
been successfully domesticated in the northern
hemisphere.
Another peculiar swan is found in southern
South America, sometimes occurring in large
flocks. This bird is pure white except for the
head and neck, which are deep seal-brown. The
bill is plumbeous with a rose-colored knob at
the base. ‘“ Boleadores,”—three balls on the
ends of connecting ropes, —such as are used to
catch horses and cattle, were formerly employed
by the inhabitants to catch these swans, although
for this purpose the balls were made of wood. The
Swan-shooting 261
hunter would float as close as possible to a flock
feeding in some lake and throw the balls as the
birds arose. If he succeeded in striking one, these
balls, twisting the ropes about the bird, rendered
it helpless.
WHISTLING SWAN
(Olor columbianus)
Adult male — Entire plumage, white; the head, sometimes the neck
and under parts, tinged with rusty; tail, generally of twenty
feathers ; bill and feet, black; iris, brown; a small, yellow spot
on loral skin at the base of the bill, in front of the eye; the dis-
tance from the anterior corner of the eye to the posterior edge
of the nostril is more than the distance from the posterior edge
of the nostril to the tip of the bill. This is an infallible distinc-
tion from the trumpeter swan (Cory).
Measurements — Length, 53 inches; wing, 21.50 inches; bill, 4
inches ; tarsus, 4.25 inches; middle toe, 5.75 inches.
Adult female — Similar.
Young — Plumage, of a grayish cast, with a brownish tinge on head
and upper neck; bill, reddish flesh color, dusky at the tip; feet,
pale yellow. The adult plumage is acquired in about five years,
during which time the plumage gradually shades into white, and
the bill and feet grow darker until the fourth year, when both
become black. Weight, sixteen to twenty-four pounds.
Eggs — Two to six in number; brownish white; a rough surface to
the shell; measures 4.10 by 2.70 inches.
Habitat — Breeds on Nottingham Island, Hudson Bay, the Arctic
Coast near Fort Anderson, near Kotzebue Sound (Sp. ?), the
Yukon Delta, and Cook Inlet (Sp. ?), Alaska, and is said to be
abundant in summer in the interior of British Columbia. Win-
ters from Maryland to South Carolina on the Atlantic Coast,
rarely north to Massachusetts and south to Florida, on the coast
of Louisiana and Texas, north rarely in the interior to western
Pennsylvania, Ohio (?), Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ne-
braska (Sp. ?), in Utah and Nevada (Sp. ?), Arizona, and on
the Pacific Coast from British Columbia, rarely south to Ventura
262 The Water-fowl Family
County, California, and San Raphael, Lower California (Sp. ?).
Occurs in migration from the Commander and Pribilof islands
to Newfoundland, and has been taken in Scotland and Bermuda.
The whistling-swan reaches the breeding-
grounds in late April or early May, arriving in
flocks, most of which cross the interior; some
follow the line of Hudson Bay, others the Pacific
Coast. Soon after their appearance at the summer
home, the flocks break up into pairs, each pair
frequenting the nesting-place, usually a small island.
Captain Lyon has described the nest as being
built of moss peat, and as being of considerable
size, the length at the base being nearly six feet
by four in width, in the shape of a mound, with
an outside height of two feet, the cavity being a
foot and a half in diameter.
The young are hatched about July 1, and be-
fore they are able to fly many fall a prey to the
natives. The fall migration begins in early Octo-
ber. Families congregate in flocks and when a
favorable wind offers, start on the journey south.
The flight is mainly overland, in a straight, un-
erring line, high in the air, and in fair weather
with but few stops. Those wintering along the
Atlantic reach the coasts of North and South
Carolina in early November and remain until well
on into March. On the Columbia River the birds
arrive in late October and leave in March or the
first week of April. The first comers are in
Swan-shooting 263
small flocks, composed of a few old birds with
their cygnets; these are augmented by others,
and soon large numbers congregate. Their desti-
nation is often reached at night; discordant cries
announce the arrival and tell the satisfaction of a
long, tiresome journey ended. Few sights are
more imposing than the lines of white, and the
swan drifting majestically along the surface of
quiet water is deservedly the emblem of beauty
and grace. From afar the appearance is of a
snowbank. If disturbed, and not hard-pressed,
they swim off rather than take to wing. The
flight is started with considerable effort; the bird
rising heavily against the wind quickly mounts to
an altitude far out of range, when the wings seem
almost motionless and the white line sails through
the air in striking distinction to the flapping flight
of geese. The note resembles slightly the noise
made by a tin horn, and its discordance is sup-
posed to increase with age. When birds in the
air, about to alight, call to those on the water, there
is often an utter din.
The swan feeds on the shallow bars and flats,
keeping the body above water and dipping down
with its long neck. Various water-grasses, vege-
table matter, and small shellfish and crustacea
comprise the diet. While age and resulting
toughness render the old bird scarcely edible, the
cygnet in some localities is highly prized.
264 The Water-fowl Family
In Currituck, Albemarle, and Pamlico sounds,
the eastern habitat, the swan is not killed in large
numbers. When an occasional bird is shot, per-
haps he is an unfortunate tail-ender, who came
over the blind a little too close. Sometimes in
heavy weather the usual course and habit of flight
is changed, and the flocks fly overland within
range. Rarely a single bird comes to geese de-
coys. Some of the clubs along the coast have
one or two wild swan, that are tied out with other
stool and serve to attract their mates.
Along the Pacific Coast, in the vicinity of the
Columbia River, the bird is killed in considerable
numbers when driven low down and overland by
storm and wind. In winter weather a boat cov-
ered with ice, if skilfully managed, can often be
paddled within close range. The difficulty with
which a swan rises from the water enables it
rarely to be sailed on. Heavy loads behind
heavy shot are necessary to kill, and if possible
the head or neck should be aimed at. When
wounded the swan often escapes, for it is a pow-
erful swimmer, and, if opportunity affords, can
dive and skulk. If approached without caution,
it can deal a heavy blow with the wings. This
bird bears domestication well, and lives to an old
age.
Swan-shooting 265
TRUMPETER SWAN
(Olor buccinator)
Adult male — Plumage entirely white, the head, sometimes the neck
and lower part, tinged with rusty; tail usually of twenty-four
feathers ; bill, lores, legs, and feet, black ; iris, brown.
Measurements — Length, 63 to 68 inches; wing, 24.25 inches; tar-
sus, 4.75 inches; culmen, 4.50 inches; weight, twenty to thirty-
four pounds.
Adult female — Similar.
The young — Plumage, grayish; bill, black with the middle portion
light flesh color and a patch of light purple on each side; the
edge of the lower mandible and tongue, yellowish ; feet, yellow-
ish brown; webs, dusky.
This species differs from the preceding in size, it being decid-
edly the larger bird. No yellow spot on the lores. The dis-
tance from the anterior angle of the eye to the posterior of the
nostril is equal to or less than the distance from the posterior
edge of the nostril to the edge of the bill. (Cory.)
£ggs— Two to six in number, dirty white, the shell rough,
measure 4.50 by 2.70 inches.
Habitat — Breeds at Fort Yukon, Alaska, and from islands of Frank-
lin Bay and the Barren Grounds, south to Hudson Bay and
Wyoming, and formerly south to Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Ne-
braska, and Idaho. Winters from British Columbia (?) and
Washington, south to Los Angeles County, California, in Nevada
(Sp. ?), Arizona, and on the Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana, and
northern Mexico, rarely north to Illinois, Indiana (?), and Ohio.
Has been recorded very rarely from Michigan, Ontario, New
York, and Maryland, in migration, most passing west of the
Mississippi; and in Norton Sound, Alaska; is becoming each
year more rare in the United States. Recorded from England.
This bird is an early arrival in the United
States, appearing along the northern border by
the middle of September. By the end of Octo-
ber it is seen in some numbers along the
266 The Water-fowl Family
upper Mississippi Valley and the lower waters of
the Ohio. Here it remains until freezing weather,
wintering occasionally in Texas and along the Gulf,
and found commonly in New Mexico and northern
Mexico. The favorite haunts are small, fresh-
water lakes, where the bird is seen in small flocks
or in pairs.
They breed in large numbers on the fresh-water
ponds and lakes in the vicinity of Hudson Bay.
The nest is placed on the islands or low ground
among the reeds and is composed of grass. The
bird hatches in July and takes its young to the
neighboring water. During the moulting season,
in August, it is for a short time unable to fly.
The habits of the trumpeter swan resemble
those of its relative, but its note is different, being
much more sonorous. It is a strong, high flyer
and difficult to kill, the wounded birds swimming
with rapidity and often eluding capture. The
food consists of water-grasses and vegetable mat-
ter, sometimes small shellfish, the bird feeding in
shallow water, with the body above the surface.
The flesh of the young bird is excellent.
This swan is the largest representative of our
water-fowl, and undoubtedly attains great age.
There are instances on record where it has lived
many years in confinement. If taken young, it
becomes remarkably tame, and has been domesti-
cated successfully in various places throughout
this country.
Swan-shooting 267
WHOOPING SWAN
(Olor cygnus)
Adult male and female — Entire plumage, white; base of bill sur-
rounding the nostrils and lores, yellow, the remainder, black ;
legs and feet, black.
Measurements — Length, 57 inches; wing, 24 inches; tarsus, 4
inches; culmen, 4.30 inches.
Young — General color, dark gray; base of bill and lores, greenish
yellow; remainder, black, with an orange band across the
nostrils.
£ggs — Four to seven in number, yellowish white in color, measure
4 inches by 2.50 inches.
Habitat — Breeds in the northern parts of Europe and Asia, includ-
ing Iceland, and is said to have formerly bred in Greenland.
Winters on Bering Island (?), the Caspian Sea, and in Great
Britain and Europe as far south as Egypt. Occurs occasion-
ally in southern Greenland.
Formerly this species bred in Greenland, near
Godthaab, but was exterminated by the Eskimos,
when moulting and helpless. During the past
thirty years single individuals have occasionally
reappeared in southern Greenland, probably mere
stragglers from Iceland, where the bird breeds.
On some hillock in a retired marsh of Iceland
or northern Eurasia the whooping swan heaps
together rushes to form its nest. Simple as is
such a home, it must be dear to the birds, for it is
said that a pair will return to the same nest for
years. Both parents guard their young bravely,
attacking all who approach. At other times they
are wary, and as the V-shaped flocks pass they
trumpet frequently.
CHAPTER, Vit
RAIL-SHOOTING
WueEn the wild oats along the tidal rivers of
our coast begin to turn yellow with the first touch
of fall, the time for rail has come, and the high
tides of September give the sportsman his first
chance. The Connecticut River, where it broad-
ens into the Sound, is one of the favorite haunts
of these birds. Here Essex is the usual destina-
tion. Some three miles up the river from Say-
brook, the little town of Essex, with its one hotel
and old-fashioned houses, looks now pretty much
as it did a hundred years ago. Rail tides gen-
erally come toward the middle of the day, and
the pusher is waiting for you at the landing;
you stand for a minute looking up and down
the broad expanse of river. Everywhere along
the shore are wavy patches of high grass reaching
far out into the water. These are the wild oats,
and here live the rail. A strong tide is running
in, and you step into the flat-bottomed skiff, which
is rigged with a high stool firmly tied to the front
seat. The only task now is to sit still on this stool
and be shoved. A short row up the river and
268
Rail-shooting 269
you are in the midst of thick wild oats, so high it
is difficult in many places to see over the tops,
even from your exalted position. A flutter just
ahead, and a rail rises, shot almost before it
cleared the grass; a few feathers alone are left to
tell the fate of the first bird of the season. The
next is given a chance to get in range, and the
score is two; three or four more straight exalt a
man’s idea of his shooting ability, — without rea-
son, though, for no easier mark ever flew in front of
a gun. Nowarail runs among some broken grass
ahead of the boat, and a whack from the pusher’s
pole starts him; at the shot half a dozen teal jump
within range, and the last one is feathered but not
stopped. Presently several rail start in quick suc-
cession; you fire, and load, and fire again, — not
a miss yet, but all idea of definite direction is lost
and the last bird is the only one marked. Here
a clever pusher shows his skill, and after you have
given up all thought of retrieving he picks them
up in order. Under these circumstances painted
blocks can be used and tossed out to mark the
dead birds before the position of the boat is
changed. The time of high tide is short, but
sufficient ; every few seconds a bird rises, its slow
flight affording a sure mark; generally in front
or to the side, occasionally behind, when you are
startled by the pusher’s yell “ Hi, rail!” in time to
try a long shot. Sometimes a larger bird, of the
270 The Water-fowl Family
same general appearance and similar flight, starts
up. This is a clapper rail, known by many of
our gunners as marsh hen. About Essex they are
rare. Sometimes, too, a mud hen flops out over
the tops. In some instances mud hens are quite
common on the rail grounds. The Florida galli-
nule is also a straggler here. Rail keep fluttering
from the grass, less often now, though, than an
hour ago, but you have some time since reached
the limit, —as well, for a falling tide makes the
pushing hard and the birds refuse to rise. Most
of the birds are soras; occasionally the longer bill
and darker coloring mark a Virginian rail. An
occasional chattering note tells of the presence of
a rail, secure in the high grass, until the next high
tide. A lone bittern wings his way to some safer
spot, and this is our last glimpse of the marsh.
THE RAIL FAMILY
(Rallide)
This family contains about one hundred and
eighty species of small or medium-sized birds.
They are scattered over most of the world, but
are more common in the tropics; and three sub-
families, — the rails (Rallinz), Gallinules (Gallinu-
linze), and coots (Fulicinze), — containing fifteen or
sixteen species, are found in North America. All
have long and strong legs, with very powerful
thighs; the toes are usually very long and not
Rail-shooting 271
webbed, and the bodies narrow. This combina-
tion of characters enables them to run rapidly and
with ease over the soft mud of the marshes they
frequent, or on the broad leaves of water-plants,
and also to pass without difficulty among the
thickly growing reeds and grasses. Their wings
are short, rounded, and somewhat hollow, so that
their flight is usually feeble and but for a short
distance, with the long legs hanging. Few of them
fly willingly, preferring to trust to their powerful
legs and their great skill in hiding among the
thick growth around them, than to their feeble
wings. Some of them carry this disinclination so
far as to allow themselves to be caught by a dog
rather than leave the ground. The flight of the
clapper rail is so feeble that I have frequently
seen a Chesapeake Bay dog, having finally suc-
ceeded in driving one from cover, follow it as it
flew and catch it soon after it struck the ground,
although it might have flown over one hundred
yards. Yet some species migrate long distances,
accomplishing these journeys at night.
There are seldom striking contrasts in the
colors of the plumage of the rails, and the feathers
themselves are rather loose, and the tail short and
soft. The males and females are usually alike.
Their food, gathered amongst the rushes, on the
mud or in the water, may be either seeds, grasses,
and the buds and stems of water-plants, or small
272 The Waterfowl Family
fish, crustaceans, and shellfish. The flesh of cer-
tain species is considered a delicacy. The size
and shape of the bill differ much in the different
subfamilies, but it is never soft at the tip. The
hind toe is much longer than in the ducks and
shore-birds. All the species are retiring in their
habits, keeping in dense vegetation, and though
their harsh notes may show that there are many
around, seeing a single bird will prove often im-
possible. Evenings and moonlight nights are
their favorite feeding hours, and then their loud
voices can be often heard in the marshes they
frequent, and occasionally a bird seen running on
the mud at the edge of a creek. Their nests are
simple, a hollowed heap of short rushes, and are
built on the ground or fastened among the reeds
growing in shallow water. The eggs are usually
buffy, spotted with brownish, and from six to
fifteen in number. The young leave the nest as
soon as hatched.
The coots may be recognized by a bare and
horny shield-like space, extending from the bill
toward the crown, and by the membranous lobes
on their toes; the gallinules, by a somewhat simi-
lar frontal plate with no lobes on the toes; and
the true rails, by having neither frontal plate nor
lobed toes. Some of the gallinules are of a rich
purple color with brightly colored bills.
On islands in the southern hemisphere sey-
Rail-shooting 272
eral species of this family have been discovered
that have lost the power of flight. These birds
inhabited, as a rule, small and isolated islands, on
which they had few natural enemies and therefore
little need for wings; but civilized man interfered
with the prevailing order when he intruded on
their domains, and now some of these birds have
been entirely exterminated and others are on the
verge. They were seldom shy or wary birds and
sometimes possessed an inordinate curiosity.
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Rail-shooting 291
The nest is like that of the other rails, carefully
hidden in the grass near some fresh-water marsh,
and contains usually six eggs. They resemble
those of the common sora rail, but are somewhat
smaller and of a buffy brown dotted and spotted
with reddish.
I mention it as a peculiar coincidence that
while actually engaged in writing these lines
about the little yellow rail a specimen of the bird
was brought to me, shot on the Quinnipiac
marshes near New Haven, October 1, 1902, the
only one I have ever seen in the flesh.
BLACK RAIL
(Porzana jamaicensts)
Adult male and female —Upper parts, blackish; back of neck and
front of back, dark chestnut, finely speckled and barred with
white; head and under parts, dark slate, paler on the throat ;
belly, flanks, and under wing-coverts, barred with white; quills
and tail feathers with white spots; bill, black; iris, red; feet,
yellowish green.
Young — Similar, but crown tinged with reddish brown; throat,
whitish ; lower parts, ashy.
Measurements — Length, 5.50 inches; wing, 2.75 inches; tarsus,
-75 inch; bill, .50 inch.
£egs — Six to ten in number, creamy white, finely dotted and spotted
with brown, measure I by .80 inch.
Habitat — Breeds in Jamaica, and from North Carolina, at least,
north to Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, and Kansas, and
probably in Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Min-
nesota, Nebraska, Utah (?), Oregon, and California. Winters
in Jamaica, in the Gulf states west to Texas and south to
Guatemala, in California and Arizona(?). Recorded also from
Bermuda and Cuba, and Nova Scotia (?).
292 The Water-fowl Family
An almost precisely similar species is described
from a single specimen taken on the Farallone
Islands, California. The Farallone rail (Porzana
coturniculus) is somewhat smaller, and the back
is without the white specks noticeable in P.
Jamarcensts.
This species is the smallest of the North Ameri-
can rails and has quite an extensive distribution,
having been taken in Central America, the West
Indies, and generally throughout the United
States to the northern border. Its small size
and exceedingly secretive habits undoubtedly go
far to explain the apparent rarity. Rather than
take to wing, this bird will sometimes submit to
capture, hiding its head and cocking up its tail.
The flight is feeble and laborious, poorly sus-
tained, and only for a few yards, when it drops
back into the grass. The note is said to be a high-
pitched chz-cro-croo. There are instances of the
little black rail having been kept alive for a few
days in captivity,— under these circumstances
moping about with head drawn in, occasionally
moving in a deliberate way. Of its migrations
we know but little. More specimens have been
taken in the West Indies and southern United
States than farther north. There are instances of
its occurrences near Philadelphia, in New Eng-
land, northern Illinois, and eastern Oregon, and
in all of these localities there has been conclusive
Rail-shooting 293
evidence of its breeding. Mr. J. H. Batty shot
two of this species in a fresh-water marsh near
Hazardville, Connecticut; they were nesting. Mr.
J. H. Clark records an instance from Saybrook,
Connecticut, of a bird killed on its nest, by a scythe,
and all but four of the ten eggs broken. The nest
resembles that of the meadow lark, and the eggs
are described as being white, finely dotted with
bright brown. In May, 1898, I picked up a speci-
men of this species dead, at Cobb’s Island, Virginia.
It was close to the edge of a dry marsh, just inside
the ocean beach, and was about half eaten by ants.
A finely mounted bird was given me by Mr. Harry
Austin of Halifax, supposedly killed in the vicinity.
The black rail has been found breeding com-
monly near Raleigh, North Carolina, by the
Messrs. Brimley. The nests are situated invari-
ably in a tussock in a wet meadow, where the
water stands around the high grass. The eggs
are laid from the last of May to the first of
August, and are from six to eight in number.
There is a very interesting account of the dis-
tribution and habits of this species by Dr. J. A.
Allen in the Awés for January, 1900.
CORN CRAKE
(Crex crex)
Adult male and female — Upper parts, buff or light drab, striped with
black; wings, reddish brown, marked indistinctly with white
transverse spots on the larger coverts; lining of the wing, cin-
294 The Water-fowl Family
namon edged with white; head, gray with an indistinct loral
stripe of drab; throat and belly, white; jugulum and breast,
pale drab; sides banded with brown and white.
Young — Similar, but without the gray on the head.
Downy young — Dark sooty brown; head, blackish; bill, dusky;
iris, brown; feet, bluish flesh color.
Measurements — Length, 10.50 inches ; wing, 6 inches; culmen, 0.88
inch ; tarsus, 1.50 inches.
Eggs — Seven to ten in number; light buff, spotted with pale red-
dish brown; measure 1.40 by I inches.
Habitat — Europe and northern Asia; recorded in North America
from Greenland, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Maine, Rhode
Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and
Bermuda.
The corn crake is a bird of Europe, regularly
breeding in Greenland, from whence it straggles
to the eastern Atlantic Coast as far south as Long
Island, and has been taken in Bermuda. A speci-
men shot near Saybrook, Connecticut, is in the pos-
session of John H. Clark, Saybrook, Connecticut.
This species is abundant throughout Europe,
frequenting wet meadows and cultivated fields.
It places its nest, of grass, on the ground in a
meadow or field of grain. From its habits it is
known also as the land rail.
PURPLE GALLINULE
(Jonornts martinica)
Adult male and female — Head, neck, and lower parts, slaty purple,
darkest on the abdomen; upper parts, olive-green, changing to
blue toward the purple of the lower parts; sides and lining of
the wing, greenish blue; wings, brighter green than back, and
shaded with blue; crissum, white; frontal shield, blue; bill, red,
tipped with yellow; iris, crimson; legs and feet, yellowish.
Rail-shooting 295
Young — Above, light fulvous brown, tinged with greenish on the
wings; beneath, buff; the belly, whitish; frontal shield smaller
than in adult.
Downy young — Entirely black.
Measurements — Length, 12.50 inches; wing, 7.25 inches; culmen,
1.90 inches; tarsus, 2.25 inches.
£ggs — Five to ten in number; pinkish buff with markings of pur-
plish slate, mostly in the form of small round spots; measure
1.70 by 1.15 inches.
ffabitat — Tropical America from Brazil and northern South America,
north to the West Indies and Mexico, and breeding in the United
States in Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia, and from Louisi-
ana to southern Illinois. Occurs irregularly north to Massachu-
setts, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri, and possibly breeds; and
rarely to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, Ontario, Wiscon-
sin, Nebraska, Kansas, western Texas, and Arizona. Winters
from Florida and Louisiana, possibly South Carolina, south.
Recorded in England and Bermuda.
A bird of the southern United States, breeding
occasionally as far north as South Carolina; it is
found south along the Atlantic Coast from this
point and from Florida to Mexico, occurring in
the West Indies, Central America, and northern
portions of South America. The purple gallinule
has turned up at many distant points and has
been taken on the Bay of Fundy and several
times in New England. It is an occasional
visitor to Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio.
Many of these remote occurrences have been un-
doubtedly storm-driven birds. In the localities
where the purple gallinule abounds, it keeps under
the cover of grass and weeds, venturing out in the
early morning or toward evening to the close-by
296 The Water-fowl Family
shore, always on the alert, at the first suspicion of
danger darting back to cover, only taking flight
when absolutely forced. The movements of this
bird on the ground, as it runs over the leaves and
marshy tangles of the water’s surface, are quick
and graceful, and the brilliancy of its plumage
remarkable. The note is loud but not specially
characteristic. The purple gallinule feeds on
worms, snails, and various vegetable matter, and
from its fondness for the plantain, goes sometimes
by the name of plantain coot, and as carpenter
coot, from the noise the bird makes in breaking
the shells of small snails against pieces of timber.
The flesh is not particularly good. Occasionally
the bird is seen contented in captivity.
FLORIDA GALLINULE
(Gallinula galeata)
Adult male and female — Head, neck, and entire lower parts, dark
lead color, often nearly black on the head and neck, lighter on
the abdomen; crissum, white; feathers of the flanks broadly’
edged with white ; edge of the wing and edge of outer primary,
white; upper parts, brownish, darkest on the rump; bill and
frontal shield, scarlet, the tip of bill, yellowish; iris, brown;
legs and feet, greenish yellow; upper part of the tibiz, scarlet.
Young — Similar, but with smaller frontal shield; the entire lower
parts, whitish, most noticeable on the throat; white stripes on
the flanks less marked.
Downy young — Glossy black; centre of abdomen, sooty; white
hairs on throat; bill, yellow, crowned by dark bar.
Measurements — Length, 12.50 inches; wing, 7 inches; culmen,
1.75 inches; tarsus, 2.25 inches.
Rail-shooting 297
Eggs — Five to thirteen in number; pale buff, with scattered mark-
ings of bright reddish brown; measure 1.80 by 1.25 inches.
Habitat — Tropical and temperate America, from Chili and Argen-
tina north to the West Indies, and in North America to Massa-
chusetts, Vermont, New York, Ontario, Minnesota, Nebraska,
Texas, Arizona, and California, breeding throughout its range.
Occurs also rarely in Maine (possibly breeds), New Bruns-
wick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Colorado, and Lower California.
Winters from South Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Arizona, and
California south. Resident in Bermuda and the Galapagos
Islands.
The Florida gallinule is most common in the
southern Gulf states, and is abundant in vari-
ous regions of northern South America, Cen-
tral America, and Mexico, along the Gulf
coast, ranging north into various parts of the
Great Lake region, and occurring sparingly in
New England and along the northern border of
the United States. It frequents the smaller
marshes, keeping pretty much to the grass and
sedge, avoiding flight if possible; and, when
forced to take wing, does so in rather a labori-
ous way, with feet hanging down, at this time
often uttering its harsh cry. The bird breeds
throughout its range in secluded fresh-water
marshes, constructing the nest of rushes and
withered plants, covering its eggs when away.
Both sexes share in incubation, often hatching a
second brood in the same nest; the flock of eight
or ten keeping in places where the edges of ponds
afford abundant cover in the form of rushes and
298 The Waterfowl Family
sedge. If the haunts are carefully watched, the
birds will be seen occasionally to emerge and run
about the exposed shore, watchful all the time,
darting back into the grass at the slightest provo-
cation. The food consists of various seeds and
snails, but the flesh is not particularly good.
North of South Carolina this species is more
or less irregular, but breeds commonly in the
marshes of northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin,
and about Lake Ontario.
AMERICAN COOT
(Fulica americana)
Adult male and female — Head and neck and anterior central por-
tion of crissum, black ; lateral and posterior portions of crissum,
edge of wing, and tips of secondaries, white; rest of plumage,
slate color; bill, white, becoming bluish at the end; both
mandibles, with a dark brown spot near the ends, bordered
anteriorly with a less distinct bar of chestnut; frontal shield,
dark brown; the culmen, just in front, tinged with yellow; iris,
bright hazel; legs, yellowish green; the tibia, tinged behind
and above with orange; toes, bluish gray, tinged with green
on scutallz and basal phalanges. In winter the lower parts are
paler.
Measurements — Length, 14 inches ; wing, 7.50 inches ; culmen, 1.25
inches; tarsus, 2 inches.
Young — Similar but paler; throat, white; rest of lower parts tipped
with whitish; head, slate color, speckled with whitish; iris,
brown; bill, dull flesh color, tinged with greenish; frontal
shield, rudimentary.
Downy young— Ground color, blackish; the downy feathers pro-
longed in slender bristles, which are pale orange on back and
breast, reddish orange on neck and chin, and whitish on rest of
body ; occiput, bare; rest of crown, black without bristles ; lores
Rail-shooting 299
covered with short, orange-red papilla; bill, orange-red; max-
illa, tipped with black; legs and feet, isabella color.
Eggs — Six to fifteen in number, light buff, sprinkled with minute
specks and dots of dark brown and blackish, measure 1.85 by
1.25 inches.
Habitat — Breeds in the West Indies, Mexico, and Lower California,
and in North America in Florida (?), and from Virginia, Penn-
sylvania, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, and the Mexican border
north to New Brunswick, Quebec, Hudson Bay, the Mackenzie
River, and British Columbia. Occurs also in Nova Scotia,
Labrador, Greenland, and at Fort Yukon, Alaska. Rare east
of the Alleghanies, except in fall migration. Winters from Vir-
ginia, possibly New Jersey, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Mis-
souri (?), Utah, Nevada, and British Columbia, south to Panama
and Trinidad (?). Occurs in Bermuda.
Widely known as mud-hen; a common bird
throughout temperate North America and rang-
ing through the southern countries to northern
South America and the West Indies, it breeds
generally throughout its range. It is common as
far north as the marshes of the Saskatchewan and
has even been taken in Greenland and Alaska.
The coot is not common on the Atlantic Coast
except in the more southern portions; but in the
interior and on the prairie sloughs it swarms, in
some instances almost covering them; after the
last duck has left the pond the mud-hens remain,
and only when obliged, move out of the way. In
taking wing the birds run along the surface of
the water for a short distance before leaving it, —
if there are many of them, with great clatter, —
finally rising, when their low flight is marked by
300 The Water-fowl Family
a whir of wings. On the water they are excellent
swimmers and good divers, occasionally obtain-
ing their food from shallow bottom. This con-
sists of various grasses and vegetable matter,
snails and little shellfish, a diet which is not
conducive to excellency. The flesh of the bird is
dark and unpalatable. The nest is among reeds
and grasses close to the water, loosely constructed
of rushes; it is quite a bulky structure and con-
tains from ten to fifteen eggs. The coot is often
seen in company with the different varieties of
ducks, the ducks in some instances feeding on the
water grasses and vegetable matter the mud-hens
bring up. In April this species is the most
abundant bird on the lagoons and marshy lakes
along the Gulf Coast of Mexico, occurring in vast
flocks, covering, in some instances, an acre or
more. The natives regularly salt the flesh for
food, preferring to hunt them rather than ducks
because of the numbers that can be killed at a
shot. On one occasion I saw twenty-eight picked
up after a single barrel. On the large sounds
south of Tampico, we were wakened regularly
through the night by flocks suddenly leaving the
water; the noise made under these circumstances
was great. The birds were startled by alligators,
which were numerous everywhere and undoubtedly
preyed upon the mud-hens. In one instance this
performance was seen.
Rail-shooting 301
EUROPEAN COOT
(fulica atra)
Adult male and female — Similar to the American coot, but some-
what larger; tip of secondaries, not white; very narrow white
edge to outer primary; bill, pale red, tipped with white, and
without dark spots; frontal shield, bluish white.
Young — Similar to adult, but more grayish; bill and frontal shield,
greenish; iris, brown.
Downy young — Similar to the American coot, but the long filaments
on the body whitish.
Measurements—Length, 16 inches; wing, 8.25 inches; culmen with
frontal shield, 1.85 inches; tarsus, 2.30 inches; middle toe, 3
inches.
eggs — Six to fourteen in number, pale buff, spotted with brownish
black and purplish gray, measure 2.15 by 1.50 inches.
fTabitat — Northern parts of the eastern hemisphere; accidental in
Greenland.
The European coot closely resembles our bird
in appearance and habits. It is slightly larger, has
less white on the wings, and no dark spots on the
bill. It inhabits the marshy ponds of Europe,
placing its large and loosely formed nest among
the rushes that it frequents. Professor J. Rein-
hardt has reported its occurrence in Greenland.
CHAPTER Vili
SHORE-BIRD SHOOTING
SHORE-BIRDS bring to our minds the marshes
and flats along our shores in summer; from the
northern limits of the Atlantic to the pampas of
the Argentine Republic and Patagonia are their
haunts. Early in the summer, their nesting duties
over, their young fledged, they gather in flocks on
the shores of the Arctic Sea and the countries of
the North. With the waning of the Arctic sum-
mer they are on their way, and by early August
this army has reached the coast of Canada and
the United States. The heart of the sportsman
is glad. He sees the broad expanse of shallow
flats, left bare by a falling tide, their feeding-
ground, and the marsh dotted with little pools,
their resting-place, the outlying points by which
they fly, the flight with the rising water. It is all
irresistible, well may he yearn for the beaches and
marshes. Formerly myriads of these birds fol-
lowed our coasts on their journeys north and
south, stopping a time where extensive feeding-
grounds enticed them. Cape Cod, Long Island,
Barnegat, the bays of Virginia and North Caro-
302
Shore-bird Shooting 303
lina, — what could these beaches tell of shore-birds
and man’s wantonness! It is the same old story,
oft repeated in these pages. They are gone; a
vestige remains and follows the migratory courses
south, but the hordes of the past will never again
be seen. Many of the commonest have become
rare. Flocks of golden plover once blackened
the air along our shores, now few are seen; the
Eskimo curlew has suddenly disappeared; the
godwits and the long-billed curlew are hardly
stragglers on the eastern coast. Sportsmen and
gunners still hunt the remnant. Shore-bird shoot-
ing has so changed in the past few years that the
descriptions of former, even recent, haunts seem
almost strange.
In 1886 I spent a summer at Monomoy Island,
Cape Cod. We stayed at the branting shanties
in charge of Alonzo Nye. It was early in
August, the weather had been steadily hot, and
on our arrival there were but few birds on the
flats: some turnstone, dowitchers, and several
small flocks of plover were all; but with the next
few days there was a change, and by the roth
of August blackbreast swarmed. There were
thousands, and other big birds in proportion. At
that time, close to the branting shanties was a
cut-through, an opening from the ocean into the
bay, and where it broadened on to the flats were
patches of sedge, the remnants of an old marsh.
304 The Water-fowl Family
On these little patches the grass grew thick and
high, affording ideal cover. At the height of the
tide perhaps a foot of water covered them. With
low water they were bare, surrounded by flats
that reached out into the bay for miles. An hour
or so after the ebb tide we took our places in
these clumps, set out a few decoys in the shallow
water at their edge and waited for the flight. Al-
most on the hour it came: first, blackbreast, fly-
ing well up over the water in flocks of ten to
fifteen, sweeping over the bay from the high outer
beaches where they roosted and spent the time at
high tides) 1 remember the’ first ‘one \Ivshot ait
was one of a flock of a dozen or more, and they
came right overhead, flying full with the wind.
But to get back to the blind and decoys. Gen-
erally we waited a half-hour for the tide to reach
just the right point; I marked it with a stake,
and just as that stake showed I considered the
time had come to keep low. Many a time have I
looked out on the water from just over the tops
of that clump of grass and seen a string of birds
leading up from the east, then crouched back
again and endured mosquitoes untold until it
came time to be up and doing. One morning I
shot twelve blackbreast here at a tide; this
doesn’t sound very big, but the days when I have
killed more since have been few. There is some-
thing fascinating about a plover over the decoys.
Shore-bird Shooting 305
With dovelike speed they come, when just at the
edge of the stool the wings droop—the birds
sail on set wings for a second, then light; in-
stantly suspicious, they run a few steps and leave
as quickly as they came. You hear the shrill,
sweet note, faint and far off; it answers your
clumsy attempt to whistle, and in a minute the
graceful birds hover at the mercy of the gun.
Occasionally the mellow note of a yellowleg
announces a different visitor. Yellowleg were
not very abundant at Monomoy, but we usually
gathered ina few. Their flight lacks the speed
of a plover, and they sail along calling frequently,
asking for a place to light; unfortunately places
were plenty. Rarely dowitchers were in evidence ;
they came singly and in small flocks, and the lit-
tle compact bunch generally accepted the invita-
tion to tarry; once shot into and a few birds
downed, the others heard their cries, and came
again. For two or three days after a heavy
storm there was quite a flight of redbreast; one
afternoon a pair of curlew circled over the decoys
too close; these were the first I had seen. I re-
member a good-sized flock of willet, one of the
few times I have ever seen them in a flock; they
came by a good way off and parted with a single
bird. This was the run of birds we saw at
Monomoy that summer. The shooting generally
lasted for over an hour on the ebb-tide. During
306 The Water-fowl Family
the intervals, when larger shore-birds were not
forthcoming, the attention was attracted by the
countless terns on tireless wing, everywhere about,
diving at the decoys, screaming whenever any
bird met its fate; now and then dark-colored
jagars chased the terns and robbed them of
their food, or often a clumsy heron squawked out
a protest at the desecration of its favorite marsh.
These sights and sounds of the shore were ever
present; now even the gulls are gone.
That summer at Monomoy was a first experi-
ence and like all such, the pleasantest of all.
There are one or two points in Shinnecock
Bay, Long Island, from which now, with favorable
winds and weather, good bags of birds can be
made. For the past two summers a gang of
market hunters have lived on the best point,
sleeping in their boats and watching decoys from
dawn to dark, all summer long. Here, on several
occasions, some years since, I enjoyed a good day’s
shooting. A Shinnecock Indian, Bunn was his
name, generally went with us. We spent the
night before at Southampton and drove over;
Bunn was on the point, stools set and ready; it
was some time before light, and mosquitoes were
in swarms. We hunted them fora while until the
clear note of a yellowleg called us to order. At
Shinnecock nearly every bird leads by this par-
ticular point, so we counted on one yellowleg
Shore-bird Shooting 307
just as soon as it whistled. Bunn replies once or
twice, with the result the bird is fixed; it circles
before the blind and swoops among the stool to
drop at the first shot. A flock of three, two big
yellowlegs and a little one, now head for the
stand, low down close to the water; they don't
need any encouragement. My companion, with-
out a conscience, pots two, the third gets off; but
Bunn seduces him, and this time he stays. Sun-
rise is at its height, and as we face the glow a
flock comes out of the east, looking black and big ;
we flatten down, and soon six plover cut over the
stool; my pot-hunter pal waits for them to light
and line up, with the result he doesn’t even get a
shot. A few more yellowlegs straggle along.
Bunn calls in a good-sized bunch of kriekers,
which are nearly all murdered ; a single dowitcher,
and we count up about eighteen birds—a mon-
strous big bag for Shinnecock.
The bays of Virginia and North Carolina,
spring and fall, are the tarrying-place for thou-
sands of shore-birds; here many make a last stop-
ping before the tedious flight to Labrador and
beyond, in calm weather probably keeping straight
out to sea from the time of their leaving. These
waters are lined with shallow flats, dotted every-
where with marshes, a shore-bird’s paradise. In
these spots I have spent many a delightful hour,
out of reach of the world in a Chesapeake Bay
308 The Waterfowl Family
boat, anchored close to a marsh, where with the
first break of day we shall be hidden in a seaweed
blind behind a stand of decoys. We have our
supper of broiled birds, and eat a big one, then sit
and smoke a bit and turn in. It isn’t a perfectly
comfortable bunk. Further particulars are not nec-
essary; but we sleep just the same, and when the
time comes to wake up, even the thought of cur-
lew doesn’t make us lively — but this is only tem-
porary. We get breakfast; Davy puts us ashore
and carries a big basket of decoys up to the blind;
he sets them out and leaves us; the tide is just
right, and in a few minutes it will be fairly light.
A whistle off to the left indicates curlew are about,
and we keep a careful lookout. A flock of six
suddenly appears in front of us without warning ;
they catch the establishment unawares and shy
off, but we see a pair following in their wake and
call them up. Curlew do not often alight to de-
coys here, for the blinds are large and conspicu-
ous and not on the feeding-ground; but they often
fly by in range, and so did this particular pair, with
the result that there were two less curlew on Broad-
water. A flock of dowitchers now curve around
the stool and give us a hovering shot; four or five
escape, but come back and hover some more with
disastrous results; a pair of laughing gulls and
any number of terns protest against such actions,
with no avail. Some more curlew; there are any
Shore-bird Shooting 309
quantity of birds stirring; flock after flock of
curlew has passed by just out of reach; now
we let loose at four; a little nearer, and one folds
up.