A descending Canvasback 



Waterfowl sometimes encounter difficult navigational problems when 

 flying with a strong tail wind. I have seen Lesser Scaup arrive with a north 

 wind on Cadham Bay, then swing around to join a flock of birds on the 

 water. In making the swing they were carried so far south of the flock that 

 they alighted many yards short of their objective. Several times our young 

 Canada Geese have crashed into trees on the lakeshore when coming off the 

 lake in a strong northwest wind. They apparently were unable to judge their 

 speed accurately enough to maneuver over the trees in time to prevent an 

 accident. Sometimes in late autumn when the last open hole is closed to the 

 reeds and the wind blows strongly shoreward, ducks are obliged to land 

 with the wind to their backs, and after circling the pond several times, they 

 come down to crash with heavy splashes or to slide across the ice on then- 

 tails. 



When a duck makes a landing under unstable air conditions, the body 

 may be shifted rapidly into many positions and the feet thrown wide for 

 balance as the bird maneuvers downward; but the head holds its position 

 steady with the horizon, as if the neck were the pivot upon which the body 

 swung. This steadiness of the head must be of tremendous importance to 

 a bird's safe arrival from flight, especially in landings made under turbulent 

 conditions or in wooded places. While this stability of the head, regardless 

 of body posture, no doubt serves the visual process during flight, it does not 

 result from the function of the eyes — that is to say, visual orientation alone 

 is not responsible for this balance. Thus, when a duck or goose, or any other 

 bird, is blindfolded with a hood or mask, the body may be turned left or 

 right, up or down, but the head remains constantly oriented to gravity, hold- 



61 



