376 WEB-FOOTED BIRDS. 



access, near waters. The eggs are 12 to 14, of a very pale 

 greenish-yellow ; the female sits 24 or 25 days. The young, 

 in consequence of the great disproportion of the bill, at that 

 period, have a most uncouth and awkward appearance, 

 seeming to be oppressed by its weight, and perpetually in- 

 clined to rest it upon the breast. They run about and 

 swim, however, as soon as hatched, and are carefully attend- 

 ed by the parent, who incessantly guards them from the 

 surprise of ravenous birds. On these occasions, when the 

 danger becomes unavoidable, the young are seen to squat 

 silently among the grass, while the old birds run off and 

 dive. Their cry has been compared to that of a rattle 

 turned by small jerks in the hand. 



The Shoveler is considered one of the most tender and 

 delicate flavored Ducks, growing very fat in winter. Their 

 usual food is said to be small fish and insects ; rarely vege- 

 tables and seeds. In a pair of the young which I examined, 

 that were killed in Fresh Pond in this vicinity, the stomach 

 contained many fragments of a very delicate divaricated 

 small green Fucus, minute Scirpi plucked up by the roots, 

 also fragments of some Chara, with minute JSTatica and 

 Anomia shells quite comminuted, and a portion of graveL 

 We see therefore, that the remarkable structure of the bill 

 in this species, is no way generally indicative of any pecu- 

 liar habit of feeding. The labyrinth in the trachea of the 

 male is small, and its voice probably proportionately feeble. 



The Shoveler is about 21^ inches in length ; the folded wings 9^ 

 inches ; length of the bill above, 2 inches 4^ lines; tarsus 1 inch 5 

 lines. — Male, with the head, adjoining half of the neck, medial 

 stripe to the interscapulars, the whole back, interior scapulars, and 

 primaries, umber-brov/n. Sides of the head, the neck, and crest, 

 glossed with duck-green: the rump and tail coverts, above and 

 below, with blackish-green. Lower half of the neck, the breast, 

 shoulders, shorter scapulars, ends of the greater wing coverts, and 

 sides of the rump, white ; longer scapulars, striped with pale blue, 



