84 OUT WITH THE BIRDS 



of a pintail duck that had been nesting close at 

 hand. She had built her nest on the side of the 

 C. P. R. grade, not three feet from the rail, 

 and had been in the habit of letting the trains 

 thunder by without moving from her eggs — 

 surely a noteworthy achievement for a timid, 

 little mother. But one morning her mangled 

 body was found Ij^ing between the rails. For 

 some cause, probably a blast from the whistle, 

 she had fluttered off during the night, evidently 

 toward the great glare of the headlight, and met 

 a tragic end. I have met no example of a more 

 stout-hearted, nesting mother than this duck. It 

 displays even more courage than that possessed 

 by the English sparrow pair I once saw rear- 

 ing a chirruping brood in the cab of a steam- 

 shovel, while the machine was in operation, 

 digging, grinding, and shaking at its labors, all 

 day long. I feel that the duck's exhibition of 

 courage was the greater, because the sparrow is 

 a student of man's civilized ways, whereas it 

 must be admitted that the duck meets him 

 usually under other circumstances. 



About noon we took another peep at the nest, 

 but there was no sign of our would-be victim. 

 To make doubly sure, I mounted the fence. 



