LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWL 45 



When feeding in flocks their diving tactics are interesting to watch. 

 L. M. Turner (1886) writes: 



Wlien searching for food tliey string out in a long line and swim 

 abreast. At a signal one at the extreme end goes down, the rest follow in 

 regular time, never all at once, and rarely more than two or three at a time. 

 The last one goes down in his turn with the regularity of clockwork. As they 

 dive they seem to go over so far as to throw the long tail feathers until they 

 touch water on the other side. They remain under water a long time and 

 usually come up near each other. 



His notes state that they " remain under water for periods varying 

 from 40 to 92 seconds." This last figure seems as if it might be an 

 error, for the following observations by Mr. Seton Gordon (1920) 

 seem to indicate great regularity in the diving periods of this spe- 

 cies ; he says : 



On one occasion, December 16, I timed a drake during six dives, as follows : 

 37, 37, 37, 30, 37, 37 seconds. As will be seen, his periods of submersion were 

 extremely regular. On December 18 I watched for some time a pair diving 

 energetically. The drake kept under longer than the duck, half a dozen of 

 his dives being as follows : 37, 42, 36, 35, 33, 32 seconds, and those of the 

 duck, 33, 37, 35, 33, 33, 32 seconds. On emerging, the duck seemed to shoot 

 up more buoyantly than the drake. In the afternoon I timed the drake for 

 four dives, as follows : 42, 40, 42, 45 seconds. The periods during which the 

 birds were above water between the dives I timed as follows : 10, 8, 6, 8, 7, 11 

 seconds. On December 21 I timed a pair diving and emerging almost simultane- 

 ously, as follows: 34, 32, 37, 38, 40, 43, 36 seconds. Before the two longest 

 of these dives, the birds swam for some time on the surface of the water. 



If there is any one thing for which the old squaw is justly notori- 

 ous it is for its voice. It certainh^ is a noisy and garrulous species 

 at all seasons, for which it has received various appropriate names, 

 such as old squaw, old injun, old wife, noisy duck, hound, etc. The 

 names south-southerly, cockawee, quandy, coal and candle light, as 

 well as a variety of Indian and Eskimo names have been applied 

 to it as suggesting its well-known notes; all of these are more or 

 less crude imitations of its notes, which are difficult to describe satis- 

 factorily, but when once heard are afterwards easily recognized, for 

 they are loud, clearly uttered, and very distinctive. Mr. Francis H. 

 Allen has given me the best description of it as " ow-owdle-ow and 

 ow-ow-owdle-oio with a Philadelphia twang; that is, with a short a 

 sound in the ow. The last syllable is higher pitched than the rest 

 and is emphasized." 



Rev. J. H. Langille (1884) describes it very well in the following 

 words : 



To my ear it does not recall the common name " south-southerly " given it 

 on the Atlantic coast, but is well expressed by an epithet given it by the Ger- 

 mans about Niagara. River, who call it the " ow-owly." Otv-ow-ly, ow-owly, 

 oic-owly, frequently repeated in succession, the first two notes considerably 



