1 10 Our Bird Friends. 



disobedient duckling for his supper. Even those 

 that keep close by their mother's side are not safe, 

 for they have their enemies in the waters beneath 

 as well as the air above, and fierce Pike thrust up 

 their hungry jaws and ruthlessly drag them down 

 and devour them. This sometimes goes on day 

 after day until the poor distracted mother Shelduck 

 is left without a single child to love and look after. 



Young Eider Ducks and Wild Geese are. ac- 

 cording to uiy oltsorvat ions, mudi more obedient 

 than baby Wild Ducks. 1 have seen whole families 

 of the two forn.er s]:)ecies swinuning so close under 

 theii" mothers' tails — where the Avater was, of course, 

 sheltered and easy to paddle through — that thcv 

 might almost have been coverc<l by an ordinary 

 pocket-handkerchief On the other hand, the child- 

 ren of the last named species wander about in such 

 a I'cckless fasliinii that I have sometimes wondered, 

 whilst watching tliem from one of my hiding-places, 

 that they did not drive their unfortunate mother 

 out of her mind. 



Water-fowl have a lot of enenn'es to contend 

 against, and the care of the young in tlie I)uek 

 world devolves upon the mothers. Wlien on land 

 they have to keep a sliarp look-out for Foxes, Cats, 

 Stoats, Weasels, and Wats; and when on the water 

 they are obliged to riui the gauntlet of hungry 

 fishes; for even Trout weighing under two pounds 

 have been known to i i-y to swallow ducklings and 

 choke themselves in the attempt. It nuist ])e a 



