122 HOMING WITH THE BIRDS 



the feathers growing larger where they met the 

 white underparts. At the wing butts, a narrow 

 band of white faced the maroon, then one twice 

 as wide of black; then came delicate pale yellow 

 feathers finely traced with black, and broader 

 bands of black and white. The back was green 

 overlaid with maroon and hints of yellow, with a 

 white band across the top of the tail base, the tail 

 very long for a duck, green above, maroon at the 

 sides. The feet were invisible in the water. 



I used every caution to observe the bird closely 

 without flushing it, as it was the only one I ever 

 had seen in freedom, although my father knew this 

 duck well when it was plentiful. He said it flew 

 among the trees around water as gracefully as any 

 bird, and walked large limbs lengthwise. This 

 comes from its habit of nesting in cavities in large 

 trees near or over the water. Our ornithology 

 knows no lovelier bird, yet it is now close extinc- 

 tion through the greed of hunters and farmers. 

 If it is not especially and rigorously protected, 

 soon it will be lost to the world forever; and it is the 

 handsomest duck alive, not excepting its near 

 relative the Chinese mandarin. 



Two days after my purchase was concluded, the 

 duck was shot by a fisherman having a gun con- 

 cealed in his boat — shot during the heart of the 

 nesting season of June. In this same way van- 

 ished the last lovely wood pigeon, and the wild 

 turkeys are going last. If the men do not take 



