1 62 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



rivers and lakes of the interior like most of its 

 kin, but follows down the coast to feed princi- 

 pally in the salt and brackish waters of the bays 

 and sounds of Virginia and North Carolina. 

 Here it may be found in thousands and tens of 

 thousands. I recall once sailing through Pamlico 

 Sound from Ocracoke to Cape Hatteras, a dis- 

 tance of thirty miles, and there was not a minute 

 during the entire tri]) but what newly startled 

 flocks were in the air before us. 



When the weather is fair Brants gather in very 

 large companies to feed on the eel-grass grow- 



come ; they " draw to the idols," the local gunners 

 say. They are awkward, slow-fiying birds and 

 poor indeed is the marksman who cannot make 

 a good score with a shotgun under such condi- 

 tions. 



Another popular way of hunting them is by 

 means of a battery. This may be described as a 

 coffin with canvas wings. It is anchored on the 

 Brant's feeding grounds and when the gunner 

 lies down in it he is effectively concealed unless 

 to a bird almost directly overhead. This is prob- 

 ably the most deceptive device used by man to 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



BRANT (i nat. size) 

 The smallest of the wild Geese 



ing in the shallow water of the shoals, or at high 

 tide to drift a chattering host upon the bosom of 

 the slow-heaving sound. When strong winds 

 blow these large " rafts " are broken up and 

 small companies of from two to a dozen fly about 

 seeking companionship. It is then that the 

 gunners get in their deadly work. In a small 

 blind erected on four posts standing on a shoal, 

 often three or four miles from land, the hunters 

 take their stand. Anchored in the water about 

 them are from fifty to one hundred wooden de- 

 coys representing Ducks and Brant. It is to these 

 dummy sirens that the small flocks of Brant 



outwit the wary wild fowl. I have known bags 

 of one hundred Brant to be made from a single 

 battery in a day. In viewing such sights one is 

 led to wonder that any of these game-birds have 

 been able to escape the terrific slaughter to 

 which they have long been subject by the hand of 

 man. 



On the Pacific coast of North America the 

 Black Brant is found. It is very similar to the 

 eastern species, but has more black on the under- 

 parts and the front of the neck as well as the 

 sides has white markings. 



T. Gilbert Pearson. 



