58 BULLETIN 126, UNITED STATES NATIONS. MUSEUM. 



from under my feet in this condition when I too was alter huckleberries was unable 

 to fly, it was so gorged, but it managed to scramble into the water and swim away, 

 disgorging itself until finallj' able to rise and fly away, all the time quacking inces- 

 santly. 



lie also speaks of tMO birds — 



killed in winter on tiie Penobscot River [which were] literally crammetl [with the 

 fruit of] Lepaigyraca canadensis Nuttall, another shrub not known from this particu- 

 lar region. 



Mr. ElonH. Eaton (1910) writes: 



I shot a black duck from a flock of 75 birds, which were returning to Oanaudaigua 

 Lake from a flooded cornfield. From its gullet and gizzard I took 23,704 weed seeds, 

 which, tog<!ther with a few pebbles, snail shells, and chaff, were the sole contents of 

 its stomach. Of these seeds, 13,240 were pigweeds (C/iewoporfiwTft and Amaranthus), 

 7,264 were knot grass (Polygonum), 2,624 were ragweed {Ambrosia), and 576 were 

 dock {Rurncx). 



Behavior. — The black duck starts into flight, from land or water by 

 a powerful upward spring, rising perpendicularly S to 10 feet into 

 the air before it starts away in its swift and direct flight. When 

 once under way its flight is strong and swift, usually high in the air, 

 unless forced by strong adverse winds to fly low; its long neck is 

 outstretched and its wings vibrate rapidly, the white underside of 

 the wings flashing in the light and serving as a good field mark at a 

 long distance. When descending from a height to alight In a pond 

 the ])ointed wings are curved downward and rigidly held, as the 

 smooth body glides through the air, tipping slightly from side to 

 side, gradually dropping in a circle until near enough to check its 

 momentum with a fev/ vigorous flaps and dro]) into the water, feet 

 first, with a gentle, gliding splash. 



On land the black duck v.'alks with ease and grace, running rapidly, 

 if necessary, and holding its head high. It is ever on the alert and can 

 seldom be surprised. It swims lightly and gracefully and with some 

 speed. It does not ordinarily dive, but it can do so, if necessary, as 

 every gunner knows who has wounded one and chased it. I have read 

 that this duck can detect the presence of danger by the sense of smell, 

 but I doubt it; it would not come so readily to well-concealed duck 

 stands, where human beings are living constantly, if its nostrils were 

 very keen. I should think it more hkely that it depends on its sight 

 and hearing, both of which are very acute and highly developed. 



Dr. D. G. Elliot (1898) very aptly says: 



Ita note ia so like the mallard's that it is diflicult to distingiiish them apart, and 

 every few moments the quacks are shot forth in abrupt vociferations, as if the bird 

 had juflt reached the limit ol its power for suppressing them, and the voice had gained 

 strength and sonorousness by long confinement. 



The drake has only a low reedy quack, whereas the duck's note is a 

 loud and resonant quack, in which she indulges freely; most of the 



