78 



THE OREGON NATURALIST, 



are slightly expanded and drooped. After- 

 wards they will raise in the water and 

 flap their wings. 



These ducks do not gather in flocks of 

 more than eight or ten and from the 

 writer's observation the conclusion was 

 reached that the mated birds remain to- 

 gether all the year. Mature birds are 

 much shyer than the younger ones so that 

 a large percentage of the specimens taken 

 are in immature plumage and full plum- 

 aged birds are not common. The method 

 employed in hunting this duck is exten- 

 sively used in hunting by the Alaska 

 natives and as it may be of use to some ot 

 the readers on some future occasion, it is 

 given here. 



When first the writer went to Kaiiak 

 he tried hunting with a boat relying on 

 wing shooting to get his birds, but with- 

 out much success, and seeing that the 

 natives always got more birds he changed 

 his plan and took to the natives' method 

 as follows: When a band of ducks was 

 seen feeding, a landing was made and the 

 beach approached from the land, the 

 hunter being careful not to be seen By 

 watching the flock it would be seen that 

 they all dived about the same time and 

 the time they remained down was about 

 the same length each time When the 

 last duck dives the hunter runs toward 

 them dropping in the grass or behind a 

 rock about the time he calculates the first 

 duck should be coming up again, in this 

 manner he can approach close to the flock 

 that nearly always feed in the shallow 

 water along the shore. When the last 

 run is made, the hunter, if an old hand, 

 stands on the edge of the water, the gun 

 at "ready," and a couple of extra shells 

 in the hollow of his right hand, the flock 

 all being down. The first duck that 

 comes up gets it, and the second one gets 

 the second barrel and in this way by sharp 

 practice it is often possible to bag six or 

 seven out of one flock. 



Sportsmen might call it pot hunting, 

 but if they try it once they will find that it 

 calls for a good deal more mental and 

 physical exertion than sitting in a blind 

 and luring hungry and weary migrants to 

 their doom with a lot of decoys. Any way, 

 a collector is a pot hunter by force of 

 circumstances and does not kill for the 

 love of taking life but only as a means to 

 secure specimens. Can our sportsmens 

 friends say as much in defense of their 

 favorite pastime? 



Eniconetta stelleri. 

 STELLER'S DUCK. 



This beautiful species is a common 

 winter visitor from November to the 

 following April, during which time they 

 gather in small flocks and associate with 

 the King Eider. 



Although their food is the same as that 

 of the last species they seek it in deeper 

 water and seldom feed near the shore. 

 Dr. Coues states that this duck associates 

 with the Pacific Eider and therefore the 

 writer concludes that it does so in some 

 localities but at Kadiak it does not, as 

 they leave for the North about the first of 

 April and the Pacific Eider does not arrive 

 untill the end of the same month or the 

 first part of May. 



Somateria u-nigra 

 PACIFIC EIDER. 



A summer resident, arriving about the 

 first of May and nesting in any suitable 

 locality approximate to the ocean. These 

 birds arrive on the island in pairs and at 

 once go to nesting. The localities chosen 

 for making the nests are so varied 

 that it is almost impossible to describe 

 what would be a typical location; but they 

 are seldom situated more than a hundred 

 yards from the ocean beach and generally 

 on low ground, as the nest is always more 

 or less hidden. They are always placed 

 among long grass or reeds. The nest is 

 composed almost entirely of down plucked 

 by the female from her own body, the 



