194 INDIAN DUCKS 



In England they are caught in large numbers by decoxs, which 

 induce the wild birds to enter some- small waterways roofed in with 

 wire netting, which gradually lead to a large drop-net in which 

 they are entangled. The placing of the pipes — as the leading tunnel- 

 nets are called — is the main feature of the trap, as these have to 

 be so made that they are quite inconspicuous, and the entrances 

 must be natural ones. Sometimes a small dog is trained to dodge 

 about the pipes, continually showing itself high up the pipe for an 

 instant or two and attracting their curiosity, which is a strong trait 

 in all ducks. In Goldsmith's ' Natural History,' a little volume 

 dated 1830, it is said that " in only ten decoys in the neighbourhood 

 of Wainfieet, so many as 31,200 have been caught in a season." 

 This, of course, refers to all kinds of ducks, not to Wigeon only. 



To eat, the Wigeon is sometimes first-rate, sometimes decidedly 

 fishv and rank. At home it is considered quite one of the higher 

 class of ducks for eating, but out in India it is often )uit of a higher 

 class ; Hume says of some he got on the sea-coast that they had 

 such distinct " odour of brine from the ocean " about them that they 

 were quite unpalatable. Those shot in Cachar and Assam I have 

 always found vei-y good indeed. 



