238 



DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS, AND PELICANS. 



There are numerous instances proving that Wild Ducks are sus- 

 ceptible of attachment to man, and it is certain that they can be 

 easily tamed. They also 'breed readily with the Domestic Duck ; and 

 the crossed birds thus produced are said to have an excellent flavour, 

 and to fatten with facility. Mr. St. John, in his " Wild Sports in the 

 Highlands," remarks that he has frequently caught and brought 

 home young Wild Ducks. " If confined in a yard with tame birds 

 for a week or two, they strike up a companionship which keeps 

 them from wandering when set at liberty. Some years ago I 

 brought home three, two of which turned out to be Drakes. I sent 



Fig. 89 Open Duck-shooting. 



away my tame Ducks, and the next season I had a large family of 

 half-bred and wholly Wild Ducks, as the tame and wild bred 

 together quite freely. The Wild Ducks which have been caught 

 turned out the tamest of all, — throwing off all shyness, they follow 

 their feeder, and will eat corn out of the hand of any one they 

 know ; while the half-br^d birds are inclined to take wing and fly 

 away for the purpose of making their nests at a distance." 



The flesh of the Wild Duck is much esteemed. But they are 

 birds which are very difficult to approach, in consequence of their 

 suspicious nature ; and in order to get even a long shot at them, 



