ANAS SPONSA. SUMMER-DUCK, OR 'WOOD-DUCK. 



UMMER-DUCKS are remarkable for 

 the richness and varied hue of their 

 plumage, and are considered the most 

 beautiful of all the duck tribe. It is 

 ^^ spread throughout the whole extent of 

 our country, breeding in almost every 

 State of the Union, and familiarly known 

 to country-people as the wood-duck, from 

 the circumstance of its selecting the hollows of trees to breed in. 

 This fowl delights in the small streams and mill-ponds of the in- 

 terior, and is but seldom met with on the large rivers. They are 

 not often met with in flocks, but are generally found in small 

 families of two or three. The followers of Sir Isaac Walton are 

 generally much more familiar with this fowl than the professed 

 sportsman, as they, in the pursuit of their favorite amusement, 

 spend much of their time in the quiet and secluded haunts which 

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