598 
THE WOOD DUCK. 
General Range.—Northern hemisphere. In North America breeds from 
Iowa and Illinois northward; migrates south to Panama and Cuba. 
Range in Ohio.—Common spring and fall migrant. Common winter resi- 
dent in southern portion. 
A bunch of ducks has been marked down in the old ‘slough,’ and the sight 
has aroused for the moment feelings which flourish in the youthful breast at 
the expense of all others. The instinct of the chase, inconsistent, indefensible, 
perennial, self-sufficient, vital, impels the farmer boy to seize the old shotgun 
and slip down the lane into cover of the fringing willows, which lead along a 
tiny sluggish stream to the edge of the swamp. First on hands and knees, then 
snake fashion, with a scowl for every time the muzzle of the gun scoops mud, 
and a sinking of heart when a dry twig breaks, the lad works up cautiously to a 
well-known bush clump which overlooks the pond. There they are, seven beau- 
ties, “Sprig-tails,” riding high upon the water, graceful, quick and a little rest- 
less. Some faint presentiment of danger has overtaken the group, and they 
have edged over to the other side of the open stretch of water, but one more 
reckless than the rest is ‘tipping’ for some hidden roots, leaving his tail to stick 
straight up in the air like a waving tuft of young bulrushes. 
It is a long shot, but there is nothing else for it this time. One barrel 
for the birds ‘on the set —Bang! And again as the remaining birds rise and 
crowd together in the first moment of confusion. Bang! goes the other barrel. 
Seven birds in two shots! Hooray! Luck enough to satisfy the king! 
Pintails are very wary, and when mingling on the water with other species 
are usually the first to give the alarm. ‘Their flesh is excellent, and they are 
eagerly sought for, but they are still among the common ducks. In spring 
they move early, passing northward in immense flocks. Their flight is 
extremely swift, perhaps the most rapid of any of the ducks, so that even with 
smokeless powder and a repeater, the man behind the gun has a good deal to 
do. In the fall the flocks are not so large, and they are much more numerous, 
an indication, perhaps, that their breeding range covers a much larger stretch 
of country than that allowed them for a winter home. 
No. 292. 
WOOD DUCK. 
(A. O.U. No. 144. Aix sponsa (Linn.). 
Synonyms.—SumMMER Duck; “THE Bripe.” 
Description.—Adult male: Of almost indescribable elegance; head, crested, 
metallic and iridescent green, purple, violet, and black; a white line from angle 
of upper mandible along crown, and another backward from behind eye, both 
continued in the feathers of the large occipital crest; throat white, sending up 
two transverse bars on either side on cheek and hind-neck; fore-neck and breast 
