290 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTIN^G. 



where as in the dense forests of the Northwest, where it 

 is safe from all foes except boys and birds of prey, for it 

 is rarely pursued by sportsmen. I have come upon its 

 nests in old trees, or in those in which woodpeckers had 

 bored deep holes, and every time I saw one I enjoyed a 

 keen sense of delight, for it was pleasant to note how 

 earnestly the matrons watched my approach, and with 

 what tenacity they held to their quarters, I frequently 

 approached them to within a few feet before the they be- 

 came alarmed enough to take to flight, and then they 

 darted rapidly through the trees, uttering their peculiar 

 whistling note, which differs radically from that of any 

 of their congeners. The young are taken to the water in 

 her bill by the mother, soon after they are hatched, and 

 while they are swimming about she pays them the most 

 devoted attention, and keeps them at her side by steady 

 calling, whenever they manifest an inclination to pursue 

 alluring flies too far. She hastens to cover at the least 

 alarm, for, though she and her brood can dive very well, 

 they never resort to this means of escape unless wounded, 

 and even then they are more liable to seek shelter in 

 weeds and bushes than in the water. When the ducklings 

 are three or four months old they accompany the adults 

 in their flights to distant fields in search of food, and 

 mingle with the other teals. They are not so gregarious 

 as their congeners, however, hence it is rare to see them 

 in large flocks. They do not decoy readily to stools or to 

 calling, and this, combined with their rather solitary 

 habits, prevents persons froni pursuing them as they do 

 other ducks, although their flesh is tender and juicy. 

 They are shot princiijally for the sake of their feathers, 

 these being in active demand for making artificial flies 

 for trout, grayling, and salmon fishing. Wood ducks are 

 undoubtedly the most beautiful members of their family 

 indigenous to the nortbern half of the Continent, for they 

 can scarcely be excelled in rich and harmonious hues by 



