LITTLE BLACK-HEAD. 169 



placed in swamps or near lakes, very simple in construc- 

 tion and lined with down. 



The little black-head is one of the swiftest fliers and 

 most expert divers of all our ducks, and the task of re- 

 trieving one that has been wounded, unless one is pro- 

 vided with a good dog, is not always an easy one. This 

 species is quite as much an adept at skulking and hid- 

 ing as its larger relative, and, on the whole, is very well 

 able to take care of itself. The flesh is usually very 

 delicate, yet the very reverse of this may be true in lo- 

 calities where it has had an opportunity to feed largely 

 on shell-fish. 



Black-heads seem to be equally at home in shoal 

 water and in deep ; they can dive as well as the canvas- 

 back, and yet they are quite willing to puddle about 

 through the edge of the marsh and to pick up a liveli- 

 hood in company with the fresh-water ducks. 



