2T4 DUCK SHOOTING. 



One of the commonest of the winter sea-ducks is the 

 velvet duck, more often called the white- winged coot. 

 It is found on both coasts and also on the Great Lakes 

 and some of the inland rivers in winter. It comes 

 down to the New England coast late in September and 

 spends the winter there in company with the other 

 coots and the eider ducks. It is exceedingly abundant 

 and is shot by the various methods described in the 

 chapter on sea shooting. While migrating, or while 

 taking long flights, it flies high above the water, often 

 out of gunshot, but from such heights I have sometimes 

 seen it brought down, either by the expedient of shoot- 

 ing or shouting at it, or sometimes I have seen a gun- 

 ner scale his hat high into the air, when the whole flock 

 would dart 20 or 30 or 40 yards directly downward to- 

 ward the water and then continue their flight. Usually 

 the birds, when flying from their roosting to their feed- 

 ing grounds, pass but a few feet above the water, mov- 

 ing along with a strong, steady flight. 



The white-winged coot feeds almost exclusively on 

 small shell-fish, which it brings up from the bottom, 

 and the flesh is very far from palatable. The gunner 

 on the New England coast who kills them, usually par- 

 boils them for a time, and then bakes them, the result 

 being a dish that is eatable, but is thought by many to 

 lack character. 



The velvet ducks breed in Labrador and to the north- 

 ward as far as the Barren Grounds. The nest, often 

 made among underbrush or low woods, is a hollow in 

 the moss, lined with down, and contains seven or eight 



