NATURAL HISTORY. 



567 



duck, black duck, two sj)ecles of 

 divers, and blue-winged teal. 



1. The duckinniallard, or com- 

 mon large duck, resembles the 

 domestic duck, are very abun- 

 dant, and found in csery part of 

 the river below the mountains : 

 they remain here uU winter, but 

 during this sea^^on do not continue 

 much above title-water. 



2. The canvass-back duck is a 

 most bea\itiful fowl, and most de- 

 licious to the palate : it is found 

 in considerable niuiibers in this 

 neighbourhood. It is of the same 

 species %vith those of the Dela- 

 ware, Susquehannah, and Poto- 

 mack, wheie it is called the can- 

 vass-back duck ; and in James' 

 rivei' it is known by the name of 

 the shelled drake. From this last- 

 mentioned river it is said, how- 

 ever, that they l>ave almost totally 

 disappeared. To the epicure of 

 those parts of the United States, 

 where this game is in plenty, no- 

 thing need be said in praise of its 

 exquisite flavour, and those on 

 the batiks of the Columbia are 

 equally delicious. We saw no- 

 thing of them \intil after we liad 

 reached the marshy islands. 



3 . The red-headed lishing duel; 

 is conmion to every part of the 

 river, and was likewise found in 

 the Rocky mormtains, and was 

 the only duclc discovered in the 

 Waters of the Co!iiml)ia within 

 those uioimtains. 'Ihey Iced 

 ciiietly on ci'aw-fish, and are the 

 same in every respect as those on 

 the rivers and the mountains bor- 

 dering on the .Atlantic ocean. 



4. The black ;ind while duck 

 is small, and a size larger than 

 the teal, 'i'he male is beautifully 

 variegated with black mid white : 

 the white occujiies the side of the 

 head, breast, and hack, the tail, 



feathers of the" wings, and two 

 tufts of feathers which cover the 

 u])per part of the wings, when 

 folded, and likewise the neck and 

 head : the female is darker. This 

 is believed to be the same species 

 of duck conmion to the Atlantic 

 coast, and called the butter- bo.\ : 

 the beak is wide and short, and, 

 as well as the legs, of a dark co- 

 lour, and the flesh extremely well 

 flavoured. In form it resembles 

 the duckinmallarrl, although not 

 more than half the size of that 

 bird. It generally resorts to the 

 gTassy marshes, and feeds on grass 

 seeds, as well as roots. 



5. The black duck is about the 

 size of the blue-winged teal ; the 

 colour of a dusky black ; the 

 breast and belly somewhat lighter, 

 and of a dusky brown : the legs 

 st;ind longitudinally with the 

 body, and the birrl, when on 

 shore, stands very erect : the legs 

 and feet are of a dark brown : it 

 has four toes on each foot, and a 

 short one at the heel : the long 

 toes are in front, unconnected 

 by the web : the webs are at- 

 tached to each side of the several 

 joints of the toe, and di\ided by 

 several sinews at each joint, the 

 web assuming in the intermediate 

 ])art an elliptical form : the beak 

 is about two inches long, straight, 

 fluted on the sides, and tapering 

 to a sharp point : the upper chaj) 

 is the longest, and bears on its 

 base, at its junction with the 

 head, a little conic protuberance 

 of a cartilaginous substance, be- 

 ina: of a ivddish brown at the 

 jioint : the l)eak is of an ivory 

 colour : the eye dark. These 

 ducks u'^ually a-sociate in large 

 Hocks, are very noisy^ and have a 

 sharp shrill whistle : they are fat, 

 and ngi ccaidy HavoiuTd ; feed' 



nrin- 



