Vol. XXn Recent Literature. 89 



intelligently conducted a journal. In this article is related a tale of two 

 female Eider Ducks seen in a freshwater pond, "acting queerlj'," dipping 

 their heads under water, etc., where the water was too deep for them to 

 be feeding. As darkness came on speedily the mystery of this curious 

 behavior could not be solved. A few weeks later, however, another bird 

 of this species, an old drake, was seen in the same pond acting in the 

 same queer way, and in this case the bird was shot, and found to have 

 been caught by the tongue by a large saltwater mussel. Counsel was 

 sought of an old fisherman, who had witnessed similar beha\ ior by salt- 

 water ducks on a few occasions, but he had no explanation of it to offer. 

 On being shown the mussel taken from the drake's tongue, he said : 

 "Mussels of that kind won't live in fresh water." Then both Mr. Long 

 and the fisherman had an inspiration. The ducks caught by the tongue 

 by mussels repaired to freshwater ponds to kill the mussels by drowning 

 them ! On this single case was built at once a theory to explain why 

 saltwater ducks visit freshwater ponds and thrust their heads under water 

 in such a queer way. "I have," he adds, "seen three diffei-ent eiders 

 practice this bit of surgei^y myself, and have heard of at least a dozen 

 more, all of the same species, that were seen in fresh water ponds or 

 rivers dipping their heads under water repeatedly." But in only one 

 case, according to his own showing, did he know that the bird had a 

 mussel on its tongue. The assumption is made that the case is proved, 

 and the questions are raised as to how a bird found out "that certain 

 mussels will drown in fresh-water," and "how do the other birds know it 

 now when the need arises unexpectedly"; but, strange to say, they are 

 left without an answer, — a golden opportunity neglected. Mr. Long 

 does not claim to know, even, "whether all the ducks have this wisdom, 

 or whether it is confined to a few rare birds." 



The way in which a Woodcock proceeded to mend a broken leg is 

 detailed with great minuteness. As witnessed by Mr. Long, the bird 

 applied a bandage of clay and fibers of grass and rootlets with his bill to 

 the wounded member, and after it had hardened enough to suit him flut- 

 tered away and disappeared in the thick wooiis. This bit of clever sur- 

 gery was seen from "across a little stream," "too far away for me [him] 

 to be absolutely sure of what all his motions meant." But \\\&\\, some years 

 after-ward., Mr. Long, after examining hundreds of woodcock in the mar- 

 kets, at last "found one whose leg had at one time been broken by a sliot 

 and then had perfectly healed. There were plain signs of dried mud at 

 the break ; but that was also true of the other leg near the foot, which 

 only indicated that the bird had been feeding in a soft place." The final 

 proof came still later, through a lawyer friend of his who once upon a 

 time had shot a woodcock which had a lump of clay on its leg, on the 

 removal of which the leg was found to have been broken. The lawyer 

 did not see the woodcock apply the clay, as did Mr. Long in his first case, 

 nor was it suggested that the oozing fluids from the wound might cause 

 the clay or earth to adhere and harden in a perfectly natural way. So, 



