° 1910 J Bailey, Wild Life of an Alkaline Lake. 421 



and one company of long-necked Pintails, and two of Shovellers 

 were noted. If a flock suspected our blind it would circle around 

 and around overhead to inspect us. But as we made no sign, con- 

 tent for the time to watch through our field glasses, the lake 

 gradually filled, becoming a busy place. Big Mallards or quiet 

 and gently talkative flocks of little Teal would swim into the 

 flooded weedy bottom to feed on its rich store of seeds, while 

 other ducks splashed down in the middle of the lake to swim 

 around in the open and feed on seeds of pigweed and smartweed 

 under the surface. 



In feeding the ducks would tip over on their bills leaving only 

 their tails visible above the water. Three tails that we saw 

 sticking up in a row above the water suggested a generalization 

 on the directive value of the strikingly marked under tail coverts 

 of ducks, for they might well serve as flags for the members of the 

 fleet, and point to good feeding grounds. In the adult male 

 Mallard black tail coverts and white tail quills were made more 

 spectacular by the bright red feet that also stood in air. 



To vary the monotony of swimming and standing on their bills, 

 the birds with appetites appeased would preen their feathers or 

 rise and stretch their necks and flap their wings. Two female 

 Gadwalls out in the weeds with nothing better to do came to 

 blows, twisting each other around by the bill in genuine pugil- 

 istic fashion. Once a big flock of Teal came rushing noisily out 

 of the weeds followed shortly by a Marsh Hawk. Crows cawing 

 over the lake were enough to raise a disturbance. But though 

 the vast throngs were easily unsettled, if nothing came of it they 

 circled around and settled back again. Sometimes they discrimi- 

 nated nicely, for when a Golden Eagle beat slowly down the 

 lakes, though a few ducks went splashing away, most of them paid 

 little or no attention to him and he went on quietly, lighting unob- 

 trusively on a stub to be attacked by an abusive, undiscriminating 

 Magpie. 



Our blind was a success in enabling us to get a good general 

 idea of the life on the lakes but too conspicuous for the birds to 

 come within range in broad daylight — it was evident that we 

 must enter it before sunrise and shoot at dawn. So although loath 

 to disturb the happy water-fowl gathered on their feeding ground 



