204 



looked discontentedly over the supper ta- 

 ble where his family were contentedly 

 nibbling at an ear of nice yellow corn. 

 ""Nothing but corn for supper," he grum- 

 hled. 



Mrs. Field Mouse resolutely kept her 

 temper and went on placidly eating. 

 "Well, have you decideded to move?" she 

 asked, pleasantly. "I have discovered a 

 barrel of broomcorn seed setting up in 

 the granary that will make a snug home 

 for the winter. No one will be likely to 

 disturb us, and on the whole I think it 

 will be a desirable change," she said. 



"It is too far away from the pile of 

 sugar cane to suit me, I fear," he said, 



curling up in the softest part of the nest, 

 and covering his nose with his paws was 

 soon snoring heavily. 



"I think this is the shock, Sam. I am 

 sure I heard a mouse squeal when I went 

 by this morning. Now, Fido !" 



There was a great rattling of stalks, a 

 sharp bark, a rush and Fido licked his 

 chops and nosed about the place where 

 Mr. Field Mouse had been contentedly 

 snoozing but a few moments before, but 

 he did not find any more dainty tidbits, 

 for Mrs. Field Mouse and her children 

 were safely skurrying away over the stub- 

 ble in the direction of the granary. 



Mary Morrison. 



THE FULVOUS TREE-DUCK. 



( nendrocyng a fulva . ) 



The Tree Ducks are natives of tropical 

 or semi-tropical countries. Two species 

 are found in the United States, the bird 

 of our illustration and the Black-belHed 

 Tree-duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis). 

 The range of the fulvous species extends 

 from the southern border of the United 

 States, and in Nevada and California, 

 southward through Mexico, and reap- 

 pears in the southern portion of Brazil 

 and in the Argentine Republic. It has 

 also been reported as a visitor to the 

 states of North Carolina and Missouri. 



Mr. Frank M. Woodruff, in speaking 

 of his experience while on a collecting 

 tour in Texas, says, *T found the Fulvous 

 Tree-Duck in small numbers resident on 

 Galveston Island, but found them abund- 

 ant and nesting in the heavy timber along 

 the Brazos river, sixty miles from Galves- 

 ton. In the early morning, as we would 

 leave our boat and make our way to our 

 blinds, on some small inland pond where 



we had prepared for collecting, we would 

 flush immense flocks of this duck, which 

 would fly over our heads at rather a low 

 altitude and continuously calling. On 

 several occasions we obtained specimens 

 by firing into a flock while it was still so 

 dark that we could scarcely define the 

 outlines of the individual birds. The Ful- 

 vous Tree-Duck generally feeds in the 

 night and usually at a place several miles 

 from the nesting site. They leave the 

 feeding grounds on the first sign of ap- 

 proaching day. During my stay of three 

 months in the Brazos river region only 

 on one or two occasions did I have an op- 

 portunity to observe this bird by the light 

 of day. In form it resembles a miniature 

 swan. It stands very high on its legs 

 and presents a wonderfully curious and 

 graceful appearance as it walks along the 

 shore feeding on shellfish and decaying 

 matter." 



