144 BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES 



No less quaint was his conduct. That he was proud 

 and self-conscious, no one seeing him could doubt ; and 

 it was just as plain from his consequential mien, that he 

 was posing before his train of plainly clad wives, who, 

 no doubt, looked upon him as the greatest " catch " of 

 the lake. Unlike most ducks, in swimming this haughty 

 major carries his head erect, and even bent backward at 

 a sharp angle ; and his short tail is cocked up and bent 

 forward, so that his glossy back forms a graceful half- 

 circle or more, and does not slope downward, as do the 

 backs of most ducks on the water. 



Of all the odd gestures, this fellow's carried off the 

 palm. He would draw his head up and back, then 

 thrust it forward a few inches, extend his blue bill in a 

 horizontal line, and at the same time emit a low, coarse 

 squawk that I could barely hear. Oddly enough, all 

 the females, staid as they were, imitated their liege 

 lord's deportment. It was their way of protesting 

 against my ill-bred intrusion into their demesne. 



Presently a second male came out into the open space, 

 accompanied by a retinue of wives, and then a third 

 emerged, similarly attended. With this there was a 

 challenging among the rivals that was interesting to 

 witness ; they fairly strutted about on the water, now 

 advancing, now retreating, and occasionally almost, but 

 never quite, closing in combat. Sometimes one would 

 pursue another for a rod or more, in a swift rush that 



