228 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



parts of the fur countries, from the fiftieth parallel to their most 

 northerly limits. Audubon found it abundant in winter about New 

 Orleans, in East 1'lorida, and on the Chesapeake Bay. "Although they 

 dive much and to a great depth in our bays and estuaries, yet, when 

 in the shallow ponds of the interior, they prefer dabbling in the mud 

 along the shores, much in the manner of the Mallard. " 



This bird reaches France in little flocks of twenty to forty in the 

 month of October. It can easily be caught in nets. 



The Canvas-back Duck (Anas valisneria) of America, the most 

 delicious of waterfowl, is next deserving of notice. 



Fig. 86. -The Shoveller. 



THE SHOVELLER (Anas dypeatd}. 



The Shoveller (Fig. 86) is very common on the Seine and the 

 Marne, where it is called rouge de riviere. It is smaller than 

 the common Wild Duck, and has a very long bill, with the upper 

 mandible of a semi-cylindrical shape, dilated at its extremity, some- 

 what in the form of a small spoon. This bird is really charming in 

 the brilliancy of its plumage. Its head and neck are of a bright 

 green, and its wings are variegated with streaks of a brilliant pale 

 blue, green, white, and black. It is called "red" because its 

 plumage underneath is of a brownish-red hue. In the month of 

 February it abandons the icy regions of the north, to visit the more 

 southern lakes and rivers of France and Germany. In England it is 



