CHAPTER XVIII. 



WILD DUCKS. 



As the sportsman traverses moor and fen in quest of this wary game, 

 or crosses the inland lakes during some week-end trip, he frequently 

 sees birds belonging to the great family of Anatidae, which, though he 

 recognises for something he can certainly include under the heading of 

 duck, yet fails to further identify; nor does he know anything of 

 their habits, except that annually they pass to and from the great breed- 

 ing grounds somewhere in the far north'. 



The object, then, of these few remarks, is to assist local sportsmen 

 in the identification of some of the many peculiar looking ducks that 

 will doubtless fall to their guns this season. Often a very rare bird goes 

 to swell some fowler's bag, with only a passing comment; whereas an 

 intelligent recognition of the numerous species met with adds greatly 

 to the interest and enjoyment of a day's sport. 



First amongst Asiatic and European ducks is the common wild duck 

 or mallard (Anas boscas). This handsome bird heads the list not merely 

 because of its superiority from a gastronomic point of view, but because 

 it is par excellence a sporting bird. It is more numerous than any of 

 the other species (except perhaps the common teal), and whether 

 stalking, flight shooting, or the use of decoys be resorted to, it offers 

 the best sport. There is no need to describe the appearance of this 

 familiar bird. It is the ancestor of nearly all our domestic breeds, 

 which fact, alone testifies to the superiority of its flavour. 



Breeding in the far north, it often winters in the milder parts of 

 the northern provinces of China, and may be found in enormous numbers 

 in Honan, and South-central Shensi. Especially is it numerous in the 

 Wei Valley and along the Yellow Kiver in these two provinces. Here 

 record bags may be made from November to February, without resort- 

 ing to any of the many methods usually employed by fowlers. One has 

 but to walk over the rice fields or along the streams, debouching from 

 the mountains, and take the ducks as they rise. Several birds may be 

 brought down with each shot, so thickly 3o they crowd upon the narrow 

 water-ways. 



