268 TTSE OF THE BOG IN SHOOTING. 



The female has the bill black and orange ; the iris and feet as in 

 the male; the upper pans generally pale brown, spotted -with 

 dusky brown; the head striped or narrowly streaked ; the wings 

 and beauty spots nearly as in the male; the under parts dull 

 olive, spotted with brown ; length, 22 inches ; weight, Lbout 2i 

 lbs. Mallards breed mostly in the far north and begin to come 

 south in August, staying for a month or more in the Northwestern 

 States and Canada, where vast numbers are sometimes taken. On 

 one occasion l,o65 ducks were killed in 17 days' shooting by one 

 man, with a single barrel, muzzle-loading gun. The rivers and 

 lakes of the Northwestern States furnish unlimited sport in the 

 spring when the birds are on the way to their breeding places, and 

 in the fall when they are returning south. During the winter the 

 open overflowed timber lands of the Southern and Southwestern 

 States are fairly alive with these birds. A great number of them 

 are sb'^t at this season in the large corn fields of the more southern 

 of the Western States, where they stay to feed upon the scattered 

 corn. While shooting ducks in the com fields, the sportsman will 

 pick up occasionally a few quail or prahie chickens, and should 

 be accompanied by a good dog. 



The Blue- Winged 7<saA— This is a small, but richly flavored bird, 

 considered to be inferior to none except the canvas-back and the 

 red-head. They are the first to move southward in the fall, and 

 are 'ound in vast numbei-s in suitable grounds in the western 

 coulitr>^ where they find acceptable food, such as wild rice, oats, 

 and pond weeds. They congregate about small, muddy streams, 

 where pond lilies and wild rice abound, and also in shallow sloughs. 

 Gravelly streams or ponds are rarely frequented by them. This 

 bird weighs less than one pound, and is about 16 inches in length. 

 The head of the male is black on the upper part, with a half-moon 

 shaped patch of white in front of each eye ; the neck is purplish 

 blue ; the back brownish black, with green gloss ; the lower parts 

 pale reddish orange ; the breast purplish red, and spotted with 

 black. The wings are marked with rich lustroua blue. The 

 female's head is pale buff, striped with dark lines. The upper parts 

 are dark brown, the lower parts are dusky brown and grey. 



