HOODED CROW WILD DUCK. 127 



littered cries of alarm. These birds are early breeders : I 

 found a hooded crow's nest with eggs nearly hatched on the 

 16th April. 



The common wild duck often builds her nest in a situation 

 from which one would suppose it would be very difficult for 

 the young, when first hatched, to make their way to the 

 water. My retriever put up a wild duck on the 16th in 

 some very high and close heather at some distance from any 

 water. I found that she had her nest in the very centre of 

 the heather and in the densest part of it. The nest was very 

 beautifully formed ; it was perfectly round, and looked like a 

 mass of the tinest down, with just sufficient coating of small 

 sticks, &c., outside to keep the down together. There were 

 thirteen eggs in it, which we took home and put under a 

 bantam hen : they were hatched in a few days, and 1 allowed 

 them' to go at liberty with their foster mother in the kitchen 

 garden, where they soon became perfectly tame. When the 

 gardener digs any part of the ground, the little fellows 

 immediately flock about his spade, so that it is difficult for 

 him to avoid hurting them, as they tumble about on the 

 newly-turned-up earth, darting at the worms which come into 

 view ; whenever they see him take his spade they run after 

 him, as if they thought that his only object in digging up the 

 ground was to find them food. One tiny fellow, who is 

 weaker than the rest, and who consequently gets pushed out 

 of the way by his stronger brethren, waits quietly to be lifted 

 up on the flat of the spade, where the gardener allows him to 

 stop out of the reach of the others, while the little glutton 

 swallows a worm nearly as big as himself. The moment the 

 spade is laid flat on the ground he knows that his turn has 

 come, and running on it, looks out for the expected worm, 

 and is quite fearless although raised on the spade several feet 

 from the ground. 



There are few wild birds or other animals which could not 

 be tamed and made useful to us if, instead of constantly 

 persecuting them, we treated them with hospitality and 

 allowed them to live in peace and plenty. All wild fowl are 

 susceptible of domestication, and there are very few kinds 

 which would not breed in a tame state. 



Most wild fowl require very little extent of water, as long 

 as they have grass fields to walk about and to feed in. No 

 more water is necessary than is sufficient for them to wash 

 and take an occasional swim in. 



