340 FIELD ZOOLOGY. 



plucking of it goes on as the incubation progresses; if 

 need be, the male bird contributes to the downy covering 

 of the six to ten precious eggs. In the northern countries 

 of Europe, Norway, Iceland, and Lapland, the inhabitants 

 make the down a considerable article of commerce; and 

 this is an illustration of the possible enhancement of the 

 value of a bird by the kindly treatment of it. In all 

 the countries where the eider down industry is carried 

 on, the eiders are protected by law from being hunted or 

 disturbed in any way. As a natural consequence, they 

 have grown to be almost tame, nesting in large companies 

 and occupying almost every available space; and the 

 birds will permit the approach of man with very little 

 protesting. The taking of the down from the nests is 

 always done kindly, and the bird has learned not to fear 

 greatly. 



Mr. Beebe, in his journeys through the marshes 

 round about Guadalajara, speaks of the notable difference 

 in the behavior of the myriad birds startled by the hoof- 

 beats of his horse from the lake surface to fly a short 

 distance and then return quietly to the feeding-grounds; 

 and the surprised, terror-stricken flight of a flock of 

 mallards or teal from among the decoys of some northern 

 lake. It has been said that the home-making instincts 

 are among the finer instincts which animals possess; and 

 it is to these very instincts among the wild birds that the 

 usual trap methods of the modern hunter appeal. The 

 wooden decoys placed among the reedy washes of the 

 lake, on the migratory track of these wild birds, are gaily 

 painted semblances of these birds in nuptial plumage. 

 Migrations occur at the time when life for the wild fowl is 

 at its fullest tide; and at that time, home and a nestful 

 of young are all the wild bird cares to live for. 



