SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 209 



white striped, bill twice as wide at the end as at the base, feet red. 

 The female in general aspect resembles the female Mallard but 

 may be known by its size and by the shape of the bill. The 

 Spoonbills are rather rare in New England, although we have 

 taken them in Connecticut. They are, however, abundant in the 

 Middle and Southern States, and are also found in large numbers 

 on the prairies of Illinois and Missouri, associated with the Mallard, 

 and generally throughout the west. 



They fly thickly together, and are easily killed when hit. Like 

 the rest of the shoal-water ducks, they are averse to diving and seek 

 safety when wounded in concealment above the water. They are 

 never difficult to approach, and stool well. 



Aix sponsa.—^o\&. Wood Duck. Summer Duck. 



Crested, head iridescent green and purple, with parallel curved 

 white superciliary and postocular stripes, and a broad forked white 

 throat patch, upper parts dark reddish-brown with bronze and 

 purplish reflections, breast and abdomen greyish white, sides of 

 neck and its lower part reddish purple, each feather with a white 

 tip, feet dull orange, bill bright red at bdse, yellowish on the sides, 

 and black above. 



This beautiful and familiar bird is seen in all the fresh waters 

 of North America, but is rarely met with on the coast, although 

 occasionally taken. They are much more plenty in some sections 

 than others. They are rather exclusive in habits, not mingling 

 freely with others of the duck tribe, but found frequently feeding on 

 the same ground with the teal. They are peculiar in regard to their 

 mode of nesting, being the only members of the AnatincE that do 

 not build on the ground. They select as a domicile a hollow tree, 

 perhaps an old woodpecker's hole or some natural excavation, and 

 there hatch out their young, who soon after birth, are carried in the 

 bill of the parent to the nearest water. It seems marvelous at 

 times to see the old birds enter or emerge from an aperture 

 apparently scarce large enough to admit a bird of half their size. 

 Their resplendent plumage glinting in the sunlight as they dart 

 to and fro through the forest aisles, is indeed a lovely sight. It 

 seems a pity at times to murder the innocents, but, looking at it 

 from an jesthetic point, their flesh is really a bonne bouche. 



