215 



CHAP. XX. 



THE WILD duck: ITS HABITS. — DECOY FOR "WILD DUCK. — TRICKS 

 OF DECOY MEN. — TEAL. — WIDGEON. — RUFFS AND REEVES. — 

 LAPWING. — WHEATEARS. 



" Tell me, fello^v-creatures, vi-hj 

 At my presence that you fly ? 

 Why disturb your social joys, 

 Parent, filial, kindred ties ? 

 Common friend to you and me, 

 Natiire's gifts to all are free : 

 Peaceful keep your dimpling ware, 

 Busy feed or wanton lave ; 

 Or beneath the shelt'ring rock. 

 Bide the surging billows' shock." 



BiKNS to the Wild Buck. 



It is not necessary to give a description of the wild 

 duck, as the bird is so well known. There is little 

 diflference between the wild and tame duck, and to 

 ascertain the old from the young a feather should 

 be plucked from the wing, and if bloody, they are 

 young birds, but those of the old are at the extremities 

 hard. The neck of the wild duck is slenderer than that 

 of the tame one, the foot smaller, and the nails of a 

 darker colour, and the web of the foot finer. The wild 

 duck is not so large as the tame. Its usual weight is 

 about two pounds and a half, but some have been taken 

 in decoys, where they were well fed, that weighed three 

 pounds and a half, ^yild ducks frequent the marshes 



