THE WILD DUCK. 



165 



a name by which it is even now known, although there 

 is nothing to prove that it was not the long- tailed duck 

 to which he applied the name. From a gastronomic 

 point of view both Folkhard and Payne-Gallwey give the 

 pintail a foremost place, and the latter says they are 

 always looked upon by wild-fowl shooters as a great 

 prize. 



ANAS BOSCAS, Linnaeus. 

 THE WILD DUCK!. 



This species, although never found in the large flocks 

 so characteristic of the wigeon, is very numerous as a 

 winter visitant, and forms the staple of the decoyman's 

 return. In the early autumn the home-bred birds resort 

 to the larger waters of the Broads or inland lakes, soon, 

 however, to move on south, their places being taken by 

 " foreign " fowl, which arrive from the north, and in 

 their turn continue their southern course, should the 

 weather prove severe. On the lake at Holkham, Mr. 

 Alexander Napier tells me, the home-bred mallards put 

 in an appearance early in August, being the first fowl 

 which arrive ; the main body of the foreign-bred mallards 

 do not arrive till the beginning of December, sometimes 

 even later, but their movements, like those of the 

 wigeon, are greatly governed by the weather. 



It is seldom the wild duck is distressed for food, and 

 even when frozen out, the supply of acorns, which are 

 almost always to be had, even in snowy weather, proves 

 a great attraction. 



A large number of wild ducks nest every year in 

 Norfolk, generally dispersed over the county, and, 

 although the greater number are produced in the Broad 

 district, there is scarcely a stream or piece of water of 

 any extent which does not form a nursery for a brood or 

 two at some time. Our sluggish rivers, meandering 

 through a flat country, and in many places flanked by 

 clamp woods and cars, are a source of great attraction to 

 these birds, but many nest on the dry, open heaths, at a 

 distance of a couple of miles from any water, under the 

 shelter of a whin bush or a clump of brakes, whence the 

 old birds lead their young ones to the nearest water. 



