298 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. 



diately direct his glass to the very margin of the loch, to see if 

 anything is moving there ; should he find it so, he may conclude 

 that it is a flock of either Ducks,* Widgeon,t or Teal ; those 

 first perceived resting on the shore, and the others feeding at 

 the water's edge, of course not nearly so conspicuous.! If there 

 is no motion at the margin of the loch, he must keep his glass 

 fixed, and narrowly watch for some time, when, if what arrest- 

 ed his attention he wild-fowl asleep, they will, in all prohahility, 

 betray themselves by raising a head or flapping a wing. 



'' He must now take one or two large marks, that he Avill be 

 sure to know again ; and also another, about two or three hun- 

 dred yards, immediately above, farther inland. Having done 

 this, let him take a very wide circle and come round upon his 

 inland mark. He must now walk as if treading upon glass : 

 the least rustle of a bough, or crack of a piece of rotten wood 

 under his feet, may spoil all, especially if the weather be calm. 

 Having got to about one hundred yards from where he suppo- 

 ses the birds to be, he will tell his retriever to lie down ; the 

 dog, if well trained, will at once do so, and never move. His 

 master will then crawl fin-ward, until he gets the advantage of a 

 busli or tuft of reeds, and then raise his head by inches to look 

 through it for his other marks. Having seen them, he has got 

 an idea where the birds are, and will, with the utmost caution, 



* When the word " Duck" is used in Engflish works without qualification, the 

 Mallard and Duck known, in this country generally, as the " Green-head," are 

 intended. 



tThe English Widgeon differs essentially from the American bird, but like 

 it, is rather a shore bird than an inland fowl, though it is often shot up the 

 country. 



t " Duck-shooting on rivers and streams is generally unsatisfactory, tliere are 

 80 many turnings and windings v.hich prevent you from seeing the fowl until 

 they are close at hand, also so many tiny bays and creeks, where they conceal 

 themselves beyond the possibility of detection, until the whirr of their wings and 

 the croak of the Mallard betray their hiding-place. Unless the river be large 

 and broad, even the most expert wild-fowl shooter must expect few lieavy 

 sitting shots, and content himself with the greater number being distant flying 



