276 BAY, SEA OR DIVING DUCKS 



It dives with the celerity of a grebe and under the water the wings 

 are held closely to its sides; when about to dive, the puffy feathers of the 

 head are tightly compressed. Alford (1920) timed the Buffle-head in 

 its dives and found that it remained under water from 15 to 23 seconds 

 usually about 20; the period between dives, when feeding, was from 4 

 to 8 seconds. It is credited with being able to dive at the flash of a gun 

 and so save itself from being shot. The Buffle-head decoys readily, drop- 

 ping in among the wooden blocks without fear or hesitation. It is one 

 of the incidental ducks that come to bag as it is riot much sought or val- 

 ued as a game bird. Though generally very fat, the flesh is often fishy 

 and unpalatable. 



The manner in which a duck hawk finished off a little Buffle-head is 

 described by Hubbard (1893), who says that the little duck was swim- 

 ming around in a slough "when one of those pirates of the air, a duck 

 hawk .... came in sight. Without hesitating an instant, he made 

 straight for my little friend and swooped at him. His long talons came 

 down with a clutch, but they closed on nothing, for the duck was under 

 the water. Undaunted the hawk hovered overhead, and as the water 

 was clear and shallow, he could follow every movement of his prey. 

 Again the duck came up; the hawk swooped to seize him, each move be- 

 ing repeated in quick succession and each dive becoming shorter and 

 shorter. It was evident that the poor little hunted creature was getting 

 desperate, for the next move he made was to come out of the water fly- 

 ing. The hawk promptly gave chase. There was some clever dodging in 

 the air, but the duck, frightened and tired, soon saw that his swift pur- 

 suer was getting the best of it, so he closed his wings tight against his 

 body and dropped like a stone into the water and plunged out of sight. 

 Now comes the beginning of the end. While he was under the water he 

 either saw the hawk hovering over him or else he became bewildered, 

 for he came again out of the water flying. Like lightning the hawk 

 struck; there was a muffled 'squawk' and the tragedy was ended." 



"On bright, warm days during the latter part of April or early in 

 May the courtship of this species may be studied with some hope of 

 success, though long and patient watching through powerful glasses may 

 be necessary. The males are quite quarrelsome at this season and fight 

 viciously among themselves for the possession of the females. The male 

 is certainly a handsome creature as he swims in and out among the 

 sombre females, his bill pointing upward, his neck extended, and his 

 beautiful head puffed out to twice its natural size and glistening in the 

 sunlight. Standing erect he struts about, as if supported by his feet 

 and tail, with his bill drawn in upon his swelling bosom, a picture of 

 pride and vanity, which is doubtless appreciated by his would-be mate. 

 Suddenly he dives beneath her and on coming up immediately deserts 

 her and flies over to another female to repeat the process. He seems 

 fickle or flirtatious in thus dividing his attentions, but perhaps they have 

 not been graciously received or he has been rebuffed. Sometimes he be- 

 comes coy and swims away until she shows interest enough to follow 



