OLD-SQUAW 285 



a bunch at one shot. I have seen them, when shot at, dive out of the 

 air into the water, swim for a long distance under water, and then come 

 out of the crest of a wave flying at full speed, as if they had never broken 

 their flight. They can rise readily off the surface of even smooth water 

 and when alighting on it often drop in abruptly with an awkward 

 splash. If there is a strong wind blowing they are more inclined to circle 

 into the wind, glide down gently against it on set wings and alight with 

 a sliding splash .... the Old-squaw swims low in the water, but makes 

 rapid progress even in rough water; it rides easily over the ordinary 

 waves, but dives under the crest of a breaker with good judgment and 

 precision" (Bent, 1925). 



"These ducks have a habit of 'towering,' both in the spring and in 

 the autumn, usually in the afternoon, collecting in mild weather in 

 large flocks, if undisturbed, and going up in circles so high as to be 

 scarcely discernible, often coming down with a rush and great velocity, a 

 portion of the flock scattering and coming down in a zigzag course simi- 

 lar to the scoters when whistled down. The noise of their wings can be 

 heard for a great distance under such conditions" (MacKay, 1892). In 

 one such instance a flock of several hundred birds was observed to go up 

 in this manner twice within an hour. 



The Old-squaw is probably the most expert diver among the ducks; 

 not only is it so quick at submerging that it disappears at the flash of 

 the gun, but it reaches depths that would be unbelievable were they not 

 properly accredited. There are many well-substantiated records, extend- 

 ing over a long period of time, of these ducks being caught by the hun- 

 dreds in the gill nets of the fishermen of the Great Lakes. These nets are 

 set at depths of 50 to 180 feet and are often over 8,000 feet in length. 

 Regional Director Jansen, of the Biological Survey, quotes one commer- 

 cial fisherman as stating that more than 1,500 of these birds were caught 

 in a single haul in December, 1934. Eaton (1910) states that at Dun- 

 kirk, N. Y., between five and six thousand have been taken at a single 

 haul. The ducks so caught are usually turned over to fertilizer com- 

 panies where they are ground up for utilization in the manufactured 

 product. In 1917 Dr. W. E. Saunders, investigating the reports of the 

 large numbers of ducks taken in this manner, found at one fertilizer 

 factory 12 tons of these ducks, estimated at 1,500 birds to the ton, or 

 about 18,000 individuals. 



The Old-squaw has no regular eclipse moult, as have most other 

 ducks; instead it has two distinct moults, a prenuptial moult during 

 April and May, which produces the plumage that is worn during the 

 breeding season, and a postnuptial moult during August and September, 

 resulting in the winter plumage in which the bird is usually seen. The 

 Old-squaw and the Ruddy Duck are the only North American ducks that 

 have these distinct and different plumages for winter and summer. 

 (Some ornithologists claim that the plumage worn by the Old-squaw 

 during the winter is really the nuptial or courting plumage, and the 

 plumage worn during the summer is really the eclipse plumage, which is 



