334 The Shoveller 



ward several inches, when only the rear end of the body will remain in 

 sight, the tail pointing directly upward. While thus engaged a flock of 

 Spoonbills presents a most ludicrous appearance. 



Where suitable vegetable food is to be found, the Shoveller does 



not pass it by. In many favorite haunts there grows a little tuber known 



as the wild potato, which is about the size of an onion "set." Cut it 



open and the substance within the rind will be seen to resemble closely 



that of a potato. All river and pond Ducks are very fond of this wild 



food, and if any Shovellers are about they are pretty 



Food sure to get their share. They are usually silent 



birds while feeding, but on their breeding-grounds 



may frequently be heard talking among themselves, their one favorite 



word being took, many times repeated. 



Shovellers feed mostly at night, especially in places where they are 

 much pursued by gunners. I have often seen dozens of flocks come from 

 the marshes at sunrise and fly out to the open water, far from any place 

 where a gunner might hide. There, if the weather is fair and not too 

 windy, they will often remain until the shades of night and the pangs 

 of hunger again call them back to the tempting marshes. They do not 

 gather in enormous flocks, like some other Ducks. I have never seen 

 over forty in one company, and very often they pass by in twos and 

 threes. In hunting them, the fowler usually conceals himself in a 

 bunch of tall grass or rushes, on or near the margin of an open pond ; 

 and after anchoring, near by, twenty or thirty wooden duck-dummies 

 called decoys, sits down to wait the coming of the birds. Sometimes 

 the Ducks fly by at a distance of several hundred yards. It is then that 

 the hunter begins to lure them by means of his artificial duck-call. 

 "Quack-quack, quack-quack," comes his invitation from the rushes. The 

 passing birds, unless too intent on their journey to heed the cry, see 

 what they suppose to be a company of Mallards and other Ducks, evi- 

 dently profiting by a good feeding-place, and, turning, 

 come flying in to settle among the decoys. It is 

 just at this moment, with headway checked and 

 dangling feet, that they present an easy mark for the concealed gunner. 

 Audubon declared the flesh of the Shoveller to be as good for the 

 table as that of a Canvasback, and other writers have made similar 

 statements. While visiting the Delta Duck Club, near the mouth of the 

 Mississippi River in the autumn of 1915, I found that the members of 

 the Club did not rate the Shoveller particularly high as a game-bird ; 

 and the President of the Club told me that he usually let them go by 

 without firing at them. In other hunting regions, where I have visited 

 and talked with gunners, I found that Shovellers were regarded about 

 as highly as Teals, and were usually shot whenever an opportunity 

 offered. 



The bird's body is really not greatly larger than that of the Teal, 

 although its appearance seems to indicate a decidedly heavier bird. 



