DUCKS 211 



THE DIVING DUCKS. 



THE POCHARD, Fuligula ferina, whether comestibly 

 or sportingly considered, is quite one of the best of 

 the diving ducks. This duck closely resembles in 

 appearance its near relation, the celebrated Canvas- 

 back Duck of North America, but is somewhat smaller. 

 In Eastern England this duck generally goes by the name 

 of "Dunbird," and in that quarter thousands of these 

 birds were captured in specially-devised flight-ponds in 

 the old decoying days. The Dunbird, being so expert 

 in diving, could generally avoid being driven up the 

 pipe of the ordinary decoy-ponds along with Mallard, 

 Wigeon and Teal, and thus an ingenious arrangement of 

 spring-nets was planned for their capture, Nets of con- 

 siderable length, and of something like 20 ft. in breadth, 

 were affixed to long poles, the latter being suspended on 

 pivots, and so heavily weighted at their lower ends that 

 when released from a horizontal they instantly assumed 

 a perpendicular position. These nets were placed to suit 

 every direction of wind, and on the firing of a gun the 

 Dunbirds, rising against the wind as all wild-fowl do, 

 would fly into the windward net on that instant sprung 

 to receive them. The force of their impact on the net 

 was so great that the bulk of the fowl dropped straight 

 down into deep and narrow pens 3 or trenches, from 

 whence they could not rise and were quickly despatched 

 by the fowler. Sometimes so great a weight of birds 

 struck the net that the latter was overborne, heavily- 

 weighted as were the pivoted poles, and on these 

 occasions some of the duck made good their escape over 

 the top of the murderous engine. On a good take being 



