366 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [11:8— Nov., 1915 



Although a person moving within good vision, cannot comb ajtiy- 

 whfere near black ducks, yet one may creep up very close to them 

 if there is considerable wind blowing, even if that wind is in the 

 ducks' favor for they are not very keen scented. On the other 

 hand, they make up for this in having very acute hearing and sight. 



Another curious fact about black ducks is that if very severe 

 weather suddenly comes upon them, they will not usually attempt 

 to fly southward to a warmer clime, but they will sit about the ice, 

 starving, as if waiting for that particular feeding ground to thaw 

 out. If there is an open spring of water for drinking, they will stay 

 in that locality for days at a time, or until half -famished, and some- 

 times they become so exhausted from lack of food that they cannot 

 fly to any great distance. If spring water is not available they will 

 take short flights until they do find some. When they migrate, 

 black ducks fly very high indeed and upon alighting at nightfall, 

 they will drop almost straight downward with a roaring of wings 

 and a great splash as they strike the water. Nature has provided 

 them with a heavy breast-covering of feathers that act as pads so 

 that such falls as these will not hurt them in the least. 



The Lapland Longspur 



Walter K. Putney 



One of the attractive birds of the middle west, in the winter, is 

 the Lapland longspur. This bird is so named because of a curious 

 nail on the hind toe, which is considerably longer than the toe 

 itself. 



Naturally the longspur is a lover of the cool climate and works 

 its way southward only as the scarcity of grain and seeds forces it 

 to do so. It is a very quiet, unassuming bird, with a peculiar 

 tinkling song which is usually given by the male as he flies from 

 knoll to knoll. He flies upward, singing a little as he rises, until a 

 height of about thirty feet is reached; then he floats down again, 

 finishing his song with a succession of rollicking notes somewhat 

 like those of the bobolink. When alarmed, the longspur utters a 

 warning cry like that of the kingfisher. 



The longspurs like company and associate with homed larks and 

 snowflakes, except in migratory flight. Then they travel in great 

 flocks, usually calling to each other and "chattering." They are 

 fond of making certain "figures" as they fly, much as the wild 



