THE 



conMonANT.I BY rii:Ll), WOOD, AND WATER. [tui. wild duck. 



"While at rest on shore, these birds sit, more 

 or less, in an erect posture, and are propped 

 up by the still' leathers of the tail, hi places 

 where thoy have not been diaturbeil by fire- 

 arms, thev have been known, however wary at 

 other times, to sit and receive repeated shots, 

 without olVeriug to move out of tho daiij:;er. 

 At other times and places, while thoy sit in a 

 dosing and stupefied state, from the eflects of 

 one of their customary surfeits, tliey may 

 easilv be taken, by throwing nets over them, 

 or by putting ft noose round their necks, 

 which they endeavour to avoid no further than 

 bv slipping the head from side to side as long 

 as they can. 



Whatever may be tho wild disposition of 

 these birds, we have authentic accounts that 

 certain species of tiiem were formerly tamed, 

 and rendered subservient to the purposes of 

 man, both in this and other countries. Among 

 the Chinese, they have frequently been trained 

 to fish, and fishermen have kept many of them 

 for that purpose, and by their skill have 

 gained a good livelihood. A ring placed 

 round the neck prevents the bird from swal- 

 lowing what it catches; whilst its natural 

 appetite, joined to the will of its master, in- 

 duces it instantly to dive at the word of 

 command ; but, unable to gorge the fish it 

 has taken, it returns to the keeper, who 

 secures it himself. Sometimes, if the fish be 

 large, and dllEcult to manage, two will act in 

 concert — one bird taking it by the head, and 

 the other by the tail. "Willoughby informs 

 us, that in England, when these birds are 

 brought to the rivers, their hoods are taken 

 ofi", and then a leather thong is tied round 

 the lower part of their necks, that they may 

 not swallow the fish they take. The birds 

 are then thrown into the water, when they 

 immediately dive ; and, for a time, with re- 

 markable swiftness, pursue the fish with great 

 ardour. When they have caught any, they 

 rise to the surface, and pressing them lightly 

 with their bills, swallow them, each to the 

 extent of five or six ; then the keepers call 

 them to the fist, to which they readily fly, and 

 little by little, one after the other, vomit up 

 all their finny captures, which appear some- 

 times a little bruised with the nip the bird 

 has given them with its hooked bill. When 

 the fishermen have done, they set the birds on 

 4 F 



some higli place, and then loose the string 

 from their necki*, which leavea tho passage 

 free of air to tho stomach ; and, by way of 

 encouragement, part of the prey ia given back 

 again to eacii bird. Whitlock tolls us, like- 

 wise, that ho had several cormorants manned 

 like hawks, wliich would como to hand. ILo 

 took great pleasure in them ; and relates, 

 tliat the best he had was one presented to him 

 by Mr. AVood, master of tho cormorants to 

 Charles I. 



Dr. lleysham relates, that, on a certain oc- 

 casion, one of these birds perched upon tho 

 castle at Carlisle, and soon afterwards re- 

 moved to the cathedral, where it was shot at 

 upwards of twenty times, without eflect. At 

 length, a person got upon the cathedral, fired 

 at, and killed it. In another instance, a flock 

 of fifteen or twenty perched, at the dusk of 

 evening, on a tree, on the banks of the river 

 Esk, near Netherby, the seat of the late Sir 

 James Graham. A person who saw them settle, 

 fired at random at them, in the dark, six or 

 seven times, without either killing or even 

 frightening any of them away. Surprised at 

 this, he came again at daylight, and succeeded 

 in killing one, when the rest took to flight. 



Colonel Hawker says, that cormorants may 

 be seen in the evening, pursuing a regular 

 course towards the clift", on the sea-coast, where 

 they roost, and that, in their flight, they are 

 often mistaken for Brent geese, and shot at by 

 the inexperienced. They are likewise sought 

 after by adventurous persons, who are able to 

 reach the middle of the rocky heights. In at- 

 tempting to .'shoot them in such positions, 

 much caution is requisite in secreting the 

 sportsman from observation. So keen-sighted 

 are these birds, and so jealous of any object 

 that bears even the semblance of a weapon, 

 that they immediately take the alarm at the 

 slightest appearance of an enemy, and thus 

 elude the devices of the best sportsman. 

 Shooting them is considered an excellent ex- 

 ercise for young gunners. 



THE WILD DUCK. 



Tlie Anas Bochas of Linnasus is the parent 

 of our domestic duck, and, in point of size, is 

 a little less. The wild mallard, or drake bird, 

 has a length of about twenty-three inches, and 

 a breadth of about thirty-five. It usually 



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