212 AMERICAN GAME. 



monly in pairs, or singly. The common note of the 

 drake ispeet, peet but when, standing sentinel, he sees 

 danger, he makes a noise not unlike the crowing of a 

 young cock, oe eek ! oe eek ! Their food consists princi- 

 pally of acorns, seeds of the wild oats, and insects." 



Mr. "Wilson states, as his opinion, that the flesh of this 

 lovely little duck is inferior in excellence to that of the 

 blue-winged teal. But therein I can by no means coin- 

 cide with him, as I consider it, in the Atlantic states, 

 inferior to no duck except the canvas-back, which is ad- 

 mitted facile princeps of all the duck tribe. The Sum- 

 mer Duck is in these districts probably the most grami- 

 nivorous and granivorous of the family, not affecting fish, 

 tadpoles, frogs or field-mice, all of which are swallowed 

 with great alacrity and rejoicing by the mallards, pin- 

 tails, and other haunters of fresh water streams and 

 lakes. 



On the great lakes of the west and north, where all 

 the duck tribe feed to fattening on the wild rice and wild 

 celery, zizania aquatica and ~balisneria Americana, no 

 one species is better than another, all being admirable ; 

 but in the course of an autumn spent on the northern 

 shores of Lake Huron and the rivers debouching into it, 

 and thence north-westward to Lake Superior, I do not 

 remember seeing any specimens of this beautiful bird, 

 though I feel sure that it cannot but exist in those waters, 

 which are in all respects so congenial to its habits. 



Another peculiarity of this species, which I have 



