THE SUMMER DUCK. 213 



repeatedly noticed, when it has not been disturbed by 

 any sudden noise or the pursuit of dogs, is thus neatly 

 touched upon by Mr. J. P. Giraud, Jr., the enthusiastic 

 and accomplished ornithologist of Long Island, whose 

 unpretending little volume should be the text book of 

 every sportsman in the land who has a taste for any 

 thing beyond mere wanton slaughter. 



" Often when following those beautiful and rapid 

 streams that greatly embellish our country, in pursuit of 

 the angler's beau ideal of sport, have I met with this 

 gayly-attired duck. As if proud of its unrivalled beauty, 

 it would slowly rise and perform a circuit in the air, 

 seemingly to give the admiring beholder an opportunity 

 of witnessing the gem of its tribe." 



The Summer Duck is very easily domesticated, if the 

 eggs be taken from the nest and hatched under a hen, 

 and the young birds become perfectly tame, coming up 

 to the house or the barn-yard to be fed, with even more 

 regularity than the common domestic duck ; nay, even 

 the old birds, if taken by the net and wing-tipped, will 

 soon become gentle and lose their natural shyness. 



In the summer of 1843 I had the pleasure of seeing a 

 large flock of these lovely wild fowl perfectly gentle, 

 answering the call of their owner by their peculiar mur- 

 mur of pleasure, and coining, as fast as they could swim 

 or run, to be fed by his hand. 



This was at the beautiful place of the Hon. Mahlon 

 Dickinson, formerly a member of General Jackson's cabi- 



