24:0 AMERICAN GAME. 



of tilling his boat with these delicious ducks within a few 

 hours' shooting. Both of these species are rather tame 

 than otherwise, the blue-winged bird more particularly 

 which has a habit, on the lower waters of the Delaware 

 especially, of congregating on the mud in vast flocks, 

 sunning themselves in the serene and golden light of a 

 September noon, so careless and easy of approach, that 

 the gunner is frequently enabled to paddle his skiff 

 within a few yards of them, and to rake them with close 

 discharges of his heavy batteries. At times, when the 

 tide is out, and the birds are assembled on the flats out 

 of gunshot from the water's edge, the thorough-going 

 sportsman, reckless of wet feet or muddy breeches, will 

 run his skiff ashore, several hundred yards above or 

 below the flock, and getting cautiously overboard, will 

 push it before him over the smooth, slippery mud-flats, 

 keeping himself carefully concealed under its- stern until 

 within gunshot, which he can sometimes reduce to so 

 little as fifteen or twenty yards, by this murderous and 

 stealthy method. The Green- Winged Teal is much less 

 apt to congregate, especially on shore, than the other, 

 and consequently affords less sport to the boat-shooter, 

 keeping for the most part afloat in little companies, or 

 trips, as they are technically called, very much on the 

 alert, and springing rapidly on the wing when disturbed. 

 They, and the Blue-Wings also, fly very rapidly, dodging 

 occasionally on the wing, not unlike to a wild, sharp- 

 flying "Woodcock, and when they alight, darting down- 



