AUG. WILD-FOWL. 281 



and eating the corn before it is cut. But some of 

 the wild-ducks which are killed in the bogs and 

 swamps have their crops full of the seeds of a coarse 

 grass which grows in these places, and also of some 

 of the wild-fruits, such as blackberries, etc. In- 

 deed I fancy that a wild-duck is about as omniv- 

 orous a creature as can be found, almost as much 

 so as the man who eats him : nothing which he 

 can swallow comes amiss to him, whether fish, flesh, 

 or grain. The teal, on the contrary, appears to be 

 almost wholly insectivorous : at least these birds 

 feed only in the swamps and shallow pools, never 

 taking to the fields for grain or seeds, but living 

 entirely on aquatic insects and some few small 

 plants. 



Although the widgeon breed in Sutherlandshire, 

 and perhaps in other parts of Scotland, I never saw 

 one in this part of the country during July or 

 August. I believe that this bird feeds neither on 

 grain nor insects, but on aquatic grasses; and when 

 these are not to be had, he grazes readily on the 

 grass-fields and banks near the sea. 



The great art in getting at most wild-fowl is to 

 discover their feeding-places ; for to these they 

 always resort at certain times either of the day or 

 of the tide, some kinds being more dependent than 

 others on the ebb and flow of the sea ; whilst the 



