The Water-fowl Family 3 



The female attends to all of the duties of nesting 

 and hatching, bringing up the brood, and leading 

 them south when an all-provident nature directs 

 the weary flight. In the different species of geese 

 and swan both birds divide the duties of nesting. 

 The migration of our water-fowl is one of the 

 wonders of instinct; gathering in flocks some- 

 times of vast proportions, under the leadership of 

 experienced pilgrims, the ranks proceed on a 

 straight, true course, probably often making no 

 stops until the permanent quarters of the fall 

 and winter have been reached. This trait is most 

 marked among the more powerful flyers, the geese 

 and swans. From the breeding-ground to the last 

 stopping-place, and all along the line where cir- 

 cumstances have permitted, this vast army has 

 been beset with destruction on all sides. The 

 Eskimo and the Indian have robbed their nests, 

 destroyed the young, and killed them when help- 

 less from their moulting. Formerly the geese 

 were slaughtered in thousands at this time, and 

 salted for winter use, actually, in some instances, 

 herded together and the entire body killed. Once 

 within the boundaries of the United States, their 

 persecution is incessant ; every device known has 

 been used against them, with results that within 

 the past few years the diminution in numbers in 

 many of the old resorts has been most apparent. 

 From the remotest north to the tropics, wherever 



