Duck-shooting 119 



except against the wind, and after they have 

 started, the flight is usually not so graceful as that 

 of the river-duck. They feed chiefly on shellfish 

 and Crustacea, and their flesh is rank and fishy ; 

 but some, as the red-head, canvas-back and ruddy 

 duck, live on vegetable substances, and are highly 

 valued by epicures. 



Though distributed throughout the world, the 

 majority of the forty or more species in the 

 family inhabit the northern hemisphere, breeding 

 far to the north. Some species lay their eggs in 

 large colonies on retired islands on the northern 

 coasts, the males collecting in enormous flocks 

 and living on the ocean some distance from the 

 land, while the females assume all the responsi- 

 bilities of incubation and raise the young. The 

 nests are on the ground, often under bushes, 

 and consist of a few twigs, grass, and leaves, 

 mixed with the down of the parent. This down 

 in the eider is so abundant that it has become an 

 article of commerce, and on the coasts of Green- 

 land, Iceland, and Norway the breeding colonies 

 are visited regularly by the inhabitants, and the 

 nests and many of the eggs collected. An aver- 

 age nest will weigh about an ounce and a third, 

 and from Greenland and Iceland nearly six thou- 

 sand pounds of down are exported annually. 

 These birds are carefully protected, and become 

 so tame that they sometimes breed in the houses 



