SHOVELER, OR SPOONBILL. 145 



CHAPTER XII. 



SHOVELER, OK SPOONBILL. 



THE Shoveler or Spoonbill duck is a frequenter of 

 almost all Western waters. They are a queer-looking 

 bird, and once seen will not be readily forgotten. Their 

 bill is a peculiar one, being like some streams, both 

 broad and deep, and appears like an abnormal develop- 

 ment added to their otherwise pretty shape. That 

 nature has aided them with a bill different in its forma- 

 tion from any other is apparent, but the wherefore is 

 beyond my comprehension. Possibly, the sins of their 

 parents have been visited upon them, and those we 

 have among us are of the third, may be of the fourth 

 generation, and they are compelled to suffer by reason 

 of the sins committed by their ancestors. If so, Nature 

 has certainly prepared them to shovel their way through, 

 for she has given them a bill spoon-shaped, with which 

 they can dig, shovel or scoop as they desire. I remem- 

 ber the first one I saw. It was a female. After it was 

 shot, the dog retrieved it. I thought it was a young 

 mallard, and casting an astonished look at it, my tender 

 heart softened and I wondered how this young mallard 

 had flattened out her bill ; but my experienced com- 

 panion soon set me right, when he told me it was a 

 shoveler ; that the bird was worthy and deserving of 

 the name was unquestionable. Its great bill proclaimed 



it with silent eloquence. This then, was the plebeian of 



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