WILD-FOWLING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 343 



savannas by reason of their bodies being of a colour which is 

 confounded with the verdure of the plain.* The white faces 

 of the Europeans are said to frighten the birds away ; and it 

 is only the natives who can approach them successfully in this 

 manner. 



Even among the burning- plains of India, where, of all other lands 

 in the world, one would least expect to find wild-fowl, they may be 

 met with in abundance during the monsoons, when the rivers are 

 swollen and the whole country drenched with tropical rains ; but as 

 soon as the sun and heat have dried up the waters, wild-fowl are no 

 longer to be seen in that country. 



Captain Williamson speaks of large flights of water-fowl arriving 

 in Bengal soon after the monsoons. f 



As to the numbers of wild-ducks in Iceland, Sir G. S. Mackenzie, 

 in his travels through that island, speaks of the multitudes he saw 

 nestling on the ground through which he passed at Vidoe ; they were 

 so numerous that the author states, it required caution to avoid tread- 

 ing on their nests. 



During the breeding season there, a fine of thirty dollars is inflicted 

 on any person who kills a duck. 



The down, which is a valuable article of commerce, is removed at 

 two different periods from the nests, whilst the ducks are away 

 feeding. 



Another author also alludes to the immense numbers of eider- 

 ducks he saw in his travels nestling on the ground ; and in 

 such close proximity were their nests, that it required the 

 utmost care, when walking amongst them, to avoid treading upon 

 them .J 



Wild-fowl may also be found in great abundance in all the lakes 

 and rivers of Scandinavia ; consequently excellent shooting may be 

 had in those parts. Mr. Lloyd states that he has killed fifteen ducks 

 and mallard, besides other birds, in the course of a day ; all with a 



* Adaxnson's Voyage to Senegal, the Isle of Goree, and Eiver Gambia : A.D. 

 1759. Translated from the French. 



f " The flights of water-fowl that arrive in Bengal immediately as the rains sub- 

 side are astonishing. The cyruses, and all the larger kinds, may be seen during 

 the early time of the rains in immense flights, each string forming an angle, led by 

 one bird, which at times is relieved by some other. They invariably fly to the same 

 quarter." Oriental Field Sports, by Captain T. Williamson. 



J Vide " Travels through Sweden, Norway, and Finmark," by A. De Capell 

 Brooke, M.A. : A.D. 1823. 



