14 THE BIRDS OF MONTREAL. 



shoot them at night, on their feeding-grounds among 

 the marshes, thereby rendering them still more wary, 

 and making it difficult for the sportsman to obtain 

 legitimate sport in bagging this duck. In the 

 spring of the year they are ruthlessly killed in large 

 numbers in the open water, for the markets, and 

 consequently the bulk of those which escape the 

 slaughter are driven out of the district to breed in 

 safer and more remote quarters, only a few " green- 

 horns " staying with us to breed in such quiet places 

 as they may find, and even the young of these are 

 often killed before they can fly. It appears that 

 the preservation of this gamy duck clashes with 

 political interests, so that the time will come soon 

 when the black duck will be a rara avis with us, 

 and sportsmen will have to sit up all night to get a 

 shot at one. Observed from April 12 to December. 



Subgenus " Chaulelasmus." Bonaparte. 



28. Gadwall. A. strepera. Linn. 



"Transient Visitant," rare. I have observed only 

 one specimen of this duck in our markets, and that 

 one I purchased March 30, 1893, but it was im- 

 ported with some Widgeon from "Windsor, Ont. 

 Since writing the above note on this species, I 

 came across a fine male specimen strung up with a 

 bunch of Pintails in the Bonsecours Market, April 

 7, 1896, which I purchased and presented to the 



