274 THE WILD FOWL. 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE WILD FOWL. 



AMERICAN SWAN ; CYGNITS AMERICANTJS CANADA GOOSE ; ANSER 



CANADENSIS THE -WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE; ANSER ALBIFRONS 



THE "VNTIOOPING CRANE; GRUS AMERICANA THE MALLARD; 



ANAS BOSCHAS — LE CANARD SAUTAGE — THE AMERICAN WIDGEON ; 



ANAS AMERICANA — THE BLUE- WINGED TEAL ; ANAS DISCORS 



THE GREEN- WINGED TEAL ; ANAS CRECCA, OR CAROLINENSIS — 



THE WOOD, OR SLTklMER DUCK ; ANAS SP0NS4. PINTAIL DUCK ; 



ANAS ACUTA THE SHOVELLER ; ANAS CLYPEATA — THE BLACK OR 



DUSKY DUCK ; ANAS OBSCURA. 



A S soon as the winter commences in the North, the 

 -^-^ wild fowl begin their southward migration. The 

 first to arrive are the blue-winged teal ; next come 

 the snipe and woodcock; then the green- winged teal 

 and the varieties of the duck tribe; after these the 

 geese, followed lastly, by the magnificent wild swans. 



The bays on the Grulf of Mexico often swarm with 

 them, and I remember being once on a steamboat which 

 plied between Gralveston and Houston, and which ran 

 aground in the night at the head of Galveston Bay. In 

 the morning, upon going on deck, we were all astonished 

 to see vast numbers of swans around us, and, as 

 far as as we could roughly guess their numbers, we 



