ANATIN^ — THE DUCKS — EIIISMATURA. 



107 



According to the observations of Dr. Cooper, it is prf sent in all parts of California 

 (luring the winter, both on fresh and on salt water. The young are very tame, and 

 )n;iy readily be approached ; but the adult bird is more shy, and fuU-pluniaged speci- 

 mens are nut easily i)rocured. Dr. Cooper met Avith a number of these Ducks at 

 Sai.i.. Barbara, in a marshy pond, as late as the middle of May, and he thinks that 

 probably a few remain to breed within the limits of that State, though their chief 

 resort appears to be in rej^ions farther north. This conjecture has since been verified, 

 as I have in my cabinet a set of the eggs of this bird taken by Mr. William A. Cooper 

 near Santa Cruz. 



Colonel (Irayson mentions meeting witli this species at Tepic, in Western Mexico, 

 and also at Mazatlan — Avhere, however, it was rarely seen. Mr. Boardman speaks of 

 its occurrence in the vicinity of Calais as occasional, both in the spring and in the 

 fall ; but he does not think that it remains there to breed. 



It is frequently met with in Massachusetts, being much more common there in the 

 fall than in the spring, especially on ponds of fresh water ; and Mr. William Brewster 

 informs me that he has shot as many as thirteen of these Ducks in a single morning. 

 They arrive in quite large flocks of from thirty to forty, are very tame, and permit 

 a boat to be rowed close up to them ; and, as they rise very slowly from the water, 

 they may be very readily shot. 



Mr. Giraud found this species comparatively rare in the vicinity of Xew York ; it 

 is, however, qvute common on Chesapeake Bay, where it is known to hunters as the 

 Salt-water Teal. It is said to frequent the salt-ponds along the sea-coast, and to pro- 

 cure its food by diving, subsisting chiefly on marine plants. A writer in " Doughty's 

 Cabinet " calls this species the Heavy-tailed Duck, and states that it arrives on the 

 Avaters of the Ui)per Chesapeake Bay as early as the first or second week of October. 



Mr. Nelson speaks of it as being very common in Northern Illinois during its 

 migrations ; it is a summer resident in that State, and occasionally breeds there. 

 The spring migrations begin about the middle of April and continue luitil the 5th of 

 May. A few of this species return early in October ; but the main migration takes 

 place a month later than that. Mr. T. H. Douglas, of Waukegan, is cited as having 

 met with a pair of these birds, with eight or ten young, in a small lake near that 

 I)lace, and as saying that there is good reason to suppose the young had been hatrhed 

 in the vicinity. Mr. Nelson several times started females while incubating : the nests, 

 however, he was never able to find. These occurrences took place about the middle 

 of June ; and the circumstances were such as to leave no doubt that the birds were 

 actually breeding in the neighborhood. 



Mr. J. A. Allen met with this Duck in September in the valley of Great Salt Lake, 

 where it was very common. It is also more or less abundant on the waters of most 

 of the interior rivers and ponds. 



Audubon noticed it in large numbers during the winter months in Florida, some- 

 times shooting iq)wards of forty in a single morning ; and he was informed by Dr. 

 Bachman that this species had been becoming more and more abundant in South 

 Carolina; yet he had never met with an example in full summer jilumage. This 

 Duck seemed to be equally fond of salt, brackish, and fresh water. In the Southern 

 States it congregates in great flocks. Its flight is rapid, with a whirring sound, occa- 

 sioned by the concave form of the wings. It rises from the water with considerable 

 difficulty, being obliged to assist itself with its broad webbed feet, and for that pur- 

 pose to run on the surface for several yards. From the ground, however, it can 

 spring up at once. This Duck swims with ease and grace and deeply immersed. It 

 is also extremely expert at diving ; and when wounded, oftdn escapes by doing this, 



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