492 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
As an example of his style we may quote the following 
passage, which occurs at page 206 :— 
“Now, for this sort of night work, in open weather, the staple fowl one 
kills are Widgeon. It is well known that Ducks, Pochards or Dunbirds, 
Teal, &c., at flight time resort to inland ponds, rivers, streams, and lakes. 
This they will do invariably at sunset. But, when the frost is severe, and 
has lasted some time, then the Ducks, Teal, &c., are, perforce, driven to 
seek their food elsewhere; and, as the saltings alone never freeze (being 
twice a-day covered by the tide), there they all repair for their feed, and in 
such weather there they may be found with the other fowl. But, except 
under such circumstances, the vast majority of fowl killed over saltings are 
Widgeon; at times, however, Pintails and Teal remain with them. The 
whistle of the cock Widgeon is not unlike the words ‘ wee—oh!’ softly 
undulated—hence the name ‘whew’ given them by old naturalists; but, 
unless set to music, it is impossible to give an idea of its intonation. 
I had ounce a musical friend with me in a punt, purposely to get the notes 
of birds set to music, and he got them so faithfully that he afterwards 
reproduced their calls marvellously well. He wrote them down for me, but 
I have mislaid them now. The calls, of course, greatly vary with the spirit 
of gregariousness, which, in Widgeon, as in men, increases in direct ratio 
with hard times. Yes, strange as it may seem, it is so. In mild, open 
weather, the birds scatter themselves over the flats, and do not trouble 
much about each other, so much so that it is very rare that one gets a good 
shot at them then, for two reasons: (1) being all dispersed, a good rake 
caunot be had; (2) just when you are trying to make out the bulk of the 
* some outlying birds will scream an alert, and the lot are gone! 
In very hard times, on the contrary, Widgeon crowd together, call them- 
selves together, and stick together; and the harder the weather the tighter 
they close, partly for warmth’s sake and security’s sake, doubtless, and 
also because, when one has found a good place, they all want to wrest it 
from him—just like men. 
“The greediness with which such crowds feed, however, tells greatly 
against them ; for, once at it, they do not readily leave off, and the big guns 
then come into play. -If a punter is very cautious in his working, he cannot 
fail to detect Widgeon feeding, even if they do not call—which sometimes 
occurs when they are very hungry—by listening for the noise of their bills. 
Now, when the tide is ebbing, anything sounding like dripping water 
should be at once investigated, because—although it might be some puddles 
on the flats emptying themselves in a latch or a creek—it might also be 
Widgeon feeding, and the two noises, at a distance, are exactly similar. 
If, therefore, the shooter listens patiently, and the noise is produced by 
birds, he will soon hear some ‘charming’ from them, which will conclusively 
‘company, 
—<—-_~—  * 
