A Catalogue of Birds obtained in Navarro County, Texas. 247 



in and about the margins of the wooded districts in preference to 

 the tanks on the open prairie, upon which indeed I but rarely- 

 found them. Though passing in large flocks during the fall it is 

 strange that, as with many other species, the return journey of the 

 main body seems to lie along a different route, or at least passed 

 quite unnoticed though carefully looked for. 



Anas obscura, Gmel. Black Mallard. — Occasionally found in 

 winter, accompanying flocks of the preceding species, and frequent- 

 ing similar localities. 



Chaulelasmus streperus (Linn.) OadwalL—Dnviug the month 

 of October these ducks pass in myriads, spending the day on the 

 prairie tanks, and continuing their journey by night. At this 

 time they are. excellent eating and very fat, and are shot in large 

 numbers, meeting with a ready sale at ten cents apiece in the neigh- 

 bouring towns. These birds are almost always found associated 

 with the next species, and with them form the great majority of 

 ducks on the prairie. 



Mareca AMERICANA, (Gmel.) Baldpate. — From the middle of 

 October to that of November this was the most abundant species 

 of duck, frequenting indiscriminately the tanks on the prairie, and 

 those along the border of the woodlands, but never found on the 

 river or overflow ponds in the densely timbered districts. They 

 go in large flocks and are easily approached even on open tanks 

 by leading a horse in such a way as to screen the sportsman from 

 view. 



Spatula clypeata, (Linn.) Shoveller. — Occurs in both pas- 

 sages, but much more abundantly in the fall than in spring. In 

 the latter I used occasionally to see single birds, always adult males, 

 about prairie tanks and pools of rain-water, but they were never 

 plentiful, whereas in the former they begin to appear in small 

 flocks or perhaps family parties of from ten to fifteen individuals, 

 about the last week of September and so continue passing slowly 

 south until the end of the following month, after which they become 

 much scarcer, and indeed, with the exception of single birds, always 

 in wretched condition, do not occur at all. I shot at different times 

 several of these stragglers, and invariably found them suffering 

 from some internal disease which turned the intestines almost black, 

 and since out of the number of ducks which I shot, I observed no 

 other species to suffer from a similar complaint I do not think 



