Birds of Massachusetts. 241 
erable numbers. In spring they return, but their 
stay is still shorter, and their flesh very uninviting ; 
in winter it is more valued, but has a fishy taste at 
best. 
The Suoveter, Anas clypeata, which is consid- 
ered one of the greatest luxuries of the table, belongs 
to the northern part of the continent, but sometimes 
visits our coast, and still more frequently our lakes 
and rivers, in the declining year. Were it not for 
the great bill, this would be a handsome bird. It 
draws in the watery mud through the teeth of its 
bill, which fit into each other, forming a sort of 
sieve, by which it throws out the water, and retains 
the worms, seeds, and insects for its food. It is 
sometimes found in the Boston market, brought 
from the ponds in the vicinity. 
The Matuarp Duck, Anas boschas, is our. com- 
mon duck in its wild state. It is common at the 
south, but not so in Massachusetts, where it is very 
rare, and beyond Portland it is not known. The 
reason is, that this duck, instead of resorting to the 
Seacoast, is partial to lakes and rivers. They are 
most abundant in the western states, where many 
of them remain, and breed. As they come from the 
great lakes, they spread themselves over those re- 
gions, resorting to meadows, swamps, and thick 
beech woods. In the wild state, they are strongly 
contrasted with the domesticated, in the spirit and 
animation of their movements; their flight is won- 
VOL. IIL.—NO. I-II. 
