The Shoveller 57 



potato, which is about the size of an onion "set." Cut it open and the substance 

 within the rind will be seen closely to resemble that of a potato. All river and 

 pond Ducks are very fond of this wild food, and if any Shovellers are 

 about they are pretty sure to get their share. They are usually silent birds 

 while feeding, but on their breeding-grounds may frequently be heard talking 

 among themselves, their one favorite word being "took," many times repeated. 



Shovellers feed mostly at night, especially in places where they are much 

 pursued by gunners. I have often seen dozens of flocks come from the marshes 

 at sunrise and fly out to the open water, far from any place where a gunner 

 might hide. There, if the weather is fair and not too windy, they will often 

 remain until the shades of night and the pangs of hunger again call them back 

 to the tempting marshes. They do not gather in enormous flocks, like some 

 other Ducks. I have never seen over forty in one company, and very often 

 they pass by in twos and threes. In hunting them the fowler usually con- 

 ceals himself in a bunch of tall grass or rushes, on or near the margin of an 

 open pond; and, after anchoring, near by, twenty or thirty wooden duck- 

 dummies called decoys, sits down to wait the coming of the birds. Sometimes 

 the Ducks fly by at a distance of several hundred yards. It is then that the 

 hunter begins to lure them by means of his artificial Duck-call. "Quack-quack, 

 quack-quack," comes his invitation from the rushes. The passing birds, 

 unless too intent on their journey to heed the cry, see what they suppose to be 

 a company of Mallards and other Ducks evidently profiting by a good feed- 

 ing-place, and, turning, come flying in to settle among the decoys. It is just 

 at this moment, with headway checked and dangling feet, that they present 

 an easy mark for the concealed gunner. 



Audubon declared the flesh of the Shoveller to be as good for the table as 

 that of a Canvasback, and other writers have made similar statements. While 

 visiting the Delta Duck Club, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, recently, 

 I found that the members of the Club did not rate the Shoveller particularly 

 high as a game-bird; in fact, Mr. Dymond, the President of the Club, told me 

 that he usually let them go by without firing at them. In other hunting regions, 

 where I have visited and talked with gunners, I found that Shovellers were 

 regarded about as highly as Teals, and were usually shot whenever an oppor- 

 tunity offered. 



The bird's body is really not greatly larger than that of the Teal, although 

 its appearance seems to indicate a decidedly heavier bird. For some unknown 

 reason Shovellers seem never to get fat hke other Ducks, and perhaps this is 

 one reason why some hunters do not care much for them. They are very swift 

 flyers, and sometimes travel, doubtless, at the rate of from sixty to eighty 

 miles an hour. 



The summer home of the Shoveller tribe is in the vast expanse of territory 

 between Minnesota and Alaska, although some pairs breed as far south as 

 Texas; but they are rarely found nesting in the eastern United States. 



