THE O. & O. SEMI-ANNUAL. 19 
EXPERIENCE WITH A SICK DUCK. 
BY CLAUDE CORNELLE. 
On Jan. 14, 1890, I shot a male Merganser, on the Oswego 
river, about two miles above Phoenix, N. Y. His peculiar actions 
during the time I observed him before shooting led me to make a 
thorough dissection after skinning, and to give it to the readers of 
pie O. & O. 
As I was pushing my canoe up the river against the heavy cur- 
rent, around a point known as ‘‘Flatrock,” I saw, about twenty 
rods above me, a large duck, working around in the shallow water 
near shore. He moved heavily as though badly wounded, and 
seemed anxious to get his body behind a small stump. It was 
impossible to land where I was, on account of the current and 
high bank. To effect a landing, I was obliged to paddle up with- 
in fifteen rods of the duck before I could get ashore. 
On reaching shore I took my rifle and worked my way to with- 
in about twelve rods; the duck meanwhile endeavoring to get on 
the opposite side of a stump too small to entirely conceal his body. 
I saw by his actions that there was something wrong, and sent a 
bullet through the only part of the body visible to me. No gun- 
shot wounds were found on skinning but the one made by myself. 
After properly disposing of the skin, I went to work on the 
body. Nothing was found throughout the body to give me a clue 
to the actions of the bird until the windpipe was reached. About 
two inches from the mouth it was slightly enlarged; the same 
again about four inches down ; but by far the greatest enlargement 
was at the junction of the bronchial tubes. At that point was a 
large, shell-like structure, (almost fully hardened to bone) which 
filled completely the cavity between the neck, or back-bone and 
the two arms of the wish-bone. In length this structure was 1.50 
inches ; from front to back, 1.15 inches ; from right to left, 1. 75 
inches ; at the left a large protuberance, but none on the opposite 
side. In general appearance it very much resembled a wedge 
with rounded edges. The surrounding muscles, also the inner 
surface of the enlar gement had a sreenish, slightly rotten appear- 
ance on dissection twenty hours after death, weather cool. Tis- 
sues of the abdomen showed no signs of putrefaction at the same 
time. 
