4 CANVASS-BACK DUCK. 
struction, from the greater number of persons who now make a busi- 
ness or pleasure of this sport, as well as the constant disturbance they | 
meet with on many of their feeding grounds, which induces them to 
distribute themselves more widely, and forsake their usual haunts. 
*“« As early as the first and second weeks in October, the smaller 
ducks, as the Buffel-head, Anas Albeola ; South-southerly, A. glacialis ; 
and the Ruddy or Heavy-tailed Duck, A. rubidus, begin to shew them- 
selves in the upper part of the hay; and by the last of the month, the 
Black-head, A. Marila; Widgeon or Bald-pate, A. Americana; Red- 
head, A. Ferina; and the Goose, A. Canadensis, appear, and rapidly 
distribute themselves down the bay. The Canvass-back, A. Valisneria, 
and the Swan, Cygnus Americanus, rarely, unless the weather to the. 
north has been severe, appear in quantities till the middle of Novem- 
ber, All these fowl, when first arrived, are thin and tasteless, from 
their privation during their migration, and perhaps preparatory ar- 
rangements, and require some days at least of undisturbed repose, to 
give them that peculiar flavour for which some of them are so cele- 
brated. During the low tides succeeding their arrival, the birds sit on 
the flats far from the shores, and rarely rise to the wing unless dis- 
turbed ; but when the spring-tides render the water too deep for feed- 
ing, they commence their career, and pass down the bay in the morn- 
ing, and return in the evening. Most of these fowl feed on the same 
grass, which grows abundantly on the shallows in the bay and adjacent 
waters, and has been called duck-grass, Valisnerta Americana. It grows 
from six to eighteen inches in length, and is readily pulled up by the 
root. Persons who have closely observed these ducks while feeding, 
say that the Canvass-back and Black-head dive and pull the grass from 
the ground, and feed on the’roots, and that the Red-head and Bald- 
pate then consume the leaves. Indeed, although the Bald-pate is a 
much smaller bird than the Canvass-back, it has been seen to rob the 
latter, immediately on its return from ander the water, of all its spoil. 
‘* All these larger ducks are found together when feeding, but se- 
parate when on the wing. That they feed on the same grass, is evi- 
dent from the similarity of flavour ; and those most accustomed to the 
article have a difficulty in deciding on the kind of duck from the taste. 
Indeed, the Bald-pate is generally preferred by residents. 
** By the middle of December, particularly if the weather has been 
a little severe, the fowl of every kind have become so fat, that I have 
