150 cassell's book of birds. 



distinguishable among its congeners by a gait which sometimes resembles that of a Goose, as also by 

 the heaviness of its flight, but more particularly by its predilection for sandbanks and sandy places 

 upon the riverside, to which, when driven away, it invariably returns. The Prince von VVied tells 

 us that at Sertong, in the province of Bahia, it is very abundant in swampy, overflooded meadows, 

 also in marshes, as well as in lakes and other open sheets of water ; it is, likewise, often to be seen 

 upon the sea-coast. As regards the latter statement, however, Schomburghk expressly says that he has 

 never met with it on the sea-coast, but that in the swamps of Savannah it is particularly numerous, 

 and with this our experience in Africa quite coincides. Of their behaviour Schomburghk gives a very 

 pleasing sketch : — "The pretty little Bisisi Ducks," says that writer, "seem to be under a ban in this 

 neighbourhood; no sooner did we see a flock of them than men jumped at once into the water 

 almost up to their necks, and began to shoot with their well-directed arrows as rapidly as possible 

 into the thickest part of the flock. If the birds flew high, so that they could see the arrows, the 

 flock immediately parted, just like a swarm of Passenger Pigeons when a Hawk swoops upon them. 

 In the confusion of their flight they broke each other's wings, and many of them fell to the ground 

 stunned and wounded. When two flocks of them met, the hubbub was still greater. I have on such 

 occasions seen as many as five or even eight of them fall to the ground together, although only one 

 of them had been hit by an arrow ; and when a flock of them, under such circumstances, came 

 within range of my gun, I have not unfrequently brought down ten or a dozen of them at one shot." 

 We learn further from Schomburghk that these Ducks are very easily tamed, and. the Indians generally 

 keep them domesticated in the neighbourhood of their dwellings. 



THE WILD DUCK. 



The Wild Duck {Anas boschas) represents a group characterised by their powerful body, short 

 neck, broad slightly-raised bill, which terminates in a decidedly-curved and nail-like tip ; their 

 moderately high feet, placed in the centre of the body, and furnished with long toes ; and their rounded 

 tail — the feathers on the upper covers of which curl upwards. The coloration of the plumage varies 

 considerably in the sexes. In the male bird the head and upper neck are green ; the fore part of 

 the breast is brown, shaded with a variety of tints ; the shoulder-feathers are greyish white ; the back 

 is a mixture of black and brown ; the upper wings are decorated with a patch of fine blue, bordered 

 with white ; the lower back and rump are blackish green, and the rest of the under side greyish 

 white, delicately lined with black ; a narrow white band divides the green throat from the reddish 

 brown breast ; the upper wing-covers are blackish green, the lower covers deep black, and the 

 quills dark grey. The eye is light brown, beak greenish yellow, and foot pale red. During the 

 autumn the male assumes a dress similar to that of the female. The latter is reddish grey, darkly 

 spotted on the head and neck ; her crown is blackish brown, and back brown, its feathers marked and 

 edged with various shades of grey, yellow, and black. The lower throat and crop are light chestnut- 

 brown, decorated with black crescent-shaped patches ; the rest of the under side is spotted with brown. 

 This fine bird is twenty-four inches long and forty inches broad ; the wing measures eleven inches 

 and the tail three and a half. The Wild Duck well deserves the epithet Communis, applied to it by 

 some writers, seeing that its range extends not only over the northern hemisphere in the vicinity 

 of the Pole, but during the winter extends southwards to the very verge of the torrid zone. In 

 the extreme north it must be regarded as a bird of passage, seeing that on the approach of winter 

 it migrates regularly towards the south, returning again northwards when the intensity of the cold 

 has abated. In more southern countries it is merely a wanderer. In October and November 

 the Wild Ducks assemble in large flocks, and commence their migrations towards more hospitable 

 climates ; most of them make their way as far as Italy, Greece, and Spain ; some even visit Northern 



