202 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



upon the ice or at the w iter's edge, on the shore, the passing flocks 

 may be induced to stop. Concealment should be sought near by, 

 and if one be an adept in the art of calling, the attention of birds far 

 from the spot may be attracted to his stools. 



Mallards, when much shot at in the morning on their feeding- 

 grounds, will early desert such places and retire to pond-holes, and 

 ponds surrounded by cover, where they can sit till afternoon. The 

 hunte;, by resorting to such spots when he sees the sport on the 

 feeding-grounds becoming tame, may have excellent shooting. Let 

 him station himself close to the edge of the water, having first placed 

 his decoys near the center, if the pond be not too large. The birds 

 fly hither and thither, seemingly on the lookout for some harbor of 

 refuge. As soon as they spy some of their companions sitting in 

 safety in a spot of the kind mentioned, they wheel around and circling 

 once or twice, soon descend to join them. They also answer the 

 call of their comrades well at such times ; wherefore both the de- 

 coys and the call can be used to advantage, and long after the can- 

 nonade on the rice fields has slackened, the sportsman at the pond 

 may have first-rate shooting. Let the hunter but study their habits 

 and he will know where to look for them at every hour of the twenty- 

 four. Toward evening, stand at the passes near which the ducks 

 fly when on their way toward the feeding-grounds. Some conceal- 

 ment is needed, but the call should not be sounded. This pass- 

 shooting is practiced in the East in the pursuit of the Black Duck, 

 Mallards may easily be domesticated, and the hybrids obtained by 

 the immediate crossing of the wild bird with some of our domestic 

 varieties have proved the experiment, in some cases, to be of con- 

 siderable economic value. The cross between the Mallard an</ 

 Muscovy results in a hybrid of great size, and this cross is most ex- 

 cellent eating. They breed a''o in captivity with the Black Duck 

 {Anas obscurd), and with the Gadwall ; the result of the latter con- 

 nection gives rise to an offspring combining some of the best qualities 

 of both parents. 



In unfrequented sections Mallards feed both by day and night ; 

 when, however, they are much disturbed during the day, they feed 

 at night and just before sunrise. In extreme weather they go to 

 the sources of streams and spring-holes, where they are sometimes 

 found with the Wilson's Snipe. Late in the season th^ pour in upon 



