224 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



head less pufiy, the auricular patch smaller, and is dull black. 

 Length about fourteen inches. This species sometimes comes well 

 to decoys, but is so small that it is not much shot. Those that 

 are killed are generally secured while flying over points or bars. 



HareldiLgiacialls.—l^sicti. Long-tailed Duck. Old-wife. South-southerly. Old 

 lujun (male). ' Old Squaw (female). Hound. 



An extremely graceful and beautiful duck ; one too, most diffi- 

 cult to shoot on account of its exceedingly rapid and irregular flight, 

 but for the table almost worthless. Tail of fourteen narrow 

 pointed feathers, the middle ones in the male very long, sometimes 

 equaling the wing. Male in summer with back and long narrow 

 scapulars varied with black and reddish brown ; general color 

 blackish below, from the breast white, no white on wing, sides of 

 head lead grey. In winter, the head, neck and fore parts of the 

 body are white, a dark patch on the neck below the grey cheek 

 patch, narrow scapular feathers pearl grey. Bill short, nail occu- 

 pying its whole tip. The female is a plain grey duck, white be- 

 low, and always to be recognized by the absence of white on the 

 wing, and the peculiarities of the bill. Length fifteen to twenty 

 inches, depending somewhat on the development of the tail. 



Old Squaws are shot in great numbers along the New England 

 coast, not so much for food, as because from the peculiarities of 

 their flight, they are one of the most difficult ducks to hit. Under 

 certain circumstances they come well to decoys, and are easily se- 

 cured, but they are more often shot while flying over a line. 

 Ducking in line, is a favorite amusement on some parts of our 

 coast, but it is hardly probable that the reader is familiar with it 

 and it may therefore be here described. 



A number of boats, perhaps twenty, each containing one man, 

 one or more guns, together with an anchor, thirty feet of rope and 

 a buoy, start for some pre-determined point of land near which 

 tlie birds feed. The boats range themselves off' from the shore 

 about gun shot apart, forming a cordon through which the ducks 

 are expected to fly. The anchor is attached first to the buoy and 

 this in turn is snapped to the painter. When a bird is shot down 

 the boat can in this way quickly slip the buoy, and save the time' 

 and trouble of raising the anchor. The birds at sunrise fly intc 



