12 



The Water-fowl Family 



sport changes. There is more satisfaction in 

 one Long Island black duck than a dozen Dakota 

 red-heads. But wherever seen there are few 

 more welcome sights to many sportsmen than a 

 flock of wild ducks. 



FROM PASSES 



This method represents, more than any other, 

 fairness and skill ; it consists in waiting for the 

 birds along the line of flight, and can be practised 

 wherever the flocks take any particular course 

 over land. The lakes and sloughs of our Western 

 states offer the greatest facilities for pass shooting, 

 although in the East in various places along the 

 coast, where narrow bars or breakwaters lie be- 

 tween the feeding-grounds and resting-places, the 

 same means may be employed. When the birds 

 are obliged to cross these points in locations 

 where there is much gunning, the danger is 

 quickly appreciated, and they soar high up in 

 approaching, making the shots long ones. In 

 places along the New England coast this shoot- 

 ing can be obtained, the ducks flying from the 

 larger bodies of water into the smaller bays and 

 up the rivers to feed, passing out again in the 

 evening, or, in the case of certain varieties, com- 

 ing on to the marshes toward dusk to feed and 

 spend the night. Occasionally the ducks are 

 well out of reach of guns of ordinary bore and can 



