62 The Water-fowl Family 



Frequenting, as they do, the deep water and rocky 

 shores, the shooting differs to a certain extent 

 from other ducking methods. Points and rocky 

 islands near their feeding-grounds are often used 

 to decoy them from. As a rule they readily stool, 

 but when much shot can become as wary as many 

 other ducks. Any dark decoys suffice for scoters ; 

 they come to the wooden ducks in rather an awk- 

 ward way, often so low down as to plunge into 

 the water before the gunner fires. On seeing the 

 mistake the birds swim off, or sometimes dive, 

 taking wing when at a safe distance. Old 

 squaws are faster, and afford better shooting. 

 The general disposition of all these ducks, to fly 

 low, is made the most of in line shooting. This 

 is employed regularly on Long Island Sound. 

 Anywhere from ten to twenty gunners anchor 

 their boats in a line at intervals of a hundred 

 yards or more across some harbor or off a far 

 point. The birds do not change their course, but 

 keep straight over the boats, coming with all 

 available speed, often bunching up as the gun 

 is raised. Under favorable circumstances the 

 shooting is thick and fast, and reminds one of a 

 bombardment, the heavy guns resounding and 

 reverberating along the shores for miles. The 

 ducks usually shot in this way are the several 

 varieties of scoters, — coots as they are called lo- 

 cally, — old squaws, and in some places eiders (the 



