286 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
not so much vitality as some of their congeners, hence 
they do not require such heavy shot, No. 5 being suffi- 
ciently large for shooting them. 
The American widgeon, or bald-pate (Mareca ameri- 
cana), is not only abundant, but an excellent table bird. 
It may be readily recognized by its bald, or whitish head, 
its grayish neck, brownish-red breast, white under parts, 
and light brownish-red and brownish-black upper parts. 
It weighs less than two pounds; decoys promptly to mal- 
lard stools, and answers the mallard call. Having small 
vital power, and the habit of clustering together when 
flying, several may be killed with one volley. 
The shoveller, or spoonbill, (Spatula clypeata), seldom 
congregates in such large flocks as the preceding species. 
It is fond of the society of the mallards, and decoys to the 
stools and calls of the latter. When teams are in flight 
they keep close together; hence it is an easy matter to 
bag a large number with both barrels, for a slight blow 
is sufficient to kill one. When rising from the water in 
a state of alarm, they bound directly upward for a dis- 
tance of several feet before fleeing. They are not very 
wary, and being poor divers, they try to escape by hiding 
in weeds, rather than by getting under water, as others 
do. They may be readily recognized by the form of the 
bill, which is twice. as wide at the tip as at the base. 
They have reddish feet; a grayish-black bill, tinged with 
yellow; the head and the upper part of the neck are of a 
deep-green hue, with purplish reflections; the forebreast 
is white; the bill, a purplish-chestnut; the wing coverts 
are blue; the lower tail-coverts are greenish-black, with 
green and blue reflections; the axillaries and lower wing- 
coverts are white; and the tail is composed of fourteen 
acute feathers, the two in the middle being a little longer 
than those next to them. ‘The male has a length of. 
about twenty-one inches, and often weighs over a pound 
and a half. The female, which closely resembles the 
