290 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
where as in the dense forests of the Northwest, where it 
is safe from all foes except boys and birds of prey, for it 
is rarely pursued by sportsmen. I have come upon its 
nests in old trees, or in those in which woodpeckers had 
bored deep holes, and every time I saw one I enjoyed a 
keen sense of delight, for it was pleasant to note how 
earnestly the matrons watched my approach, and with 
what tenacity they held to their quarters. I frequently 
approached them to within a few feet before the they be- 
came alarmed enough to take to flight, and then they 
darted rapidly through the trees, uttering their peculiar 
whistling note, which differs radically from that of any 
of their congeners. The young are taken to the water in 
her bill by the mother, soon after they are hatched, and 
while they are swimming about she pays them the most 
devoted attention, and keeps them at her side by steady 
ealling, whenever they manifest an inclination to pursue 
alluring flies too far. She bastens to cover at the least 
alarm, for, though she and her brood can dive very well, 
they never resort to this means of escape unless wounded, 
and even then they are more liable to seek shelter in 
weeds and bushes than in the water. When the ducklings 
are three or four months old they accompany the adults 
in their flights to distant fields in search of food, and 
mingle with the other teals. They are not so gregarious 
as their congeners, however, hence it is rare to see them 
in large flocks. They do not decoy readily to stools or to 
calling, and this, combined with their rather solitary 
habits, prevents persons from pursuing them as they do 
other ducks, although their flesh is tender and juicy. 
They are shot principally for the sake of their feathers, 
these being in active demand for making artificial flies 
for trout, grayling, and salmon fishing. Wood ducks are 
undoubtedly the most beautiful members of their family 
indigenous to the northern half of the Continent, for they 
can scarcely be excelled in rich and harmonious hues by 
