THE SHOVELER 309 
powerful, swift and well sustained. As to its 
qualities as a table bird it is among the best. 
With us it is a very uncommon visitor, par- 
ticularly in the northern New England States, 
like many another of the duck tribe, thinking 
but little of our territory. The most of them 
choose the western and southern parts of our 
country for their homes. Have known of a 
small flock being killed in the limits of the city 
of Portland, Me., in the salt water, another on 
one of the outer chain of islands on our coast, 
and to these must be added the specimens from 
which our drawing was made, shot on the Fal- 
mouth shore near Portland, in the waters of 
Casco Bay, and which are now in my collection; 
apparently this is the total for a period of ten 
years. In the beauty of their plumage, bril- 
lianey and perfection of their coloring these 
last two are the equals of any specimens which 
I have seen in any collection. I do not think 
it will average one Shoveler a year that is 
taken in this locality, otherwise a good duck 
country. , 
The Shovelers breed throughout their range, 
—in the New World from the central United 
States over the prairies to the Saskatchewan, 
