THE SUMMER DUCK. 213 
repeatedly noticed, when it has not been disturbed by 
any sudden noise or the pursuit of dogs, is thus neatly 
touched upon by Mr. J. P. Giraud, Jr., the enthusiastic 
and accomplished ornithologist of Long Island, whose 
unpretending little volume should be the text book of 
every sportsman in the land who has a taste for any 
thing beyond mere wanton slaughter. 
“Often when following those beautiful and rapid 
streams that greatly embellish our country, in pursuit of 
the angler’s beau ideal of sport, have I met with this 
gayly-attired duck. Asif proud of its unrivalled beauty, 
it would slowly rise and perform a circuit in the air, 
seemingly to give the admiring beholder an. opportunity 
of witnessing the gem of its tribe.” : 
The Summer Duck is very easily domesticated, if the 
eggs be taken from the nest and hatched under a hen, 
and the young birds become perfectly tame, coming up 
to the house or the barn-yard to be fed, with even more 
regularity than the common domestic duck; nay, even 
the old birds, if taken by the net and wing-tipped, will 
soon become gentle and lose their natural shyness. 
In the summer of 1843 I had the pleasure of seeing a 
large flock of these lovely wild fowl perfectly gentle, 
answering the call of their owner by their peculiar mur- 
mur of pleasure, and coming, as fast as they could swim. 
or run, to be fed by his hand. 
This was at the beautiful place of the Hon. Mahlon 
Dickinson, formerly a member of General Jackson’s cabi- 
