236 DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS, AND PELICANS. 



diving and remaining under it for many minutes with nothing 

 but the bill above the surface. When danger approaches, the 

 mother utters a peculiar cry, and the young ones immediately 

 conceal themselves. In a ditch full of water, Mr. McGillivray 

 once came upon a whole brood of half-grown ducklings which 

 disappeared in a moment ; and although he searched everywhere 

 for them, he did not succeed in finding a single one. "When the 

 Duck perceives the great Black-backed Gull, the ruthless enemy 

 of her race, she beats the water with her wings as if to attract 

 the attention of the aggressor. On his approach she darts at 

 him with so much vigour that she compels him to retire, shame- 

 fully beaten. 



Audubon relates a remarkable instance of maternal affection in 

 this bird. The American naturalist had found in the woods a 

 female of this species at the head of her young brood. As he 

 approached, he noticed that her feathers became erect, and that 

 she hissed with a threatening gesture, after the manner of Geese. 

 In the meantime, the ducklings made off in all directions. His 

 Dog, which was perfectly trained, brought the little creatures to 

 him, one by one, without doing them the least injury. But in all 

 his proceedings he was watched by the mother, who kept passing 

 and repassing in front of him, as if to distract his attention. 

 When the ducklings were all safe in the game-bag, in which they 

 struggled and cried out, the mother came with a sad and troubled 

 air, and placed herself close to the sportsman, as if unable to sup- 

 press her despair. Audubon, seeing her grovelling almost under 

 his feet, was filled with pity, and restored her little family before 

 leaving the spot. " When I turned round to watch her," adds 

 the naturalist, " I really fancied I could detect an expression of 

 gratitude in her eyes ; and I experienced at that moment one of 

 the most vivid sensations of pleasure I have ever enjoyed." 



Whilst the mother is devoting herself to the education of her 

 brood, the father pays but little attention to his progeny. Jaded 

 and thin, he lives a solitary and quiescent life, more sad and wild 

 than ever. He has, in fact, to submit to a most sudden course 

 of moulting. The female also loses her plumage after the young 

 ones are hatched. They neither of them regain their more briUiant 

 dress until the end of autumn. 



