234 



DUCKS, aEESB, SWANS, AND PELICANS. 



Fig. 95 Blauk ticoler yOidemia nigra). 



never ventures on the land except wlien driven by stress of 

 weather, or for the purpose of making its nest in the marshes. It 

 flutters rather than flies over the surface of the sea, and makes no 

 use of its wings, except to escape some danger, or to transport itself 



from one point to another with 

 more rapidity. Its legs, in flying, 

 hang down, and constantly graze the 

 surface of the water; it always 

 appears as if it regretted to leave its 

 favourite element. 



When on land, these birds walk 

 slowly and ungracefully ; but in the 

 water they are never wearied. Like 

 the Petrel, they have the singular 

 faculty of being able to run about on the waves. They are 

 natives of both the Old and New World. About the month 

 of October, driven by the north and north-west winds, they 

 come down from the northerly countries of Europe, and visit our 

 Atlantic coasts and the Mediterranean. 



The Black Scoter delights in the salt-water pools adjacent to the 

 sea, and the sheltered creeks on the coast, in which they find a 

 refuge against storms. In these places they become the objects of 

 the terribly destructive sport of which we are about to speak. 



Two or three times during the winter, large placards exhibited 

 in certain towns of the department of H^rault — at Montpellier, 

 Cette, Agde, &c. — announce that large flocks of these birds (called 

 fmihjues in the country) having settled down on some adjacent 

 lake, a day's sport will be had with them on a given date. The 

 day is turned into a real fete by the sportsmen, and an extra- 

 ordinary concourse of people are brought together. Every one 

 starts in the middle of the night, some in carriages, some in carts, 

 and the most humble among them on donkeys or on foot. At 

 daybreak they reach the margin of the lake. When arrived there, 

 they embark in boats, each provided with a rower. At a given 

 signal the whole flotilla puts off from the shore, and advances 

 slowly towards that part of the lake in which the Ducks are to be 

 found. 



These unusual preparations are a cause of astonishment to the 



