TRACKS AND TRACKING 



led the drake in the race. They were unable 

 to head for the little wind that was stirring, 

 for I was on their windward side and the 

 ocean was to leeward, so they were doubly 

 handicapped. Had the wind been blowing 

 harder, they would undoubtedly have risen 

 against it,— towards me. The case of the 

 black duck is very different. Its leisurely 

 walk, with short steps and toes turned in, is 

 easily traced in the sand to where the track 

 ends abruptly as the powerful wings take 

 the bird straight up. The final footprints are 

 not perceptibly deeper than those that pre- 

 cede, showing that it is their wings and not 

 the push of their feet on which they depend. 

 It is not often that double-crested cormo- 

 rants or shags alight on the beach, but their 

 tracks are worth recording. With their stiff 

 tail feathers they scratch the sand in places, 

 while the base of the curious foot makes a 

 deep depression in the sand, and the three 

 front toes with nails are plainly shown, as 

 well as the nail of the fourth toe, which makes 

 a mark at the side; in places there are indi- 

 cations of the web which connects all the toes. 

 In rising both feet strike out together in a 

 hop instead of a stride. 



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