LESSEE SCAUP DUCK 163 



the hunter to approach within gunshot. On San Francisco Bay Blue- 

 bills are often seen feeding about the moles and wharves where they 

 obtain a fair living by diving for mussels which are attached to the 

 piles. On Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park, and on Lake Merritt, Oak- 

 land, Blue-bills become very tame and one can often approach to 

 within a few feet of them. "When flying over the larger bodies of 

 water they usually move close to the surface. On San Pablo Bay 

 Scaups and Canvasbaeks are commonly observed associating together 

 on their feeding grounds in February and March. 



The food of the Lesser Scaup, like that of its larger cousin, is 

 made up almost entirely of shellfish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and 

 pondweeds, obtained by diving. Blue-bills can stay under water for 

 some time and often remain above the surface for a few seconds only, 

 before diving again for some other delectable morsel which they 

 have previously sighted. Bight stomachs of this duck, from birds 

 taken by W. Toms on Tia Juana Slough, near San Diego, contained 

 quantities of the seeds of ditch-grass (Ruppia maritima) ; two of 

 these stomachs also held parts of moUusk shells, and one contained 

 over two hundred small water bugs ( Notonectidae ) . 



The shellfish diet obtained along the coast often makes this duck 

 undesirable for food. One man has described a scaup as tasting after 

 a few weeks of shellfish diet like a pint of crude oil! When feeding 

 on the lakes of the interior where fresh -water food is available it is 

 said to make a more acceptable addition to the bill of fare. 



■In spite of its inferiority this is a common duck on the market, 

 where it is sold as "small duck." The average wholesale price on 

 the markets of San Francisco during the season 1911-1912 was $1.00 

 to $2.00 per dozen. Because of its numbers it affords more sport than 

 any other bay duck. It comes readily to decoys and is shot in great 

 numbers from blinds built in the shoal Waters of the bays along the 

 coast. "When taking flight the flock immediately scatters so that ' ' pot- 

 shots" are difficult. 



A diminution in the numbers of this less-sought-f or duck has not 

 been particularly noted on the west coast as has been the case on the 

 east coast. Nevertheless hunters with years of experience say that 

 the numbers now appearing in California do not compare with the 

 thousands which flocked to our shores formerly. 



There is no better example of the results to be expected from pro- 

 tection than is afforded by a visit to Lake Merritt, Oakland, where 

 ducks, including great numbers of Blue-bills, congregate by the thou- 

 sands even though the lake is situated near the heart of a great city. 

 The species is also found in some numbers on Stow Lake, Golden Gate 

 Park, San Francisco, showing that by protection and the use of a 

 few pinioned ducks a small reservoir can be made to teem with water- 

 fowl even though it be in the midst of civilization. 



