ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL. i rg 
must modify all that has been written with regard to the foods 
necessary for ducks and geese. It may, however, be roughly 
estimated, to use a homely measurement, that a Mandarin Duck, 
Bahama Pintail, or other bird of similar size, will, if fed twice a 
day, require at each meal not more than two tablespoonsful of 
grain; birds the size of a Spotted-bill, three tablespoonsful ; 
the large Australian or Variegated Shieldrake, three to four ; 
while the small varieties of geese, such as the Magellanic and 
Bernicle, will eat under half a pint of barley, and the Cereopsis, 
Canadian, and Chinese geese, a full half pint, in addition 
to grass or other vegetables. Where soft food, meal, bread, 
or scraps are given, the quantity of grain might be slightly 
diminished. 
It is highly desirable that the breeder and fancier should 
acquire all possible knowledge respecting the habits of the 
bird in its wild state, and note whether, like the Cereopsis 
goose, it grazes and is indifferent to the water; or, like the 
Bernicle, feeds upon water weeds, shell-fish, and small reptiles ; 
whether it is a diving species and seizes its food under water 
as do the Fuigule, or belongs, like the Shoveller, to the 
surface-feeding ducks. Such information, combined with 
intelligent observation and perseverance, will be the fancier’s 
best guide as regards the feeding and treatment of the 
interesting birds described in the following pages. 
