The Baldpate 



prisingly light in character for the size of the bird, and serves, thus, to 

 confirm the bird's position next to the Teals upon our list. Although 

 quite impossible to describe, the note is easily imitated by one who has 

 heard it a few times, and its mastery forms a useful addition to the 

 repertoire of the wild-fowl hunter. The only other "natural" note they 

 utter is a low, short chattering, somewhat resembling that of the Pintail, 

 but greatly reduced in volume. Their quacks, or squawks, of alarm also 

 express the limit of terror, but they are still pathetically inadequate in 

 comparison with those, say, of a hen Mallard. 



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Taken at Rlkhorn, Monterey County Photo by the Author 



AMERICAN WIGEON, RISING SHARPLY 



According to Mr. Bowles: "Widgeons are prime favorites with 

 every sportsman, largely because they are so willing to come in and visit 

 a few well-placed decoys. So sociable is the bird's disposition that a lone 

 Baldpate will often return to the decoys after several shots have been 

 fired at him. Their bump of curiosity is also unquestionably developed 

 to an abnormal extent, for I have crawled to within a couple of hundred 

 yards of a flock and lured them up to within ten yards of me simply by 

 lighting a pipe and puffing a cloud of smoke into the air at short intervals." 



Widgeons are surface-feeding ducks, and obtain their food by 

 dabbling and tipping either in pursuit of floating seeds or sluggish insects, 



I7(>3 



