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REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



many minutes before I could locate him in spite of the fact that he stood boldly out 

 on a dead limb in the full glare of the sunshine. After I saw him, of course I could 

 not lose him again, but though his plumage glistened and shone so fairly, he was in 

 such close harmony with surroundings that a casual observer might pass and repass 

 the tree without once seeing him, had the bird chosen to remain motionless. 



Nature's ways are wonderful, and it is marvellous how even the most elaborately 

 clad of her wild creatures will blend with their surroundings, often escaping discovery 

 by this means. If the bird discover you from his high perch as you approach you will 

 have to look sharp to see him, for he vanishes like a glimpse of something intangible, 

 unreal, and your ear must be sharp to catch even the faint treble of his whistling wings. 



Fine place for woodcock. 



The wood-duck is a shy, silent bird, altogether unlike many of our water-fowl whose 

 loquacity often betrays their whereabouts. Often the sportsman, while pushing his 

 canoe along some favorite stream, carefully whipping the pools as he advances, is 

 suddenly startled as a trio of wood-duck whish-sh up from the water just ahead as the 

 canoe with the silence of thought, almost, rounds a bend. These sylvan sanctuaries 

 are chosen retreats of these "bright-eyed woodfolk" and here one must go to find them 

 with certainty. Here they rear their little ones and a charming sight it is to see the 

 family cruising along the edge of such a stream, halting here and there to glean some 

 especially dainty morsel that offers itself. 



Life with the wood-duck is not always one long, bright dream, however. The habit 

 of basking in the sun indulged in by both male and female often gets them into 

 trouble. In their paddling about the shallows during the early spring freshets they 



