302 CANVASS-BACK DUCK. 



well as the constant disturbance they meet with on many of their feeding 

 grounds, which induces them to distribute themselves more widely, and 

 forsake their usual haunts. 



"As early as the first and second weeks in October, the smaller Ducks, as 

 the Buffel-head, Anas Albeola; South-southerly, A. glacialis; and the 

 Ruddy or Heavy-tailed Duck, A. rubida, begin to shew themselves in the 

 upper part of the bay; and by the last of the month, the Black-head, A. 

 Marila; Widgeon or Bald-pate, A. Americana; Red-head, A. Ferina; and 

 the Goose, A. Canadensis, appear, and rapidly distribute themselves down 

 the bay. The Canvass-back, A. Valisneria, and the Swan, Cygnus Ame- 

 ricanus, rarely, unless the weather to the north has been severe, appear in 

 quantities till the middle of November. All these fowl, when first arrived, 

 are thin and tasteless, from their privation during their migration, and per- 

 haps preparatory arrangements, and require some days at least of undisturbed 

 repose to give them that peculiar flavour for which some of them are so 

 celebrated. During the low tides succeeding their arrival, the birds sit on 

 the flats far from the shores, and rarely rise to the wing unless disturbed; but 

 when the spring-tides render the water too deep for feeding, they commence 

 their career, and pass down the bay in the morning, and return in the even- 

 ing. Most of these fowl feed on the same grass, which grows abundantly 

 on the shallows in the bay and adjacent waters, and has been called duck- 

 grass, Valisneria Americana. It grows from six to eighteen inches in 

 length, and is readily pulled up by the root. Persons who have closely 

 observed these Ducks while feeding, say that the Canvass-back and Black- 

 head dive and pull the grass from the ground, and feed on the roots, and that 

 the Red-head and Bald-pate then consume the leaves. Indeed, although the 

 Bald-pate is a much smaller bird than the Canvass-back, it has been seen to 

 rob the latter, immediately on its return from under the water, of all its 

 spoil. 



"All these larger Ducks are found together when feeding, but separate 

 when on the wing. That they feed on the same grass, is evident from the 

 similarity of flavour; and those most accustomed to the article have a diffi- 

 culty in deciding on the kind of Duck from the taste. Indeed, the Bald- 

 pate is generally preferred by residents. 



"By the middle of December, particularly if the weather has been a little 

 severe, the fowl of every kind have become so fat, that I have seen Canvass- 

 backs burst open in the breast in falling on the water; and spending less time 

 in feeding, they pass up and down the bay from river to river, in their 

 morning and evening flights, giving, at certain localities, great opportunities 

 for destruction. They pursue, even in their short passages, very much the 

 order of their migratory movements, flying in a line, or baseless triangle; 



