brotherhood] THE CANVASBACK DUCK 365 



Migration and Feeding 



Broods of the young birds collect into a vast army when the 

 coming of the Arctic night tells them it is time to be on wing in 

 search of a milder clime. With a roar of wings the feathered host 

 rises into the air with a few old experienced birds to captain it. 

 Little do they know what their leaders could tell them about the 

 tricks of man. So, ignorant of what is before them, they proceed 

 on their southern flight. Thus we see them in the United States 

 during their fall migration, flying swiftly, one hundred miles an 

 hour, in a straight line and maintaining a V-shaped formation. 



The canvasbacks belong to the group of ducks known as divers 

 because of their method of procuring food. They dive to the bot- 

 tom of the water using their wings to propel them as in flying, 

 and their feet as a rudder to steer them. Their chief diet consists 

 of the roots of the wild celery. It is when the duck has been feed- 

 ing on this plant that its flesh is so very delicious. In fact, when 

 the canvasback has been feeding on mollusks, insects, pond weed 

 and the like its flesh is no better eating than that of the mallard 

 or the redhead. It has been proven also that domestic ducks or 

 mallards fed on wild celery will deceive almost any epicure into 

 believing he is feasting upon canvasback. 



The Future 



In the realm of sport the canvasback is an admirable game bird 

 because being fearless, it is easy to decoy. Its ability to take to 

 wing and to attain full flight quickly furnishes no end of thrills 

 for the gunner. Fundamentally a game bird by habit and its 

 inherent characteristics, the canvasback will always be hunted. 

 And with so many sportsmen hunting it, its numbers will decrease, 

 the sole survivors will be driven ultimately to seeking- out the 

 remote regions for nesting and migrating in an endeavor to propa- 

 gate and preserve the species. The seemingly inevitable can be 

 avoided only by careful observance of our present game laws. 



'Saw a duck in the river; different kind from the last." 



— Thoreau's Journal. 



