WHITE PELICAN— SPOONBILL, MALLARD AND WILD DUCKS. 



73 



which they can easily be distinguished from the wild Pigeon. 

 They fly with great swiftness, alight on trees, fences, or on the 

 ground indiscriminately : are exceedingly fond of buckwheat, 

 hemp-seed, and Indian corn, and feed on the berries of the holly, 

 the dogwood, and poke, huckle-berries, partridge-berries, and the 

 small acorns of the live and shrub oak. 



" The flesh of this bird is considered much superior to that of 

 the wild Pigeon; but its seeming confidence in man, the tender- 

 ness of its notes, and the innocency attached to its character, are, 

 with many, its security and protection ; with others, however, the 

 tenderness of its flesh, and the sport of shooting, overcome all 

 other considerations. The nest is very rudely constructed, gen- 

 erally in an evergreen, among the thick foliage of the vine, in an 

 . orchard, on the horizontal branches of an apple-tree, and, in some 

 cases, on the ground. It is composed of a handful of small twigs, 

 laid with little art, on which are scattered dry, fibrous roots of 

 plants ; and in this almost flat bed are deposited two eggs of a 

 snowy whiteness. The male and female unite in feeding the 

 young, and they have rarely more than two broods in the same 

 season. This species is twelve inches long, and seventeen inches 

 broad." 



PLATE LI. 



The White Pelican. {Pelicanus trachyrhynrfius.) 



This species is rarely ever met with in the Middle or New 

 England States, although west of the Mississippi, and south to 

 Central America, it is abundant. Its movements are slow, awk- 

 ward, and compressed; but its flight is easy and firm, and their 

 swimming is easy and gracefull. The male and female are col- 

 ored alike. Regarding its habits, Audubon says : 



' ' The White American Pelican never descends from on wing upon 

 its prey, as is the habit of the Brown Pelican ; and, although on many 

 occasions it fishes in the manner above described, it varies its mode 

 according to circumstances, such as a feeling of security, or the acci- 

 dental meeting with shoals of fishes in such shallows as the birds 

 can well compass. They never dive for their food, but only thrust 

 their head into the water as far as the neck can reach, and with- 

 draw it as soon as they have caught something or have missed it ; 

 for their head is seldom out of sight more than half a minute at a 

 time. When they are upon rivers, the}?- usually feed along the 

 margin of the water, though, I believe, mostly in swimming depths, 

 where they proceed with greater celerity than when on the sand. 

 While thus swimming, you see their necks extended, with their 

 upper mandible only above the water, the lower being laterally 

 extended, and ready to receive whatever fish or other food may 

 chance to come into the net-like apparatus attached to it. 



" The White Pelican appears almost inactive during the greater 

 part of the day, fishing only soon after sunrise, and again about 

 an hour before sunset; though, at times, the whole flock will 

 mount high in the air, and perform extended gyrations, in the man- 

 ner of the Hooping Crane, Wood Ibis, and Vultures. These 

 movements are probably performed for the purpose of assisting 

 their digestion, and of airing themselves in the higher and cooler 

 regions of the atmosphere. Whilst on the ground, they at times 

 spread their wings to the breeze, or to the rays of the sun ; but 

 this act is much more rarely performed by them tha'n by the Brown 

 Pelicans. When walking, they seem exceedingly awkward, and 

 like many cowardly individuals of our own species, are apt to snap 

 at objects which they appear to know perfectly to be so far superior 

 to them as to disdain taking notice of them." 



The nest is built according to circumstances — sometimes on the 

 ground, in bushes near the water, and on rocks. The eggs num- 

 ber one to three, bluish-white, with a thick, chalky crust. This 

 species is five feet long, and eight and a half feet broad. 



PLATE LII. 



The Spoonbill, or Shoveller Duck. {Spatula clypeata.) 

 Fig. i. 



This species inhabits the temperate regions of North America, 

 as well as Europe, Asia, and Australia, and only occasionally is 

 it met with in the more northern latitudes. It is to be met with, in 

 this country, throughout the continent, wintering from the middle 

 districts southward to Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, and Jamaica. 



This bird is distinguished from others of its group by its very 

 remarkable and large bill, slender at its base, very broad and 

 vaulted toward its extremities, and finely denticulated at its mar- 

 gins. The remarkable beak possessed by this bird is admirably 

 suited for the use to which it is destined, its laminated sides being 

 furnished with numerous nerves, which endow it with a delicate 

 sense of touch, enabling it at once to select such matters as are 

 fitted for sustenance — insects, mollusks, worms, Crustacea, small 

 fish, and also grass and other vegetable matter, found on the 

 muddy shores of lakes, marshes, and rivers, which are frequently 

 visited by it, although it seems to prefer inland lakes or marshes 

 to the more open seas and rivers. It possesses a powerful flight, 

 and is a most expert diver and swimmer. " The Shoveller," says 

 Audubon, "walks prettily, and I have often admired its move- 

 ments in the puddles formed by heavy dashes of rain in our 

 Southern corn-fields, where I have found it in company with the 

 Wood Duck, Mallard, and Pintail. Its flight resembles that of 

 the Blue-winged Teal, and in tenderness, as well as in flavor, its 

 flesh rivals that of that beautiful bird as an article of food. No 

 sportsman who is a judge will ever pass a Shoveller to shoot a 

 Canvas-back. It is rarely ever found on salt water, and then only 

 when compelled to resort thither. The nest, which is usually 

 placed on a tuft of herbage, in places near water, that are difficult 

 of access, is composed of fine grass, the eggs being carefully 

 covered with down from the mother's breast. The eggs usually 

 number eight, and are of a buffy-white, tinged with green. This 

 bird is nineteen inches long, and thirty inches from tip to tip of 

 wing. 



The Mallard Duck — Wild Duck. {Anas boschas.) 



Fig. 2. 



This species is the original of our common domestic Duck. It 

 is not only esteemed for the table, but is prized by the sportsman 

 for the healthy field-exercise it affords him. It is common through- 

 out the whole of North America, except New England, where it 

 is very scarce, and, it may be said, is everywhere domesticated. 



Parker Gilmore, in his interesting work, " Prairie and Forest," 

 gives an extended account of this bird. We take the liberty to 

 copy the following : 



" In my protracted rambles about the world, I know no portion 

 where the Mallard can not be found. I have always been pas- 

 sionately fond of wild-fowl shooting, and the bags that I have 

 made in the United States and Canada of this noble bird, far 

 exceeded those obtained elsewhere. As wild fowl are nearly all 

 migratory by inclination, or are compelled to be so from the 

 changes of the seasons, it is of great importance that you should 

 visit the various haunts at the proper periods of the year. How- 

 ever, the rule is, for successfully carrying on war against the web- 

 footed families, go North in summer and South in winter. In 

 June, July, and August, the wild-rice fields of the numerous laby- 

 rinths of lakes of Minnesota and the Northwest territory perfectly 

 swarm with wild fowl, while in December and January they will 

 be found equally numerous on the large bayous and lagoons that 

 surround the mouth of the Mississippi. Of course, in the inter- 

 mediate portion of country between Minnesota and the Gulf of 



