THE DUCK SICKNESS IN UTAH. 11 
larger ducks succumb more slowly. One or two days may elapse 
after an outbreak of the sickness before many pintails or mallards are 
found, though sick teal may have been present in abundance during 
the interval. In herons and ibises the poison may be more or less 
cumulative in its effect, as the birds seem to sicken slowly. 
Sick birds are apparently in little pain in most cases and appear 
drowsy and lethargic, though alert at the approach of danger. Unless 
death comes through drowning there is little struggle. Dead birds 
lie on the breast with the feet in position under the body. The wings 
hang loosely at the sides, and the head reposes on one side in front. 
The tail is relaxed, and the feathers about the anus usually are stained 
with green from the feces. 
AREAS WHERE SICK BIRDS ARE FOUND. 
There are three areas in Utah which have been of importance in 
connection with the duck sickness. These may be defined roughly 
as the marshes near the mouths of the Jordan, Weber, and Bear 
Rivers, all located along the eastern shore of Great Salt Lake. Re- 
ports have come of sick birds from Utah Lake, but these must refer 
to some other ailment. On the Jordan River sick birds have been 
confined almost entirely to marshes and flats immediately at the 
mouth of the river. There are no certain records known to the 
writer of sick birds from the series of channels, small lakes, and 
marshes extending to the south, and lying between Salt Lake City 
and Garfield. On the Weber River there is little true marsh growth, 
the water passing to the lake in two main channels. Sick ducks 
occur along the north channel and for about 2 \ miles inland from the 
lake front. In the Bear River region, sick birds are found on the two 
large shallow bays that receive the drainage of the river. In addition 
they occur on the Willard Spur, an arm of Bear River Bay, and in the 
shallow artificial lake, known as Chesapeake Bay, between Corinne 
and the gun clubs at Duclrville. Affected birds occur at times in the 
Flume Pond just west of Corinne, and in the Salt Creek marshes, a 
marsh area formed by saline springs in the basin northwest of Little 
Mountain. 
In all these regions the soil is strongly impregnated with saline 
matter. A large part is barely above the present lake level, and in 
no case is the land elevated more than a few feet. During the high- 
water level of 40 years ago all these areas were covered by Great Salt 
Lake itself. 
SPECIES AFFECTED. 
It was found from observation in the field that individuals of any 
species of bird that fed or drank in the shallower portions of the bays, 
whether habitually or occasionally, were liable to contract the sick- 
ness. The shallow-water, or river, ducks were, more liable to it and 
