ANATIISLE — THE DUCKS — ANAS. 
501 
It has not been taken on the Pacific coast, so far as I am aware, nor is it known 
west of the Mississippi Valley. A single specimen is reported by Blakiston as hav- 
ing been taken near York Factory, on Hudson’s Bay. That the species occurs in 
Labrador and breeds there, is attested by a set of eggs in my cabinet collected there 
by a correspondent of Mr. Moschaler, of Herrnhut, Saxony. 
It is very abundant in Nova Scotia, especially in the vicinity of Halifax, where 
it has been successfully reared in confinement, and domesticated by Mr. Andrew 
Downes. Mr. Boardman informs me that it is very numerous in the summer near 
Calais, breeding there in great abundance. It is more or less common in all parts of 
New England, and is present in Massa- 
chusetts all the year. The birds found 
in winter are said to be of a smaller and 
different race from the summer visitants ; 
but I can find no evidence of the correct- 
ness of this statement. In severe winter 
weather they are driven to the open sea, 
and their numbers are then greatly re- 
duced. This bird is known to our hunters 
only as the “ Black Duck.” 
According to Giraud, it is only partially 
migratory on Long Island, but is more 
abundant in winter than in summer. In 
the latter season it is rarely seen, as it 
keeps concealed in the tall grass, which 
grows luxuriantly in the places it selects 
for its abode. As it subsists on roots and 
small shellfish, so abundant on the salt- 
marshes during the season of reproduc- 
tion, it has no occasion to leave its secluded 
retreats in quest of food, either for itself 
or its young. In the selection of its sum- 
mer residence it so carefully avoids places 
visited by man, that its nest is seldom 
met with. A friend of Mr. Giraud is stated to have found on the 19th of May, on 
the south side of the island, two nests, both made of very coarse materials. One 
contained seven, the other nine eggs, all of a dull white color. They were placed 
under a hen, and eleven of the sixteen were hatched. Their foster-mother could not 
restrain them from their prolonged visits to the creek, and it became necessary to 
confine them in a pen. There they were very uneasy, and refused to eat any kind of 
grain, but eagerly devoured clams and all kinds of shellfish. When seven weeks old 
they were given to another gentleman, who succeeded in domesticating them. In 
their wild state, however, this species is not infrequently “baited” with corn and 
other kinds of grain. 
Mr. Giraud states that the most successful mode of procuring this species on Long 
Island is what is there known as “ dusking.” This is practised on moonlight evenings 
by lying concealed in places it is in the habit of frequenting. Perfect silence must 
be observed, as the slightest noise will frighten it away. By this method of hunting 
large numbers are frequently killed. Two celebrated hunters residing at South Oyster 
Bay informed Mr. Giraud that while dusking one evening they killed ninety-nine 
birds, and would have killed more, but for the want of ammunition. 
