276 
THE WOOD DECK. 
On the ground the "Wood Duck runs nimbly and with more grace thai 
most other birds of its tribe. On reaching the shore of a pond or stream, 
it immediately shakes its tail sidewise, looks around, and proceeds in search 
of food. It moves on the larger branches of trees with the same apparent 
ease : and, while looking at thirty or forty of these birds perched on a single 
sycamore on the bank of a secluded bayou, I have conceived the sight as 
pleasing as any that I have ever enjoyed. They always reminded me of the 
Muscovy Duck, of which they look as if a highly finished and flattering 
miniature. They frequently prefer walking on an inclined log or the fallen 
trunk of a tree, one end of which lies in the water, while the other rests on 
the steep bank, to betaking themselves to flight at the sight of an approach- 
ing enemy. In this manner I have seen a whole flock walk from the water 
into the woods, as a steamer was approaching them in the eddies of the Ohio 
or Mississippi. They swim and dive well, when wounded and closely pur- 
sued, often stopping at the edge of the water with nothing above it but the 
bill, but at other times running to a considerable distance into the woods, or 
hiding in a cane-brake beside a log. In such places I have often found them, 
having been led to their place of concealment by my dog. When frighten- 
ed, they rise by a single spring from the water, and are as apt to make 
directly for the woods as to follow the stream. When they discover an 
enemy while under the covert of shrubs or other plants on a pond, instead 
of taking to wing, they swim off in silence among the thickest weeds, so as 
generally to elude your search, by landing and running over a narrow piece 
of ground to another pond. In autumn, a whole covey may often be seen 
standing or sitting on a floating log, pluming and cleaning themselves for 
hours. On such occasions the knowing sportsman commits great havoc 
among them, killing half a dozen or more at a shot. 
The food of the Wood Duck, or as it is called in the Western and South- 
ern States, the Summer Duck, consists of acorns, beech nuts, grapes, and 
berries of various sorts, for which they half -dive, in the manner of the 
Mallard for example, or search under the trees on the shores and in the 
woods, turning over the fallen leaves with dexterity. In the Carolinas, they 
resort under night to the rice-fields, as soon as the grain becomes milky. 
They also devour insects, snails, tadpoles, and small water lizards, swallow- 
ing at the same time a quantity of sand or gravel to aid the trituration of 
their food. 
The best season in which to procure these birds for the table is from the 
beginning of September until the first frost, their flesh being then tender, 
juicy, and in my opinion excellent. They are easily caught in figure-of-four 
traps. I know a person now residing in South Carolina, who has caught 
several hundreds in the course of a week, bringing them home in bags across 
