294 
SHOVELLER DUCK. 
of May. There, in early spring, they resort chiefly to ponds, where they 
feed on grasses and their seeds, as well as at times a small kind of onion, tlie 
bulbs of which they pull up from the moist grounds on their margins. This 
may perhaps to some seem strange, but I have long since made up my mind 
to learn from Nature, and believe what is, rather than what philosophers 
imagine ought to be. Having fed through the night, they collect towards 
dawn into large bands, and betake themselves to the margins of sand-bars 
on the Mississippi, where they spend the greater part of the day. At other 
times I have found them swimming or wading along the muddy margins of 
ponds and streams, immersing the head and part of the neck while alternate- 
ly moving the bill to either side, in the manner of the Roseate Spoonbill, 
sifting as it were the contents of the soft mud or water, and ejecting the sub- 
stances unfit for food. Repeated inspection of the stomach has shewn me 
that the Shoveller is not more nice as to the quality of its food than the 
Mallard or any other of the Duck tribe, for I have found in it leeches, small 
fishes, large ground-worms, and snails. They never, however, I believe, feed 
by semi-immersion, like the Mallards and Teals ; nor do they dive unless 
hard pressed, or when in a sportive mood, when they will dash for a moment 
beneath the surface. 
This species is generally considered scarce in the United States, and I 
believe it is so, for, although many pass northward and breed in the Fur 
Countries, a greater number spend the summer months in Texas and the dis- 
tricts farther westward. It is however abundant on the streams of the Rocky 
Mountains, as well as on the tributaries of the Columbia river, where it was 
frequently observed by Mr. Townsend, during summer. 
We have no Ducks in the United States whose plumage is more change- 
able than that of the male of this beautiful species. While the female is 
sitting on her eggs, he undergoes a moult, after which he appears mottled, 
and seems as if inclined to assume the garb of his partner. From this pe- 
riod, the beginning of July, until late in November, very few finely-coloured 
males are to be seen, and only such as have not mated that season, in which 
case they do not moult until the beginning of winter, as if to be the sooner 
ready to associate with females on the approach of the next breeding season. 
In the Carolines, this species, though found during winter in the rice-fields, 
is not abundant ; more than three or four being seldom seen together. In 
our Central and Eastern Districts, they are rather rare, and a male in full 
dress is not to be obtained without difficulty, although I have seen some in 
the markets of New York and Philadelphia. 
The Shoveller walks prettily, and I have often admired its movements in 
e puddles formed by heavy dashes of rain in our southern corn-fields, 
here I have found it in company with the Wood Duck, the Mallard, and 
