Aix sponsa. 
Concord, 
18S4. 
Oct. 11 
to 
Nov. 21 . 
(No. 3). 
Mass. 
highly exciting and I had no little difficulty in controlling 
ray nerves when, through an opening in the branches, I saw firs t 
the female and then the superb old dr ate appear directly be- 
neath me ao d begin dabbling with their bills among the float- 
ing leaves. At this moment they were not more than ten or 
twelve feet from me, and in the full sunlight, which brought 
out the gorgeous coloring of the drake to great advantage. 
When he turned his head I could see the exquisite sheen of 
his crest as distinctly as if I had held him in my hand. 
Of course it was out of the question to shoot at such 
short range so I waited motionless hoping that the birds 
would swim farther off, but when at length they did so they 
kept close along under the bank and were again lost to -sight. 
After i a little while I followed them and again the ripples 
betrayed their position but this time they saw me when I 
raised my head and at once flew. I brought down the duck 
easily enough but the dense bushes saved the life of the drake 
for the time although I fired the second barrel at him. He 
went directly down to the Holt where I found him, twenty min- 
utes later, under an overhanging maple floating in the middle 
of a raft of newly fallen leaves. So still did he sit that I 
looked at him for some time through the glass before I felt 
sure that he was not a piece of drift wood. I then made a 
