33 ° 
Mackay on the Oldsquaw. 
[October 
HABITS OF THE OLDSQUAW ( CLANG ULA HTE - 
MALTS) IN NEW ENGLAND. 
BY GEORGE H. MACKAY. 
This sprightly little saltwater Duck frequents the New Eng- 
land coast during, the colder half of the year, where it is well 
known under the cognomens of Oldsquaw, Oldwife, and Qiiandy. 
It is the swiftest flying as well as the noisest (in the spring) of 
all the sea fowl which tarry with us. While flying, their wings 
are moved with such short and rapid strokes that it is difficult to 
follow the movement with the eye. As a result they pass from 
one place to another in an incredibly short time, especially if flying 
with the wind ; and even when flying against it, I have found it 
necessary when shooting to make an allowance of six to eight feet 
ahead and two feet over them in order to land my charge of shot 
in a passing flock at fifty yards, which serves as an illustration of 
the rapidity of their movement under such conditions. Their 
flight is frequently uneven, being on an upward and then on a 
downward plane, and as a rule near the water, generally dodgino - 
when a shot is fired at them. 
In the spring as flocks flew past my boat, I have often been 
much interested and amused at their scolding or talking, if I may 
so designate their curious notes, o-onc-o-onc-ough-egh-ough- 
egh. In calm warm mornings in April and May I have often 
seen them playing together, rushing at each other half out and 
half under water, and so vigorously engaged as to cause the water 
to fly in every direction. When wounded, they are most difficult 
to capture and extremely tenacious of life, diving at the flash of 
a gun, skulking with body submerged and head and neck extended 
and level with the surface of the water, and displaying an endur- 
ance almost incredible. When shot at while flying, although 
unhurt, they will occasionally dive from the wing ; if wing- 
broken, they will frequently do so. An attempt to retrieve them 
under such conditions is usually unsuccessful, and if it is a male 
bird and the long tail feathers are perceived to be erected as it sits 
on the watei, prepare for a long and doubtful chase, for such birds 
will turn around while under water and swim in an opposite 
direction, and have recourse to every stratagem to escape capture. 
