CHAPTER VIII 
WILD-FOWL AND SEA-FOWI 
O the general reader these terms may appear 
synonymous, but to the sportsman and naturalist 
they have a very different signification. Under the 
head of “ wild-fowl ” may be placed the various species 
of wild geese, swans, and ducks, which, though often 
found at sea, evince a partiality for fresh water, rear 
their young in the neighbourhood of fresh water, and, as 
an article of food, are especially sought after by the 
amateur for sport, and by the professional gunner for profit; 
while the group of “ sea-fowl ” may be said to include 
the gulls, terns, guillemots, auks, cormorants, and various 
other birds, which, making the sea their home, rear their 
young upon its shelving beach or frowning cliffs, and, 
except on an emergency, are seldom cooked and eaten. 
Shakespeare has given us a peep at both. At one time 
we see— 
“ Strange fowl light upon neighbouring ponds.” 
Cymbeline , Act i. Sc. 4 ; 
