THE LIVING WORLD. 
407 
the spring. It is noted as a diver, going deep into the water and swimming 
long distances under the surface, so that unless entrapped, it generally escapes 
the hunter. While moving 6 j ? 
about it keeps uttering a cry 
which has the monotony of a 
Scottish bagpipe. 
The Canvas-back Duck 
{/Ethia valisneria ) is found 
at different seasons throughout 
the United States and Central 
America, though it is best 
known through its annual visits 
to “ My Maryland,” where, like 
an epicure, it feasts upon wild 
celery. It is frequently the 
victim of the idle curiosity 
which distinguishes the present 
period, for whole flocks will 
swim within short range of the 
hunter through their interest 
in the novelty of a dog trained 
to run up and down the shore 
while ornamented with a gaily- 
colored cloth. Epicures differ TEAE DUCK (Q Uf m edula cnerca )). 
about the relative excellence of the various species of wild ducks, but it is 
certain that the admirers of the canvas-back have been most successful in attain¬ 
ing a popular verdict. The coloring above is gray 
or white, waved with slight touches of black; 
white beneath; red chestnut on the head and 
throat; blackish brown on the neck and breast 5 
and black on the rump. It goes in some locali¬ 
ties by the names white-back and sheldrake. Its 
quickness as a swimmer and diver marks it as an 
uncertain object for the sportsman. 
The Grebes ( Colymbi ) are queer looking crea¬ 
tures and suggest the idea that they represent the 
most conservative and least fully developed spe¬ 
cies of ducks. In the first place they are desti¬ 
tute of any tail, but then possibly as a com¬ 
pensation their heads are adorned with differently- 
colored and variously-shaped ruffs, crests, and 
other similar ornaments. They are unusually and 
noticeably flat-footed, and the feet are separated 
into broad lobes. They are found in both hemi¬ 
spheres throughout the temperate zone, and pass 
crested grebe. their time almost wholly in the water or under 
the water. They build nests of sea weeds and 
other vegetation, and fastening them to the grass or rushes, let them float upon the 
surface of the water. The grebes winter in salt water and summer in fresh 
