310 
FRANK FORESTER’S FIELD SPORTS. 
such a case must generally be a long one. The fowl are conti¬ 
nually coming up and disappearing again, which confuses him, 
and unless he knows the depth of the water , the only way to find 
out how long they are under, is to watch the most marked or 
detached of the flock, and then choose his devoted pair. If the 
water is very shallow , those below are sure to perceive the flurry 
made by their friends at the top, as soon as you commence 
your last run, and instantly join them in their retreat. In such 
cases it is always best to try for a distant sitting shot, from the 
nearest refuge you can safely reach, among as many as you can 
get in line. But by attempting this, there is always a risk of 
losing the chance altogether, and it should never be resorted to 
except under such circumstances, or with Dun-birds* who keep 
more close together, and thus present a better opportunity for 
a heavy sitting shot than any other divers. 
“ Of all wild-fowl, a flock of Dun-birds is the most agreea¬ 
ble to the sportsman’s eye. They are the most stupidf of all 
the diver race. I have even seen them, after having been 
driven from their feeding ground, return in the face of the 
shooter, who had only lain down without any covering or con¬ 
cealment whatever; they have begun diving again within thirty 
yards, and of course given him a capital shot. I never wish for 
assistance in manoeuvring any other kind of water-fowl, but 
these may be herded like sheep ; and, if feeding on one side of 
* The Dun-bird, or Pochard of England, is the same as our Red-head, FulU 
gula Ferina, which is with us a sea Duck, only frequenting the bays and 
estuaries of large rivers ; although, like the Canvass-back, it is found westward 
far inland, on the upper waters of the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri. 
t This agrees well with what we know of the facility with which they are 
toled, as it is called, by the most simple artifice, even the waving of a hand¬ 
kerchief, into gun-shot, on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. I do not see 
but that this hint may be found available in Bay-shooting. I know that Brant 
Geese may be driven by a man rowing, at such a distance from them as not to 
alarm them into taking wing, up to the very muzzle of a concealed sportsman’s 
gun. This is, I think, a recently discovered habit of the Brant; but is now 
regularly acted upon, on the south side of Long Island. On the first opportu¬ 
nity I will certainly try it with Red-heads. 
