F 0 H* K S I' A N D S T H K A M 
713 
MALLARD IN SUMMER DRESS. 
Bradford, Mass., Oct. 28. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I am sending by mail the pressed wing of a 
wild duck about which I would like your opin¬ 
ion as to the species to which it belongs and to 
see if my identification of it has been correct. 
The history of the bird’s taking was this: 
\\ hile out gunning some winter yellowleg 
snipe on the morning of October 2 at my point 
on the marshes near Newburyport, Mass., a flock 
of what I took to be seven black duck swung in 
toward the blind but turned when at long range 
and sought to pass out by the ctiannel. Though 
loaded with No. 8 shot I took a chance with the 
left barrel on the nearest bird and had the good 
fortune to kill it dead in the air. Upon picking 
up the bird I noted it was marked differently in 
some respects from any black duck we have ever 
taken before. 
In general appearance it might well be taken 
by a casual observer for a dusky duck but the 
breast was mottled and speckled in a manner not 
found in black duck and beside possessed a well 
defined chestnut tint. The general color of the 
bird’s plumage was of a tone a shade or two 
lighter than usually obtains in black duck. In 
those two excellent volumes devoted to wild¬ 
fowl and sport Grinnell’s “American Duck Shoot¬ 
ing” and “Game Birds, Wildfowl and Shore- 
birds,” by Forbush, it is stated, a positive means 
of identification is possible between the female 
mallard and black duck from the fact that the 
speculum or wing patch of the mallard is bor¬ 
dered both before and behind with a white bar 
which is entirely lacking on the wing of its more 
dusky congener. That being so your correspond¬ 
ent is of the opinion the specimen sent was taken 
from a female mallard since, as you will note, 
the distinguishing bars are plainly apparent. Are 
we right? 
Massachusetts has never been famed as a 
state for mallard shooting and the taking of one 
is always looked upon as quite an event, as their 
place is taken almost exclusively with us by the 
black duck. In the volume above referred to by 
Forbush a Mr. B. T. Mosley, of Newburyport, 
an accomplished and accurate observer, is quoted 
as saying that mallards have remained about the 
same there for the last ten or fifteen years, ten 
or twelve birds being killed every year, so it 
looks as though we had gotten in on the dozen 
for this season at any rate, rare as they are. 
The weight of this bird was 2^ lbs. and in 
table qualities quite the superior of any black 
duck we have ever eaten. 
Our covers are well supplied with English 
pheasants here in E=sex County this season and 
gunners who know this bird and his haunts are 
having no trouble in securing the hag limit as 
prescribed by law. Ruffed grouse a little scarcer 
than last year. Woodcock scattering; have killed 
but one bird, all we have seen so far. 
Charles B. Morss. 
[Without seeing the specimen it is, of course, 
impossible positively to answer our correspond¬ 
ent’s question, yet we have no doubt whatever 
as to the bird sent. It was, in our judgment, a 
male mallard which still retained the post-nup¬ 
tial plumage assumed by that species in summer. 
It is very well known that many ducks—among 
them the male blue-winged and cinnamon teals, 
the gadwall, widgeon, pintail and scaup assume 
during the summer a plumage quite unlike that 
of the autumn, winter and spring, and some¬ 
what similar to that of the female of the spe¬ 
cies. Comparatively few sportsmen know of 
this, because at the time the birds wear this plu¬ 
mage they are not shot and do not come under 
observation. The matter is discussed at some 
length in Grinnell’s “American Duck Shooting,” 
pp. 81-84, but it goes back to the early part of 
the last century, where notes on it are found in 
Montague’s Ornithological Dictionary. Ridge¬ 
way’s Manual of North American Birds gives 
some of these plumages, and in 1899 Dr. Witmer 
Stone, in the Proceedings of the Academy of 
Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, has discussed 
the subject. 
We are disposed to conjecture that Mr. Morss 
killed one of a flock of mallards, and that the 
one killed still wore the plumage referred to.— 
Editor.] 
WOODCRAFT INDIAN MOON TITLES. 
Greenwich, Conn., Nov. 12, 1915. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In a recent number one of your correspond¬ 
ents referred to October as the Hunting Moon. 
It may be of interest to know the names that 
have been adopted by the boys of my Woodcraft 
Indians, following the best available names of 
the Red Indians. They are as follows: 
January (Snow Moon), February (Hunger 
Moon), March (Crow Moon), April (Grass 
Moon), May (Planting Moon), June (Rose 
Moon), July (Thunder Moon), August (Red 
Moon), September (Hunting Moon), • October 
(Leaf Falling Moon), November (Mad Moon), 
December (Long Night Moon). 
Ernest Thompson Seton. 
RANGE OF VISION UNDER WATER. 
Wilmington, Del., Nov. 8, 1915. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
An erroneous opinion is general that a fish 
has a very limited view of objects on shore. 
The actual condition is as follows: 
Let A B represent the surface of a pond and 
B C a tree standing at the edge of the water. 
Suppose the eye of the fish to be at D. 
The angle ADE being an angle of 97 deg.-io 
in. covers all the surface through which the 
fish can see out of the water for if he looks 
beyond A or E total refraction shows a reflec¬ 
tion of the bottom of the lake against the sur¬ 
face of the water. Thus there is immediately 
above him, as it were, a circular opening in the 
water. Suppose that he looks in the direction 
F. Owing to the ray of light being bent on 
entering the water the object C which he sees 
appears to be at G. The exact amount of this 
displacement is found by noting that the sine 
D H of the angle DFH is of the sine F J 
of the angle FKJ. 
Now as the surface of the surface of the 
water will appear to him to be in the direction 
D E he will see the base of the tree at L. Thus 
the surrounding landscape will be entirely with¬ 
in his view and in the shape of a funnel. 
The effect of the fish dropping to a lowe- 
What a Fish Sees When He Looks Out of Water. 
level at M is to enlarge his aperture of vision 
by removing the point of total refraction from 
E to N. 
Light from the point C will then pass through 
O and the top of the tree will appear to be at 
P and its foot at R. 
Thus it is seen that at any depth the entire 
landscape is in view but that as he approaches 
the surface the objects appear to rise higher 
and to decrease in size. C. G. R. 
WINTER PECULIARITIES OF THE GROUSE. 
Apparently no ruffed grouse of the north- 
woods likes to sit upon the barren branch of a 
tree, letting the icy winds blow through its 
feathers, when just below him is a foot or more 
of soft snow. A sudden drop from the tree, a 
mere dent in the snow, showing where he dis¬ 
appeared—and all scent and sound have van¬ 
ished. True there is a slight scent at the im¬ 
mediate hole where the bird disappeared, but 
the partridge usually crawls beneath the snow 
to a safe distance before settling down to roost. 
Thus, should some of its natural enemies hap¬ 
pen to find the place where the bird disappeared, 
yet it would be rather difficult to trail the bird 
by its scent. Even the keen nose and silent 
tread of the wolf is often at a great disadvan¬ 
tage in thus stalking the partridge. But hun¬ 
ger makes both the wolf and fox very keen in 
this form of hunting; and often the partridge 
is flushed from the snow and caught in the cruel 
fangs of a wolf, ere it makes its escape. The 
partridge or ruffed grouse are generally found 
singly or in small numbers in winter, and in this 
respect they differ from the prairie chicken. 
