r hy Wounded Ducks Disappear. 
he readers of Forest and Stream have not 
rotten a paper which was published under 
above title in the number for Sept. 29 last, 
Frank T. Noble. Mr. F. T. Noble described 
way in which ducks sometimes disappear, 
;n wounded, by staying at the bottom of the 
er. through grasping some aquatic plant 
!i the bill, and remaining anchored there even 
•r death. He added: “Perhaps other ob- 
rers who have made a more careful study of 
, phenomenon will enlighten us on this im- 
tant point, i. e., whether wounded ducks re- 
! 1 their hold in a death grip after life is ex- 
:t, or whether it relaxes with death, and the 
Iv floats to the surface.” 
laving been much interested by Mr. Noble’s 
ervation, I have submitted it in abstract to 
readers of the Illustration, asking from such 
have some experience in the matter, an 
nion. 
he result of this inquiry may interest the 
ders of Forest and Stream, an 4 I shall give 
principal answers seriatim. No. 1 has ob- 
ved the fact. But he introduces a qualifica- 
i. A duck, a female, had been wounded and 
1 dived. The water was clear and shallow, a 
; le over a yard deep, so that the animal could 
ily be seen. As it did not move at all, it 
tainly was anchored down; otherwise it would 
e floated immediately. Some three or four 
lutes passed, and then the duck was seen to 
ep along the bottom shorewards, doubtlessly 
isping weeds to hold itself down. When it 
s quite close to the shore, it came to the 
face under some low willows, and remained 
re, the bill being the only part of the body 
of the water. It was taken by hand im- 
diately, without difficulty, being badly 
unded. The opinion of No. 1 is that ducks 
' ays act in the same manner; they remain 
netime concealed at the bottom and then try 
hide themselves in some hole on shore. 
; ey do not die grasping the aquatic plant at 
bottom. 
No. 2 is of the opinion that ducks do disap- 
: ir but not in the manner described. They do 
: go to the bottom to anchor themselves 
re. They dive, but do not go deep; and if 
2 observes the surface of the water, one 
ices a ripple which is caused by the end of 
i bill just sticking out, in order to allow the 
mal to breathe. He paddles his way to shore, 
1 hides himself under some plants, staying in 
1 water, save the head, and the wounded part. 
I erefore, there is no remaining under water, at 
bottom, in No. 2’s opinion, 
i 'Jo. 3, in substance, savs as much. 
No. 4 is a distinguished bird hunter and 
I lithologist, Mr. Louis Ternier, editor of La 
l asse Illustrec, author of a book on wildfowl 
j a Sauvagine en France), a man whose opinion 
i of special value. Mr. Louis Ternier writes 
■} follows: 
1‘The ducks who anchor themselves at the 
I :tom by grasping with the bill some root or 
nt of an aquatic plant remain anchored there 
er their death. Some water birds grasp the 
ttorn, not by means of the bill, but with the 
t, and remain there after death. I have wit- 
| ased the fact many a time.” He adds: 
bounded ducks grasp a root or a stem of an 
latic plant by their bill, and remain anchored 
1 der water by the bill, which is closely and 
dentlv contracted, even after their death.” 
1 ^o, Mr. Louis Ternier fully confirms F. T. 
I »ble’s opinion. It should be added that most 
ibably, when ducks act so, their death is not 
slow and gradual one, but sudden. If they 
; d slowly they would relax their grip. Most 
i ffiably they are taken by death suddenly. It 
I 
is well known that an animal—a dog. a cat, for 
instance—when suddenly killed while fighting, 
and holding in its mouth any part of some other 
animal, may not relax its grip, and. even dead, 
keep on holding what it was holding. The case 
with the ducks seems to be similar. 
No. 5, Mr. Fernand Masse, is of the same 
opinion as F. T. Noble and Louis Ternier. 
Mr. F. Masse adds that many water birds, even 
when not wounded, but merely scared, do the 
same, i. e., anchor themselves to the bottom. 
But, probably, when not wounded they merely 
remain there for a time, and come up again 
when they believe the coast is clear. 
Mr. F. Masse has captured at least one pin¬ 
tail, wounded, and some water hens, not 
wounded, which had anchored themselves to the 
bottom one, two and three meters deep. “As 
to the death of the bird under such circum¬ 
stances, I have witnessed it thrice; twice with 
the poule d’eau (Gallinula chloropus ) moor 
hen, and once with the morillon (FuHgula 
crista ta) tufted duck. These three birds were 
badly wounded, and they were anchored down 
by their bill. I doubt whether an unwounded 
bird or a slightly wounded one allows itself to 
be surprised by asphyxia. I have never observed 
a case of this sort. But I have often seen 
birds relax their grip, come up to the surface, 
in order to breathe, and then dive again to go 
through the same performance.” 
From the preceeding answers we may gather 
that cases do exist where the bird does not 
anchor itself at the bottom, but merely dives 
and tries to escape toward shore. In others, it 
does anchor itself down; and it may do so, al¬ 
though unwounded, being merely frightened; 
but it does not remain there, and comes up to 
breathe, going down again if necessary. In 
others again, the bird goes down, and may die 
on the bottom, doubtless surprised by a sudden 
death, a circumstance in which there is nothing 
extraordinary in a wounded animal, and it may 
remain there, after death, still holding on. 
Upon the whole. Mr. Louis Ternier and F. 
Masse, confirm F. T. Noble’s conclusion. 
It must be added that, of course, the habit 
may not be common to all waterfowl; it may 
belong to some species, and not to others. This 
should be kept in mind by all who argue pro 
and con, and it would help to clear matters 
if in every case the species of the bird—and 
sex also—were recorded. Sex has some influ¬ 
ence; ducks seem to be able to stay longer 
under water than drakes. 
Henry de Varigny. 
Paris, France 
A Disease of Quail. 
Toledo, O., March 12. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: I am venturing to make a draft on 
your proverbial sympathy with efiforts for the 
propagation of our game birds, and am send¬ 
ing you by this mail the body of a Virginia 
quail. This bird, a male, had been in my pos¬ 
session for the past fourteen months, and had 
always seemed unusually healthy and vigorous. 
On Friday of last week, I noticed that he was 
ailing, and on Sunday morning (the 10th) I 
found him dead. He was kept with two or three 
others in a coop about 7x7x20 feet, and his food 
during all the winter months was a mixture 
of cracked corn, cracked wheat, common millet 
and buckwheat. The inclosure has a tight roof 
and is open to the south, with the other three 
sides closed against wind and weather. 
The female which was with him. but which 
has been in my hands only a short time, seemed 
to-day to be in good health. 
I would feel under obligations if you would 
kindly turn him over to some member of the 
staff who is versed in such matters, and would 
appreciate any information which would tend 
to throw light on his sudden taking off. The 
emaciated condition of the bird would seem to 
indicate that the bird did not die of any acute 
disease. J. B. Battelle. 
The specimen after its reception was sub¬ 
mitted to Dr. W. Reid Blair. Veterinarian and 
Pathologist of the New York Zoological Park, 
AN INSCRIPTION OF a DON—ON EL MORRO. 
It reads in old Spanish script—“Passed by here the adelantado Don Juan Onate to the discovery of the Sea 
of the South on the 16th of April, 1606.” 
This inscription is made across an ancient pictoerraph. 
Below, to the left, are the names of two other Spaniards of a later day. 
From Prudden’s “On the Great xVmerican Plateau.” (Putnam s.) 
1 
