Page 76

SANDPIPER-MEADOW, GRASS, AND JACK SNIPES.
Mexico, during the seasons of migration, splendid days' shooting
can be obtained, but the stay of the birds is so short that it might
not compensate for a special visit. Where thousands are to be
seen to-day, not a dozen will be met to-morrow; but if you should
happen, in the spring and autumn, to be in either of the States of
Illinois, Iowa, or Indiana, when the frost and ice are breaking up,
in spring, or when winter makes its first appearance, you may
with safety calculate on having some of the finest sport. A year
or tw6 since, when in Illinois, in November, a sudden change took
place in the weather, and, although the morning was ushered in
mild and warm, by noon it was snowing, with a gale of wind
blowing from the north. From experience I knew that such a day
was not to be wasted over the fire. I got on my shooting-ground
with a very large supply of ammunition, and in two or three hours
I had to cease, as my stock was exhausted. My stand was in
a field of Indian corn that had been gathered into shocks, from
the back of one of which I took shelter from the blast, as well
as concealment. Never shall I forget the scene. The ducks
came in thousands, all flying before the wind, and if a dozen guns
had been there, instead of one, abundant work would have been
found for all. On another occasion, in the same locality, two
friends of mine killed in two or three hours in the evening, and in
an hour and a half the succeeding morning, eighty-four brace of
Mallard Duck.
I "In the spring of i866, when in Iowa, the first day of thaw, I
went for a stroll, scarcely expecting to find game; but when I got
on the prairie land, I was perfectly astonished at the clouds of wild
fowl arriving from the south, some of the ponds being so densely
covered with Duck that the surface could scarcely be seen.
" If any of our readers intend to go in for work, and do not object
to roughing it, I should most decidedly say that the wild-fowl
shooting is good enough to justify a visit. But let him not be in-
duced to keep in the vicinity of settlements. Rather let him and
his attendants commence housekeeping on the margin of one of
the northern Minnesota lakes, if in summer (remember one that
lrroduces an abundance of wild rice); but if the severe season
should be selected, the southern lagoons of the Mississippi will
afford him abundant sport.
I" As soon as we were at our stands, we divested ourselves of shot-
pouches and powder-horns, hanging them on the bushes, that we
might the easier use them when required; for, once the game com-
mences to arrive, every moment is of value. Before we had been
stationary many minutes, a few stragglers made their appearance-
the advance-guard doubtless of the main body. Some old and
experienced veterans, I should think, are generally chosen for this
duty, as these forerunners are wary in the extreme, and seldom or
never come within gunshot.  However, we were not detained
idle; a bunch of Mallard passed within range, and a salute wel-
comed their visit; another and another party rapidly followed in
such quick succession that it was impossible to shoot at all. These
birds, so far, had only flown past, and, as night approached, their
numbers increased, and we being probably less conspicuous from
decreasing light, the open water at our side was chosen for their
resting-place. Down they would come on the water, almost im-
periling our heads, with the rustling sound of the Eagle in the act
of swooping upon his prey; while some of their companions, less
certain of the security of this halting-place, would sweep round
and round our locale before they finally selected it. As soon as
the birds struck the water, they would commence bathing them-
selves, flapping their bodies with their wings, diving with short
plunges, and cutting so many capers, that one might imagine
them stark, staring mad. The fact, however, is, that all this ap-
parent eccentricity is caused by the necessity the Ducks feel of
cleaning themselves of the insects about their plumage, as well as
the pleasure they experience in finding themselves again in a
milder climate, with abundance of food around them, after endur-
ing a hard journey from the stormy north, protracted possibly
through a day and night. On arrival, therefore, they wash them-
selves, and arrange their dress, before commencing their meal-
an example other travelers would do well to imitate. But, as the
night advanced, some strangers are mixed with the throng. The
dusky Duck, the Bald-pate, the Pintail, the Blue and Green-winged
Teal, shoot past, like arrows from a bow-the latter making, with
the rapid motion of their wings, a sound not unlike an ungreased
wheel or hinge. When the travelers are satisfied with the neigh-
borhood, they dash down upon the water, causing it to fly in spray
for yards around, while the first arrivals welcome the new-comers
with innumerable quacks. The report of a gun then will scarcely
alarm them, and, if they should rise,.in a moment they will reset-
tle, doubtless feeling security from their numbers."
In their general habits, the wild Ducks closely resemble our
tame species. The tame Ducks are, however, far behind their
progenitors in watchfulness, energy, and vigor. They swim, dive,
and fly much in the same manner, but decidedly better than tame'
Ducks. Their voice, likewise, is 'precisely similar. The loud,
short "quack" of the female, and the duller "quack" of
the
male; the conversational "weck, weck," and the call-note,
"vaek, waek;" the alarm-cry, "lkatsch," or "rab,
rab;" in
short, all the sounds with which we are familiar in the tame
Ducks, are exactly repeated by their wild relatives.
Soon after their arrival, the Wild Ducks begin to choose their
mates, the selection of course involving many a battle between
the rival males; but their partners do not need to be won by a pro-
longed courtship. Their habit of associating in large flocks is at
once laid aside, and they attach themselves to their spouses with
ardent devotion. The place selected for the nest is generally some
quiet, retired, dry spot, under a bush, or concealed by herbage,
and very generally near the water, but sometimes at a consid-
erable distance from it. Occasionally-and indeed not unfre-
quently-they will take possession of some nest placed in a tree;
such, for example, as that of a Crow. Their proper nest is
constructed of the stems and leaves of various plants, loosely put
together, so as to present internally a rounded cavity, which, at a
subsequent period, is warmly lined with down and feathers.
The brood consists of from eight to sixteen eggs, of a somewhat
elongated shape, hard, smooth-shelled, and of a grayish-white
color; in fact, exactly similar to those of the domesticated Duck.
The period of incubation-during which the female, who alone
broods, sits with the greatest patience and self-devotion-extends
over from twenty to twenty-eight days. The newly hatched young
ones remain perhaps for a single day in the nest, and are then
taken to the water. During the first few days of their lives, they
endeavor to conceal themselves as much as possible among the
reeds and water-plants; and it is only when their wings have to
be tried that they venture to show themselves in open water.
Meanwhile, the mother takes the greatest pains to conceal them
from observation. In case of danger, she makes every endeavor
to draw it upon herself, or, if the assailants are such as to make it
at all practicable, she flies at them with the utmost fury, and uses
every effort to drive them away. The young brood follow her
with every demonstration of affection; they watch her slightest
warning, listen to every sound she utters, and, when bidden, at
once hide themselves among weeds, or sink down between the ine-
qualities of the ground.
Pectoral Sandpiper-Meadow Snipe-Grass Snipe-Jack Snipe. (Tringga
maculata.)
Fig. 3.
The Pectoral, compared with others of its kind, is usually but
seldom seen, although in some localities it is occasionally tolerably
numerous. At early spring, it generally quits its winter-quarters,
and returns, under cover of the night, to its native haunts. --It is
usually found in pairs, and seeks its food on marshy ground, but
7B