10 CANVASS-BACK DUCK.
a: gun of great size, fixed on a swivel in a boat, and the dostruot ion of
game on their feeding-flats has been immense ; ' but so unpopular is thé '
plan, that many schemes- have been -privately proposed of destroying
his boat and gun, and he has been fired at with balls so often that hist
expeditions are at present confined to the night. Sailing} with a stiff
breeze upon thé gggse and swans, or throwing ¡rifle-balls from the shore
into their beds, is sometimes successful.
" Moonlight shooting has not been a general practice, but as these
birds arc in motion during light nights,, they could readily be brought
within range by " honking" them when flying. This sound is very
perfectly imitated at Eg g Harbour ; and I have seen geese drawn- at a
right angle from their course by this note. They; can indeed lie made:
to hover over the spot, and if a captive bird was employed, the success
would become certain.
« Notwithstanding the apparent facilities that are offered of success,
the amusement of duck-shooting is probably one of , the most exposing-
.to cold and wet, and those who undertake- it» enjoyment without .a
courage " screwed to the stiekmg-point," will soon discover that " to
one good a thousand ills oppose." It, is indeed no parlour ¡sport, for
after creeping through mud and mire, .often, for hundreds of yards, to
be at last disappointed, and stand exposed on; points to the ^p e l t i ng
rain or more than freezing, cold," for hours, without even the,prov
i s o , of a shot-, would try the. pationce, of e-jen : Fkankl ix' s glorious
nibbles" I t is, however, replete: with',excitement and charm,
and to one who can enter -on the pleasure, with a system formed fer
polar cold, and a spirit to endure, the weary toil <>i' many: a stormy
d a i f ' i t will yield a harvest of health and delight,! tfo#t the.?-f<roamer of
the woods" can rarely enjoy." .
Although this far-famed bird was. named by its discoverer after
the plant ValUmria Americana, on which ,-it partially .feeds when 011
fresh-water,,-its subsistence is by no means dependent upon that species,
which indeed is not extensively distributed, but-is, ¡chiefly derived from
the grass-wrack or Eel-grass, Zotiera. wwiw,, which iftiyery abundant
on the shallows and flats along the whole, sea-coast.! : Its flesh seems to
me not .generally, much superior to that of the I'ocliard or Bed-licad,
which often mingles in the same flocks; and both species tire very frequently
promiscuously Sold in the. markets, as Canvass-backs.
In the Plate are represented two Males and a Female., In the back
CANVASS-BACK DUCK. 11
ground, isi.a view of Baltimore, which I have had great pleasure in introducing,
on account-of the hospitality which I have there experienced,
and the generosity of its inhabitants, who, on the occasion of a
quantity of my plates, having been destroyed by the mob. during an
outburst of political feeling, indemnified me for the loss. ,
Ki:i.ku:i.a V'ai.is.n»:» ia, Btmap. Synops. pf Birds of the United States, p. 392.
Axas yAiisKES-ii,,Wr«is. Amor. Ornith, vol. viii, p. 103. pi, 70. fig. 5.
Ful i oul a Val i sneria, Bicmriki md Sizaim. Fauna Bor. Amur. iv. Part II. p. 450.
Canvass-bacsed Duck, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 430.
Adult Male. Plate GCCI. Fig. 1, 2.
Bill as long as the head, deeper than broad at the base, the margins
parallel, slightly dilated1 towards the end, which is rounded, the frontal
angles rather narrow and pointed. Upper mandible with the dorsal
line at first straight and declinate, then slightly concave, direct for
a short space near the tip, where it is incurved, the ridge broad and
concave at the base, narrowed at the middle, enlarged and convex at
the end, the sides'nearly erect and concave'at the base, becoming anteriorly
more and more declinate and convex, the edges curved upwards,
with about 50 lamellae, the unguis small and oblong. Nostrils
submedial, linear-oblong, rather large, pervious, near the ridge, in an
oblong depression covered with soft membrane. Lower mandible flattened,
being but slightly 'convex, with the angle very long and rather
narrow, the dorsal line very short and straight, the erect edges With
about 55 inferior and 105 superior lamellae, the unguis obovato-ellipticali
Head rather large, compressed, convex above. Eyes small. Neck
of moderate length, rather thick. Body full, depressed. Wings small.
Feet very short, strong, placed rather far behind; tarsus very short,
compressed, anteriorly with narrow scutella continuous with those of
the middle toe, and having another'series commencing half-way down
and continuous with those of the outer toe, the rest reticulated with
angular scales. Hind toe small, with an inner expanded margin or
vraftH middle toe'nearly double the: length of the tarsus, outer a little
shorter. Claws small, compressed, that of the first toe very small and
curved, of the third fee larger and more expanded than the rest.
Plumage dense,, soft, blended. Feathers of the upper part of the