. Bird-life of the borders, records of wild sport and natural history on moorland and sea. Birds -- Great Britain. 170 lilED-LIFE OF THE BORDERS. effects on the respective birds are both extremely instruc- tive and an interesting complement to the pursuit of wikl- fowling. By nature the MalUuJ is essentially and absolutely a night-feeding bird (far more so than the Wigeou); is almost omnivorous in its taste, but with a partiality for fresh water if easily accessible ; has a strong inclination to rest by day, but careless as to whether it rests ashore or afloat. Well aware of the danger of rema
. Bird-life of the borders, records of wild sport and natural history on moorland and sea. Birds -- Great Britain. 170 lilED-LIFE OF THE BORDERS. effects on the respective birds are both extremely instruc- tive and an interesting complement to the pursuit of wikl- fowling. By nature the MalUuJ is essentially and absolutely a night-feeding bird (far more so than the Wigeou); is almost omnivorous in its taste, but with a partiality for fresh water if easily accessible ; has a strong inclination to rest by day, but careless as to whether it rests ashore or afloat. Well aware of the danger of remaining inside harbour by day, the Mallards, with the "Wigeon, take flight from their feeding grounds, as a rule, before a sign of daylight has appeared. Their most favoured resorts for whiling away the hours of daylight are either (1) on the open sea, opposite their feeding. grounds if smooth, or, otherwise, some sheltered bay or road- stead along the coast, possibly several miles away; or (2) among the tidal channels and shallow backwaters, formed by the tide, in the sand-bars which inclose most large estuaries, or wildfowl resorts, both in this and other countries. Wigeon seldom care for these latter resorts, or to stop short of the open sea. Of course, if there should happen to be in the neighbour- hood of their feeding grounds an inland lake or pool, undis- turbed and of sufficient extent, this would be the grand resort of the Mallard (and Wigeon too); but I am now referring exclusively to their habits on the coast. The sand-bars above mentioned, being one of the character- istic features of wildfowl resorts, deserve a few words of. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Chapman, Abel, 1851-1929. London : Gurney and Jackson
Size: 2068px × 1209px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1889
