to meet me! Many of the birds were diving and feeding in
the direction of the skiff.

"I lay watching them with interest. I saw that the canvas-backs were
accompanied by another species of a very different colour from
themselves: this was the American widgeon. It was a curious sight to
witness the constant warfare that was carried on between these two
species of birds. The widgeon is but a poor diver, while the
canvas-back is one of the very best. The widgeon, however, is equally
fond of the roots of the wild celery with his congener; but he has no
means of obtaining them except by robbing the latter. Being a smaller
and less powerful bird, he is not able to do this openly; and it was
curious to observe the means by which he effected his purpose. It was
as follows: When the canvas-back descends, he must perforce remain some
moments under water. It requires time to seize hold of the plant, and
pluck it up by the roots. In consequence of this, he usually reaches
the surface in a state of half-blindness, holding the luscious morsel in
his bill. The widgeon has observed him going down; and, calculating to
a nicety the spot where he will reappear, seats himself in readiness.
The moment the other emerges, and before he can fully recover his sight
or his senses, the active spoliator makes a dash, seizes the celery in
his horny mandibles, and makes off with it as fast as his webbed feet
can propel him. The canvas-back, although chagrined at being plundered
in this impudent manner, knows that pursuit would be idle, and, setting
the root down as lost, draws a fresh breath, and dives for another. I
noticed in the flock a continual recurrence of such scenes.

"A third species of birds drew my attention. These were the pochards,
or, as they are termed by the gunners of the Chesapeake, `red-heads.'
These creatures bear a very great resemblance to the canvas-backs, and
can hardly be distinguished except by their bills: those of the former
being concave along the upper surface, while the bills of the
canvas-backs exhibit a nearly straight line.

"I saw that the pochards did not interfere with either of the other
species, contenting themselves with feeding upon what neither of the
others cared for--the green leaves of the _vallisneria_, which, after
being stripped of their roots, were floating in quantities on the
surface of the water. Yet these pochards are almost as much prized for
the table as their cousins the canvas