Among the water-fowl; observation, adventure, photography. A popular narrative account of the water-fowl as found in the northern and middle states and lower Canada, east of the Rocky mountains

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Identifier: amongwaterfowlob00job (find matches)
Title: Among the water-fowl; observation, adventure, photography. A popular narrative account of the water-fowl as found in the northern and middle states and lower Canada, east of the Rocky mountains
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Job, Herbert Keightley, 1864-1933
Subjects: Water birds Birds
Publisher: London, Wm. Heinemann
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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rab Ledge, mostof the lighter-coloured aristocrats manage to lindmore congenial marine pastures elsewhere. Attimes in August we are treated to a * Phalaropeday, when rafts of these dainty little creatures dotthe water far off shore. But, of all these special occasions, I know nonemore entertaining than Jaeger day at this greatmarine exposition of Nature. One such that Ishall ever remember was the 26th of August,four years ago. Long before we reached CrabLedge I knew it was * Jaeger day, for the greatdark fellows were everywhere about, chasing theTerns and Bonapartes Gulls in their savage fashion.And what a strange fashion it is ! If a Tern orsmall Gull happens near a Jaeger, there is almostcertainly trouble in store. The latter gives chase.The pursued makes every effort to escape. Bat theJaeger,—well named he is, hunter,—is the betterflier. With savage swoops, he strikes his littlewhite cousin from this direction and from that.Mounting in the air is of no avail. So at last, in 115
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i;6 Ocean Wanderers fear and despair, the Gull or Tern does what itknows the robber wants, disgorges the hard-earnedcontents of its crop,—a choice lish, or a mass ofhalf-digested matter. No further use, at present,has the pirate now for his victim. Poising for aninstant, he swoops down after the meteoric showerof food, usually catching it before it reaches thewater. If not, he alights, gathers it in, and thenkites away in search of another swallow of the sea,on which to pour the vials of his wrath. Thereare so many more of the hunted than of the hunt-ing, that the former might easily combine and mobthe marauder, did they but know their real power.We saw this process repeated until we were toofar off shore for Terns to be often found. But theJaegers do not depend upon Terns ; they can foragefor themselves, and, in fact, they do it for the mostpart. On the hshing-grounds I was delighted tofind them as abundant as Shearwaters, or even moreso. They hung about us all day in large numbers

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