The difficulties encountered in making a local food-habits study of waterfowl are discussed. Hunting pressure, availability of food, cruising range of the birds and dormant seeds are factors which must be considered in establishing palatability ratings for duck foods. Bulrush seed, Scirpus spp., was the most important food on the study area during the fall and spring of 1947-48. The pondweeds, Potamogeton spp., were 2d in importance. It was found that snails were valuable for food as well as grit. Sedges, Carex spp., although a common component of typical marsh flora, were almost useless as a source of food. The oaks, Quercus spp., and greater bur-reed, Sparganium eurycarpum, relatively unimportant to other ducks, were most heavily used by wood ducks, were most heavily used by wood ducks, Aix sponsa, which fed lightly on the foods important to other shoal-water ducks. It was concluded that there was little competition for food between wood-ducks and other shoal-water ducks.