196 HARELDA GLACIALIS. 



from six to eight, of a broad oval form, from an inch and 

 eleven-twelfths to Iavo inches and a twelfth in length, and 

 generally an inch-and-a-half in breadth ; when recent of an 

 asparagus green colour, approaching to apple-green, with the 

 shell smooth. Young birds caught by the ornithologist 

 above-named in Labrador, wore covered with stiifish down, 

 and had the upper parts chocolate brown, a small spot of 

 white under the eye, the throat and lower parts whitish, as 

 well as an oblong patch on the cheek. 



Among the northern islands of Scotland, and along the 

 coasts of the mainland, these birds make their appearance in 

 October, in small flocks, which gradually enlarge by the 

 accession of new families. Many remain all winter in these 

 parts, while others advance southward. In the Firths of 

 Clyde and Tay, they are not usually very uncommon, and 

 Mr. Selby informs us that a few appear on the coast of Nor- 

 thumberland. They have been seen, however, on most parts 

 of the coast of England. On that of Ireland it occurs " in 

 very limited numbers." M. Temminck describes them as 

 often occurring on the coasts of Holland, though not in 

 bands, and on those of France in still smaller numbers, while 

 the young have been found even in the Adriatic. The extent 

 of their equatorial migration in Europe is, however, exceeded 

 by their range in America, where some proceed, according to 

 Mr. Audubon, as far as the mouth of the Mississippi. 

 Although in autumn they generally arrive in small bands, 

 and in winter are often found scattered solitarily or in pairs, 

 they advance northward in spring in large bodies, generally 

 flying in extended lines. At this season large flocks occur in 

 the seas of the outer Hebrides, where they are hailed by the 

 natives as the harbingers of summer, their loud cries render- 

 ing them familiar. 



I have had good opportunities of observing the habits of 

 these birds. In the Bay of Cromarty, where they are very 

 common, it is pleasant to see them in small flocks scattered 

 over the water. They are most expert swimmers, and like 

 many other species of this family, live on bivalve shell-fish 

 and Crustacea, which they obtain by diving in shallow or 

 moderately deep water. In small flocks, in which there are 



