LONG-TAILED HARELD. 197 



two or three males, they may be seen reposing on the open 

 seas, or in the bays at high water. Should a boat approach 

 them they begin to move about in different directions, or 

 plunge and reappear at a distance, seldom allowing one to 

 get within shooting distance ; but when at their feeding 

 grounds they permit a nearer approach, so as to be shot with- 

 out difficulty. The male in swimming raises his tail obli- 

 quely, in rough water almost erects it, and is remarkable for 

 the grace and vivacity of his movements. Their flight is 

 rapid, direct, and generally performed at the height of a few 

 feet. They rise easily from the water, especially when facing 

 a breeze, and alight rather abruptly. Sometimes during the 

 day, but more frequently at night, they emit various loud 

 rather plaintive cries, as well as cacklings of shorter guttural 

 notes, which I think can neither be easily imitated nor well 

 expressed in words, although Mr, Nuttall attempts to de- 

 scribe them by the syllables " ogh, ough, egh." In the 

 north-eastern Isles, this bird is known by the name of Caloo, 

 as well as the whimsical one of Coal-and-candle-light, both 

 derived from its cries ; and in the Hebrides it is named lan- 

 bhochail, ian signifying a bird, and bochail expressing its soft 

 protracted note. Among these islands it is chiefly to be seen 

 in the open sounds or pretty far out at sea, when the tide is 

 up, but at low water along the shores and over the shoals. 



The flesh of this bird is not held in estimation, being said 

 to be rank and fishy ; b\it I cannot speak of its qualities from 

 my own experience. The down is considered equal to that 

 of the Eider, which it resembles with the exception of being 

 of a greyish-white colour. 



According to a note with which I am favoured by Dr. 

 Edmondston, " Anas glacialis is a regular winter visitant in 

 Shetland, where, however, not a single individual remains 

 during the summer. It appears to be as regularly attached 

 to its winter haunts as we may believe it to be to its breeding 

 retreats, as about the same numbers frequent the same bays 

 every winter. The colour of the male is at all seasons various, 

 hardly any two being alike. He is lively, playful, and quar- 

 relsome, and is chiefly heard in calm, frosty weather. The 

 syllables a-a-alloo, in a tenor clear key, the last higher and 



