58 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



shows white when he rolls, but his flanks are suffused with 

 lavender; his crest is short. Young males resemble females, 

 but even before they can fly are whiter on the flanks than the 

 young ducks. Length, 17*25 ins. Wing, 8 ins. Tarsus, i in. 



Goldeneye. Glaiuion dangtda (Linn.). 



The smart Goldeneye (Plate 23) is a well-distributed, though 

 not very abundant winter visitor to salt and fresh water ; it has 

 not been proved to have nested in a wild state in Britain. It 

 nests, however, in Scandinavia and across Arctic and sub- Arctic 

 Europe and Asia, and a closely allied form occurs in America. 

 Its winter wanderings do not, as a rule, extend so far south as 

 those of other diving ducks. In our islands immature birds are 

 much more abundant than fully mature drakes, and fowlers 

 often insist that " Morillons," as they name the grey birds, are 

 not the same species as " Magpie-Divers." These local names 

 are apt to confuse, for Moriilon has been applied to other 

 species, and the Tufted Duck is called in some parts the 

 Goldeneye and Magpie-Diver. 



The adult drake Goldeneye is a very black and white bird, 

 with a large white spot at the base of the bill, below and in 

 front of the eye, which shows clearly on his glossy green head. 

 The round shape of this spot at once distinguishes him from 

 Barrow's Goldeneye, a bird that is reputed to have occurred in 

 Scotland, for in this species the spot is semi-lunar. The female 

 and young are brown on the head, grey, mottled with darker 

 brownish grey, on back, wings, and flanks, and have a white 

 collar. They have no face spot but a broad white wing bar 

 divided by a black line ; the white on the back and wings of 

 the adult drake is in three parts. There is, however, little 

 difficulty in identifying the Goldeneye of either sex at any age, 

 once we have become familiar with its short squat shape and 

 "buffel head." It swims with head well up, the long mane-like 



