530 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



open sea outside of this ice-field. Wherever the eye roams it 

 alights upon Sea Ducks of all possible species, near and far, 

 high and low, in smaller or larger flocks, singly or in pairs. These 

 consist of mjTiads of Common and Velvet Scoters, flights of from 

 five to fifty gay-coloured Eed-breasted Mergansers, smaller com- 

 panies of the beautifully-coloured Goosander, mixed with bands of 

 from twenty to a hundred or more Scaups (A. marila), which 

 flights again may be crossed by from three to five of the brilliant 

 white, green-headed males of the Golden E^'e, and the still rarer and 

 elegant Eider Duck ; and travelling high overhead long chains of 

 Whooper Swans send forth their loud and resonant trumpet-calls. 

 The wide surface of the sea presents a scene of aquatic bird-life 

 equally rich and varied. Velvet and Common Scoters assemble in 

 dense crowds near the ice, while large flocks of Scaups, all keep- 

 ing close together, dive and swim about among the rocks ofl' the 

 eastern and western sides of the island. This part of the sea is 

 also frequented by flocks of Red-breasted Mergansers, which like- 

 wise hold aloof from those of other species ; besides smaller flocks 

 of the pretty Long-tailed Duck, soUtary individuals of the beautiful 

 Brown-headed Pochard {A.feri7ia), and, more rarely, of the beautiful 

 Tufted Duck. The pretty little Smew is only rarely seen, from three 

 to five examples in a flock being the most one ever meets with. Here 

 and there, dispersed among this motley throng, a Colymhus cornutus, 

 in plumage of satiny gloss, pursues his way, heedless and independent 

 of the flocks around him ; and from three to five Black Guillemots 

 {Uria. grylle) may be seen diving and swimming about, equally 

 regardless of the rest of the busy life around. To the passionate 

 sportsman and ornithologist, heedless of the cold and biting frost, 

 these are indeed red-letter days. A large assemblage of all kinds of 

 birds, more especially of Common and Velvet Scoters, always gathers 

 on the lee side of the ice-field. Generally a calm prevails over this 

 part of the sea ; this, however, makes it much more difficult for 

 large and clumsy birds, like these Ducks, to rise from the water, and 

 knowing that they only do so against the wind, a sportsman steers 

 his boat in such a manner that in rising they have to cross its bow. 

 Now, the Ducks know this just as well as the gunner, so they hesitate 

 for a moment, undecided whether they shall escape the danger 

 either by flight or diving, and this moment of indecision generally 

 brings about their destruction. Most of the Ducks, however, are 

 shot on the wing in front of the ice-fields, where the most varied 

 species rove about in innumerable greater and smaller companies. 

 If managed in the right fashion, this sport may be very profitable. 

 The two older of the brothers Aeuckens have often killed more 

 than fifty birds in one morning, and during the severe winter of 



