8 BULLETIN 130, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



chusetts "contained seeds of pondweed, water lily, bayberry, and 

 burr reed, buds and roots of wild celery, and bits of water boatmen, 

 and dragonfly nymphs." 



On the Pacific coast Mr. W. L. Dawson (1909) found it feeding on 

 mussels, crabs, marine worms, and on the remains of decayed salmon. 

 On inland streams it may often be seen in the rapids chasing young 

 trout fry or other small fish ; tadpoles, fish spawn, and the larvae of 

 insects are also eaten. Audubon discovered it hunting for cray-fish 

 in the clay banks of our inland rivers. Throughout the interior, in 

 fresh-water lakes and streams, it lives largely on vegetable food; it 

 feeds on a great variety of aquatic plants, such as teal moss {Limno- 

 hiuTTi), flags {h'is), duckweed, pondweed, water plantain, and blad- 

 derwort, according to Doctor Yorke (1899). 



Behavior. — The flight of the goldeneye is exceedingly swift and 

 strong. About its breeding grounds among the lakes and streams of 

 eastern Canada it is very active on the wing, circling high in the air 

 about the lakes or flying up and down the streams above the tree tops, 

 singly or in pairs, the female usually leading; it seems to shoAv some 

 curiosity or anxiety as to the intentions of the intruder, for it often 

 repeats its flight again and again over the same course. The vibrant 

 whistling of its wings in flight is audible at a long distance and has 

 earned for it the popular name of " whistler '" or " whistle-wing." 



Mr. W. L. Dawson (1909) has thus graphically described it: 



Of all wing music, from the droning of the rufous hummer to the startling 

 whirr of the ruifed grouse, I know of none so thrilling sweet as the whistling 

 wing note of the goldeneye. A pair of the birds have been frightened from the 

 water, and as they rise in rapid circles to gain a view of some distant goal they 

 gov/ the air with vibrant whistling sounds. Owing to a difference in wing beats 

 between male and female, the brief moment when the wings strike in unison 

 with the effect of a single bird is followed by an ever-changing syncopation 

 which challenges the waiting ear to tell if it does not hear a dozen birds instead 

 of only two. Again, in the dim twilight of early morning, while the birds are 

 moving from a remote and secure lodging place to feed in some favorite stretch 

 of wdld water, one guesses at their early industry from the sound of multi- 

 tudinous wings above, contending with the cold ether. 



When migrating, goldeneyes travel in small flocks usually high in 

 the air. When rising from a pond they usually circle about for a few 

 times, gradually climbing upward, and fly off at a considerable 

 height; even on the seashore they are seldom seen flying for any 

 distance close to the water. They can usually be recognized by their 

 short necks, large heads, and stout bodies, as well as by the large 

 amount of white in their plumage. This latter character has given 

 them the name of " pied duck " or " pie bird " among the natives of 

 the eastern Provinces. 



