AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 191 



occurrence has been actually proved to have taken 

 place in any part of Great Britain or Ireland. In 

 general habits this species much resembles the 

 Pochard, but from the nature of its favourite food, 

 it is, as I have previously mentioned, comparatively 

 seldom to be met with on fresh waters at any great 

 distance from the sea. In fine or moderate weather 

 during the winter months, large flocks of Scaups may 

 be found "riding head to windward" far out at sea, 

 only coming in shore to feed on the mussel-beds at 

 low-water time. This species very soon becomes 

 reconciled to captivity, and thrives well in that con- 

 dition ; a very fine old male captured by some snow- 

 balling boys in a hole in the ice which nearly covered 

 the Lifley in the centre of Dublin in January 1855, 

 lived contentedly, if not happily, in my barrack-room 

 for several weeks, and became perfectly tame and on 

 friendly terms with my dog : at Lilford I have kept 

 several of these birds pinioned on my ponds for a 

 considerable number of years; they "train off"' 

 readily upon meal and grain, but prefer fish, meat, 

 and snails to any other food with which we can 

 readily supply them. I never heard any note uttered 

 by my captive birds ; the ordinary cry is a harsh 

 croak, or caw, that would come very appropriately 

 from the throat of a Raven. This species visits the 

 Mediterranean during the winter, but is never 

 abundant in the western portion of that sea; in 

 fact, I never met with it in any abundance thereon, 

 except in the neighbourhood of Tunis, and there its 

 numbers were small in comparison with those of 

 other species of Anatidce. 'V\\e Scaup breeds in 

 abundance on the shores and islands of some of the 

 freshwater lakes of Iceland ; the eggs are of a clay- 



