212 Brewster, Breeding Habits of Golden-eye Duck, ae 
several occasions within the past few days we have seen three or 
four Whistlers hanging about this nest. These facts lead me to 
suspect that they have been taking turns at incubating the eggs 
and that one of them may have taken away the three missing 
young. 
At 6.15 I returned to the house-boat for breakfast and Gilbert 
took my place. It was arranged that he should shout if the 
Whistler began taking out her young while I was away. I heard 
his signal just as I was preparing to go back and when I rejoined 
him found that I was too late. This is his account of what 
happened during my absence :— 
“ At 6.45 the old Duck appeared at the entrance to the nest, 
where she sat for five minutes moving her head continually and 
looking about in every direction included within her field of 
vision; then she sank back out of sight, reappearing at the end 
of a minute and looking about as before for another five minutes. 
At the end of this second period of observation she flew down 
to the water and swam round the stub three times, clucking and 
calling. On completing the third round she stopped directly 
under the hole and gave a single loud cluck or call, when the 
ducklings began scrambling up to the entrance and dropping 
down to the water in such quick succession as to fall on top of 
one another. They literally poured out of the nest much as 
shot would fall from one’s hand. One or two hesitated or 
paused for an instant on reaching the mouth of the hole but the 
greater number toppled out over the edge as soon as they 
appeared. All used their tiny wings freely, beating them con- 
tinuously as they descended. They did not seem to strike the 
water with much force. 
‘While this was going on the old Duck sat motionless on the 
water looking up at the nest. When the last duckling dropped 
at her side she at once swam off at the head of the brood, quickly 
disappearing in a flooded thicket a few rods away.” 
In this connection it may be well to dwell for a moment on 
some of the statements which have been made by writers as to 
the manner in which the young of tree-nesting Ducks leave the 
nest. Dresser affirms (Birds of Europe, VI, p. 600) that the 
young of the European Golden-eye “are carried by the female in 
