Vol. XVII 
1900 
] BREWSTER, Breeding Habits of Golden-eye Duck. 2) 15 
floating in one spot, looking about with evident bewilderment, but 
seemingly without fear. Its feet and legs hung loosely down and 
were occasionally twitched slightly. Presently it began using 
them as paddles, slowly and hesitatingly at first, afterwards more 
confidently, although more than an hour passed before it learned 
to swim at all fast or vigorously. 
When it had mastered this accomplishment it tried climbing 
over the edges of the tub. We then removed about half the 
water, but the little bird went up the sides almost as nimbly as a 
mouse, clinging with its tiny claws to the soft wet wood. By noon 
_ It had learned to leap ten or twelve inches straight upward either 
from the water or from the bottom of a box. The muscular 
power and vigor of its stout legs were indeed remarkable, and it 
seemed to get as firm resistance for an upward leap from the 
water as from the surface of a board. One of the first things it 
did on being placed in the tub was to begin picking up various 
small objects such as bits of bark or weed which were floating in 
the water. It apparently swallowed some of these fragments, but 
we were unable to find any food which it seemed to relish, although 
it was quite willing to try everything we offered it. It ate a very 
little egg yolk, and some wriggling fragments of earth worms ex- 
cited it greatly at first, but after getting them well down its throat 
it ejected them with evident disgust. While engaged with them 
it dropped a piece which began sinking slowly. It at once thrust 
its head beneath the water and tried to catch the descending mor- 
sel. This was the nearest approach to diving that we saw it 
make. It drank often and copiously and bathed freely, after- 
wards preening and drying its downy plumage with great patience 
and thoroughness, using its bill like an old bird. 
The following morning our little Whistler was alive but feeble 
and depressed. As it would eat nothing that we had to offer, 
we took it to the flooded forest and putting it on a piece of float- 
ing driftwood near the foot of the tree in which it had been 
hatched, backed the boat off a few yards and left it at freedom. 
It stood erect and motionless for a minute or two looking about ; 
then entering the water began swimming, at first slowly and in 
evident bewilderment. But very soon it gained confidence and 
struck out more boldly until at the end of a few minutes it was 
