r Auk 



178 Towi^ssE'ND, Courtship of Golden-eye and Eider Ducks. LApril 



occasionally dabbing at it. Suddenly he springs forward, ele- 

 vating his breast, and at the same time he enters on the most typical 

 and essential part of the performance. The neck is stretched 

 straight up, and the bill, pointing to the zenith, is opened to emit a 

 harsh, rasping double-note, zzee-at, vibratory and searching in 

 character. The head is then quickly snapped back until the occiput 

 touches the rump, whence it is brought forward again with a jerk 

 to the normal position. As the head is returned to its place the 

 bird often springs forward kicking the water in a spurt out behind, 

 and displaying like a flash of flame the orange-colored legs. 



This appears to be the complete performance, and the female, 

 although usually passive, sometimes responds by protruding her 

 head close to the water in front, and then bringing it up so that it 

 also points to the zenith. Further than this, I have not seen her 

 go. It must be remembered that even as late as March there are 

 many young males whose plumage resembles that of the female, 

 and although the males are of larger size, it is often difficult to 

 distinguish them from the females. That the female does take part 

 to this limited extent in the nuptial performance, I have, however, 

 convinced myself. 



There are many variations of this curious action. It may be 

 curtailed so that the thrusting of the head up into the air alone 

 remains, or it may be limited to the upward thrust of the head and 

 the jerk to and from the rump. When the birds are at such a dis- 

 tance that the note cannot be heard it is impossible to say whether 

 it is always emitted when the bill is opened, but I have observed 

 birds close at hand go through the performance silently. I have 

 also seen them thrust out the head in front in such a way as appar- 

 ently to scoop up the water, and then elevate the head, the bill 

 pointing straight up, but closed as if they were drinking the water, 

 although I doubt if this is the case. Sometimes the head is held on 

 the rump for several seconds before it is snapped into place. 



At Barnstable on March 28, 1909, I saw a male Whistler, after 

 ardently performing the courtship action near a female, fly off to 

 a distance of about a hundred yards. The female swam rapidly 

 after him with head stretched close to the water but lifted up 

 vertically from time to time in the courting manner and she soon 

 joined her mate who copulated with her. 



