180 TowNSEND, Courtships of Golden-eye and Eider Ducks. [April 



beautiful birds. They were usually in pairs, and, when flying, 

 the female preceded, closely followed by the male. This was 

 certainly the rule when the birds were flying about unaware of the 

 presence of man, but, when disturbed or frightened by his presence, 

 the male often flew first in his eagerness to get away from danger. 

 Sometimes several pairs, apparently mated, would swim about 

 together or rest on the rocks close to the water, while at other times 

 one or two females would be surrounded by six or eight males that 

 were crowding about them to win their favors. 



The actual courtship of the Eider may be recognized from afar 

 by the love-note of the male which can be expressed by the syllables 

 aah-ou or ah-ee-ou, frequently repeated, and, while low and pleasing 

 in tone, its volume is so great that it can be heard at a considerable 

 distance over the water. On a calm day, when there were many 

 Eiders about, the sound was almost constant. While the syllables 

 aah-ou express very well the usual notes, there is much variation 

 in tone from a low ajid gentle pleading, to a loud and confident 

 assertion. In fact the tones vary much as do those of the human 

 voice, and there is a very human quality in them, so much so that 

 when alone on some solitary isle, I was not infrequently startled 

 with the idea that there were men near at hand. 



But the showy drake Eider does not depend on his voice alone, 

 he displays his charms of dress to best advantage, and indulges in 

 well-worn antics. It always seemed to me a pity that the magnifi- 

 cent black belly should disappear -when the drake is swimming on 

 the water, and the bird evidently shares my sentiments, for, during 

 courtship, he frequently displays this black shield by rising up in 

 front, so that at times in his eagerness he almost stands upon his 

 tail. To further relieve his feelings he throws back his head, and 

 occasionally flaps his wings. The movements of the head and neck 

 are an imj)ortant part of the courtship, and although there is con- 

 siderable variation in the order and extent of the performance, a 

 complete antic is somew^hat as follows: The head is drawn rigidly 

 dowai, the bill resting against the breast; the head is then raised 

 up until the bill points vertically upwards, and at this time the bill 

 may or may not be opened to emit the love-notes. Directly after 

 this the head is occasionally jerked backwards a short distance still 

 rigidly, and then returned to its normal position. All this the drake 



