242 DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS, AND PELICANS. 



swimming about, happy and active. This shows her that in them 

 she cannot recognise her own flesh and blood. 



There are several favourite varieties of the Domestic Duck, but 

 those of Normandy and Picardy, in France, and the Aylesbury 

 Ducks in England, are the most profitable. Every nation rears 

 Ducks ; but the Chinese undeniably most excel in this art. For 

 hatching them the Celestials have recourse to artificial heat. They 

 also possess some superb varieties, which have been recently im- 

 ported into Europe, and are at the present time the glory of 

 our ornamental waters. Magnificent pairs of Chinese Ducks, 

 of which the Mandarin is the most beautiful, may be admired in 

 the Jardin d'Acclimatation at Paris, at the Zoological Gardens 

 of the Regent's Park, and also in the artificial waters in the parks 

 and gardens of our principal cities. 



The Common Wild Duck, which we have described, is the type 

 of the order of Ducks ; but there are about seventy other species. 

 The most remarkable are the Widgeon, the Poachard, the Shoveller, 

 the Shieldrake, the Eider Duck, the Teal, the Black Diver, and 

 the Merganser. 



THE GOLDEN-EYED GARROT. 



ENGLISH SYNONYMS. Golden-eyed Garrot : McGillivray, Yarrell, Mon- 

 tagu, Jenyns, Selby. Golden-eyed Duck, Gewdy Duck, Pied Widgeon, 

 Whistler. 



LATIN SYNONYMS. Anas clangula: Linn., Latham, Temminck. Anas 

 glaucion: Bonaparte, Linn., Young, Yarrell, Latham. Clangula vul- 

 garis : Selby. Clangula clirysophtlialmus : Jenyns. 



The Golden-eyed Garrot, Anas clangula, is sometimes called the 

 Golden-eyed Duck, on account of the brightness of the iris of its 

 eye. In some provinces it has received the nickname of the 

 Harlequin Duck, because its plumage, at a little distance off, looks 

 as if it was composed of black and white feathers only. This 

 variegated appearance, which occurs only in th,e males, makes a 

 fine show on the dark pools and lakes of the north Highlands and 

 Hebrides, where the scenery in winter is excessively dismal. When 

 undisturbed, they float lightly on the surface ; but if alarmed, 

 they are said to sink themselves deeper in the water, diving 

 rapidly, and swimming with great velocity. They fly also 

 swiftly in a direct manner, their small, stiff, and sharp-pointed 



