THE SCAUP 273 



the words, ' tuc-tuc-turra-tuc.' If alarmed, or pretending to be so, she 

 swims away quickly with powerful strokes, uttering her grating cry, 

 ' scaar-scaarr.' When paired the female often comes up to the male 

 and bows her head several times. The actual show of the male is 

 a quick throw up of the head and neck, which is greatly swollen with 

 air as it extends. At the summit of extension the bird utters a gentle 

 cry like the words 'pa-whoo,' only uttered once. As he makes his 

 show the female sometimes swims round him, lowering the head and 

 dipping the bill to the surface of the water, and making a gentle call 

 ' chup-chup,' or 'chup-chup cherr-err.' Quite as frequently the cry of 

 the male is uttered after the head is raised and slightly lowered. He 

 also utters a very low whistle. Except the harsh loud cry of the 

 female, all these calls of pairing scaup are very low in tone, and the 

 spectator must be within a few yards of the birds to hear them." 

 The same writer also quotes a note from Mr. Gerald Legge, who 

 observed a male suddenly draw back its head and neck with a quick 

 jerk, something like the throw of the male pochard, except that the 

 head was horizontal and not turned over till the throat was uppermost. 

 Riemschneider noticed that the males, when in company with their 

 mates, uttered occasionally a low " uhu, uhu." 



The ordinary call-note of this species bears some resemblance to 

 that of the tufted-duck, but is louder and harsher. It is also used 

 as an alarm-note, and may be heard both while swimming and in flight. 

 Naumann describes it as a loud, rough, deep "karr, harr, karr" etc. 1 

 Hantzsch remarks that when a family party is approached a snoring 

 or rattling note is heard, which sounds something like " brr, brr," or 

 " hrr, hrr." Should the danger become more imminent, one of the 

 party flutters anxiously, uttering again a harsh " br rah," while from 

 the young in varying tones may be heard higher pitched " krkr" 2 



1 Seebohm distinguishes between the call-note (which he describes as a most discordant 

 sound, and compares to a man with an exceptionally harsh, hoarse voice screaming out the 

 word "scaup" at the top of his voice) and the grating alarm-note, like that of the tufted- 

 duck, uttered during flight (Hist, of British Birds, iii. p. 580). 



2 Hantzsch, Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Vogelwelt Islands, p. 185. 



