THE LONGTAILED-DUCK 277 



the hole and gave a single loud cluck or call, when the ducklings 

 scrambled to the mouth of the hole and fell into the water one after 

 another. One or two hesitated an instant on the edge, but most of 

 them toppled out over the edge as soon as they appeared, using their 

 tiny wings in the descent, the duck sitting meantime motionless on 

 the water. As soon as the last duckling had descended, she led her 

 brood to a flooded thicket in which they disappeared. Young 

 European goldeneyes, hatched in confinement, were very active, and 

 after three weeks the feathers began to show on the shoulders. At 

 six weeks old they were completely feathered, but the flight feathers 

 were only just sprouting, and after sixty days they were able to fly, 

 and practically full grown. 1 



Its courting-note apart, the goldeneye is a very silent bird, only 

 uttering an occasional low croak. It is an expert diver. Cordeaux 

 describes how the body is thrown forward to add momentum to the 

 plunge. The period under water is estimated by him at forty-five to 

 fifty seconds, but Caton Haigh gives the average time as twenty to 

 thirty seconds. After diving they rise up very suddenly, almost at 

 the point of descent, and when feeding only remain a few seconds on 

 the surface before plunging in again with a splash, thus spending 

 four-fifths of their time under water. 2 They are among the most wary 

 of our water-fowl, and, like the pochard, are hardly ever taken in 

 decoys ; but though almost unapproachable at sea, throw off some of 

 their wildness when visiting inland waters. 



THE LONGTAILED-DUCK 



No duck, except possibly the pintail, can rival the longtailed- 

 duck in beauty of form and colouring. There is some evidence, 

 though as yet not fully satisfactory, that it has bred in the Orkneys, 

 and with more probability also in the Shetlands ; but to the rest of the 



1 Ibis, 1909, p. 189. 2 Frohawk's British Birds, vol. iv. p. 157. 



VOL. IV. 2N 



