i6o BRITISH BIRDS. WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



if wounded and dropping in water amongst reeds and sedges it is almost impossible 

 to retrieve them. 



On their passage south in the autumn it is said the old males precede the 

 3^oung, then come the females, and lastly the young of the year. The old males 

 as a rule do not appear to come so far south as do the females and birds of the 

 year. Some of the northern flocks being composed entirely of old males, and 

 hundreds together. 



The male in full plumage has the bill black ; iris bright yellow, (hence the 

 name) ; legs and feet orange, with webs black ; head and upper neck glossy-black, 

 with green and purple reflections ; a large ovate white spot at the base of the 

 bill extending to the cheek ; back velvety-black ; lower neck, breast, and belly, 

 white ; inner secondaries, middle and greater wing- coverts, white ; a small black 

 stripe divides the wing into two parts ; scapulars white, streaked with black on 

 their outer webs ; tail blackish ; feathers on thighs edged with black. 



The female is much the smallest ; 'the head and neck reddish-brown ; lower 

 neck, breast, and belly white, and flanks brownish; upper parts blackish- grey ; 

 neither the female or young have any white spot at the base of the bill ; the 

 irides are bronze-yellow. 



The females and young are known to fowlers as the " Morillon," and are often 

 considered a distinct species, a belief which St. John at one time shared. The 

 many and various stages of plumage in the Goldeneye are very puzzling to the 

 amateur naturalist and sportsman, and I have probably had more examples brought 

 to name than all the other Ducks together. The male requires four years to get 

 the full adult plumage ; in the second year the white spot at the base of the bill 

 is indistinctly visible, and the black feathers shew amongst the reddish-brown of 

 neck and head. In the first year the young males and females have the bill 

 towards the end yellow, subsequently this disappears in the males, but is retained 

 in the females. The trachea in the male is very peculiar, having two great dilata- 

 tions, one about the middle and the other, an enormous tympanum, at the base; 

 the bronchial tubes are also very large. It is difficult to say what special purpose 

 these peculiar enlargements fulfil in the economy of the male bird : it cannot be 

 voice, for those species with the greatest development are the most silent. 



The flesh of the Goldeneye is considered rank and unpalatable ; much, how- 

 ever, depends in this, as well as in other Ducks, on the manner of cooking. Sea 

 Ducks if eaten should always be first skinned and the back cut away ; this will 

 be found to make all the difference between a fairly dainty and an offensive dish. 



Goldeneyes vary greatly in size and weight, an adult male will weigh up to 

 2-lbs. 6-oz. Mr. Abel Chapman gives the weight of those shot by him on the 



