22 ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



on the breast and flanks, shading into white on the throat and 

 into pale grey on the belly (Salvadori}. 



Hybirds. The Golden-eye has been known to interbreed 

 with the Smew, Pochard, Scaup, and Buffel-headed Duck. 



Characters. This species is very easily recognisable by its 

 coloration, and cannot well be confounded with any of the 

 other British Ducks. The female can be told from that of 

 any of the Diving Ducks by its brown axillaries and white 

 speculum, but it has no white patch on the ear-coverts as in 

 C. albeola. 



Eange in Great Britain. A winter visitor, frequenting inland 

 lakes from October to May. It has been doubtfully recorded 

 as breeding in Scotland, but is best known as a winter visitant 

 to that country and to Ireland, resorting to the coasts when 

 the inland waters are frozen over. 



Range outside the British Islands. The Golden-eye breeds in 

 Northern Europe up to 70 N. lat., in Scandinavia and in 

 Russia to about 58, and sparingly in Holstein, Pomerania, 

 and Eastern Prussia. Its breeding-range further extends from 

 the Caucasus throughout Siberia and Arctic America, for 

 Count Salvadori confesses his inability to separate the 

 European and American Golden-eyes. In the New World 

 its winter range extends as far south as Mexico and the Greater 

 Antilles. In Europe it visits the Mediterranean in winter, 

 and in the East occurs in China at this season, and even 

 extends to North-western India, but very rarely. Barrow's 

 Golden-eye (Clangula islandica) has been supposed to huve 

 occurred in England, but the evidence is not considered suffi- 

 cient. The latter species inhabits North America, Greenland, 

 and Iceland, and differs from the common species in having 

 the head and neck glossy blue-black, with a large triangular 

 patch across the lores. The female differs from the female 

 Golden-eye in being larger and in having a broader grey chest- 

 band. 



Habits. Although frequenting, as a rule, lakes, rivers, and 

 marshy lands, the Golden-eye also affects the sea-coasts in 

 winter. Mr. Seebohm observes : " It is remarkable for its 

 noisy flight, its rapidly moving wings whistling in the wind as 



