NIAGARA RIVER AND THE DUCKS. 463 



which afe almost of metallic firmness. Choo-choo-choo-choo- 

 choo-choo, given as rapidly as possible, may recall the start- 

 ling sound, which soon becomes very familiar, and may be 

 heard distinctly some half a mile or more. The beat of the 

 wings is so rapid that, as the bird flies from you, the white 

 secondaries form a hazy semicircle on each side of the dark 

 posterior of the body, the black primaries adding still 

 larger semicircles beyond. When flying past, the oval spot 

 of white at the base of the bill of the male, contrasting 

 with the dark, glossy green of the head, and the white 

 neck, the body being black above and behind, readily differen- 

 tiate the species. The female, having a dark-brown head 

 without the spot at the base of the bill, and having a light- 

 gray neck and darker gray or dusky pectoral band, is 

 known by her relation to the male, and is much smaller 

 than her more striking consort. The body is short, the 

 bill short and stubbed, almost as nearly like a lamb's 

 nose as a Duck's bill, and the head is rather thick. The 

 golden-yellow iris is a striking mark of the bird, and the 

 orange feet with dusky webs soon become familiar to the 

 eye. The food of this species is such as not to render it a 

 favorite on the table, though it is generally eaten. Dimin- 

 ishing in numbers already in the middle of April, a few 

 linger in New York as late as the 20th of May; and except 

 in the case of stray birds, the breeding place is far to the 

 north. Mr. Fortiscue reports it as breeding in trees along 

 Nelson River, and it is said to breed in a similar manner 

 in Newfoundland and in Northern New England. The 6-10 

 eggs, spherical and ashy-green, are some 2. 38 x 1.78. The 

 annual range of the common Golden-eye (Bucephala clan- 

 guld) is throughout North America and Europe. 



Barrow's Golden-eye (B. islandica) is now well differen- 

 tiated as a closely-allied species. For this conclusion much 



