THE BIRDS OF IONA AND MULL. 251 



suspicious of a large boat than of a smaller. We considered them 

 better eating than most other maritime ducks ; they seem to feed 

 entirely on seaweed, browsing at the bottom in deep water. When 

 startled, they take flight at once, without having recourse to diving as 

 a means of escape. We sometimes find the nest upon the unfrequented 

 islets, among the rocks a little above the sea-level. The eggs are large, 

 of a greenish colour, and we once hatched a set under a common hen, 

 but did not succeed in rearing the ducklings, probably from want of 

 water, proper food, and liberty, as they survived only about a fortnight. 

 They were black, and the size of goslings. Eiders abound on the isles 

 of Colonsay and Oronsay, whose coasts are surrounded by them in 

 spring and summer, and, in common with hordes of other wild fowl, 

 they increase and multiply on the rocks of those islands under the pro- 

 tection of the proprietor, Lord Colonsay, who does not allow them to 

 be molested, though on my visit to the island he most courteously gave 

 me leave to help myself to as many specimens of any kind as I liked. 

 The eider is commonly known in this part of the country by the name 

 of Lack Cholonsa the Colonsay duck. 



THE GOOSANDER. 



Norse, Stor-skraka or Kor-fogel diving bird. 



Is very plentiful along our shores, I may say all the year round, 

 for though I have never found it actually breeding, it cannot be very 

 far off, as the young broods make their appearance at a very early age, 

 diving and fishing as actively as the old birds. The goosander is not 

 difficult to shoot, as they can be stalked when diving near the land, 

 where they come in very close sometimes to catch small flounders and 

 other little fish. One I shot had just bolted a mussel, shell and all, 

 unbroken. Their flesh is not fit to eat, so we only killed them when 

 wanting specimens. The country people only know them by the name 

 of the " narrow-billed duck," to distinguish them from the true ducks. 

 Armstrong gives sioltaiche as their name, though I never heard it used. 



RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 



Norse, Sma skraka. 



Is the more abundant kind of the two species, being, in fact, our 

 common goosander. A very pretty sight they make in some rock- 



