WATER BIRDS. 223 



incessantly, but the following morning they had dis- 

 appeared. 



One or two pairs have occasionally abandoned their 

 northern visit and remained with us to breed, choosing 

 the long grass and rushes on the banks of the lake in 

 which to place their nest. They have also been known 

 to breed at Osberton. 



In 1 849 a small party visited a large pond in Colwick 

 Park, near Nottingham, where they remained for several 

 weeks, mingling in a friendly manner with some domestic 

 ducks, and evincing little shyness, although the pond was 

 close to the house. 



The Golden-eyed Garrot (A. clangula) is generally 

 amongst our winter visitors, though we cannot reckon 

 on its regular arrival. In the winter of 1860 six or seven 

 individuals frequented Thoresby Lake, and remained a 

 few weeks ; and through the winter of 1863 they were 

 unusually plentiful. 



Another handsome stranger is the Smew (Mergus 

 albellus), which occasionally favours us with a visit. 

 Several frequented the same water for a short time in 

 February, 1855 ; and again, in 1860, 1 saw a pair on the 

 same day I noticed the golden-eye. Five or six were 

 also seen on the Trent in the winter of 1349, and several 

 of these were shot; but it is only in hard winters that 

 they come so far inland. 



The smew shows wonderful activity in the water, 

 diving on the slightest alarm ; and I have been much 

 astonished at the immense distance which it will pass 

 under water. 



Unlike the smew, the Goosander (M. merganser) 

 regularly frequents the lakes in the parks, and in some 

 years in considerable numbers, arriving about the end 



