511 



still escape, so small an object as the bill of a bird 

 being difficult to distinguish at any considerable 

 distance, especially if the bird happens to get just in 

 the glare of the sun upon the water : of course in 

 rough weather the difficulty in seeing the bill of the 

 bird is considerably increased. In no other way 

 can I account for their sudden disappearance ; just 

 when I have almost been in the act of putting out 

 my hand to take a wounded bird into the boat there 

 is a splash and a dive, and sometimes the bird is 

 never seen again : it certainly does not die under 

 water, or it would rise to the surface and be easily 

 seen. 



The food of the Goldeneye seems to consist of 

 small fish, shell-fish, small frogs and spawn, aquatic 

 insects of various sorts and larvae, also the roots, 

 buds and seeds of aquatic plants. It seems to have 

 a tolerably good appetite ; for, speaking of this bird, 

 a correspondent of the ' Zoologist ' says he found in 

 the stomach of one, nine young eels, forty-eight 

 Lymnaea peregra, three Lymnsea stagnalis (two well- 

 known species of fresh-water shells), six caddis- 

 worms, an entree of fresh-water shrimps, with 

 fixings of earth-worms, larvae of gnat, larvae of 

 dragon-fly, and grit. Grit and small sand are often 

 found in the stomachs of these birds, probably 

 swallowed with the food ; larger stones are also 

 found, these probably are swallowed for the pur- 

 pose of assisting digestion. 



