390 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



times, but then, as with an effort, the whole cry is completed loud 

 and clear, and repeated several times, as if in triumph. At this 

 time they were busily feeding, diving in very deep water on a sand 

 bottom, and calling to one another when they rose to the surface. 

 I never saw these ducks come very near the shore;^ perhaps this is 

 partly owing to the bay which they frequent having shores which 

 they could not approach easily, as there is usually a heavy surf 

 breaking upon them. I have frequently watched them at night, to 

 see if they would come into any of the creeks, but they never did; 

 on the contrary, after dusk they would often leave the bay; the 

 whole of them would fly off simultaneously in the direction of the 

 mainland of Mull, as if they were bound for some well-known 

 feeding ground. I have often seen them actively feeding in the 

 day time, though more generally they are floating about at rest or 

 diverting themselves. They are of a very lively and restless dis- 

 position, continually rising on the wing, flying round and round in 

 circles, chasing one another, hurrying along the surface, half-flying, 

 half- swimming, and accompanying all these gambols with their 

 curious cries. When the storms are at their loudest, and the waves 

 running mountains high, then their glee seems to reach its highest 

 pitch, and they appear thoroughly to enjoy the confusion. When 

 watching them on one of these occasions, I had to take shelter 

 under a rock from a dreadful blast, accompanied by very heavy 

 snow, which in a moment blotted out the whole landscape; every- 

 thing was enveloped in a shroud of mist and driving sleet; but from 

 the midst of the intense gloom there arose the triumphant song of 

 these wild creatures rising above the uproar of the elements ; and 

 when the mist lifted, I beheld the whole flock careering about the 

 bay as if mad with delight." 



On the eastern and northern coasts of Scotland, the Long-tailed 

 Duck may be called a familiar winter visitor, being distributed in 

 small flocks off shore from Berwickshire to Caithness. It is 

 plentiful in some seasons in the Firth of Forth, where it never 

 fails to arrest the attention of persons living near the beach its 

 singularly wild and musical cry being an agreeable break in the 

 continual murmur of the waters. When gathered into still larger 

 flocks, their restlessness seems to increase as the barometer indicates 

 a change, and the birds are sometimes heard, when hurrying 

 seawards towards nightfall, sounding their curious melodies in 

 unison with the waders piping on the shore. At other times I 



