156 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



a single note of the hurdy-gurdy. You may perhaps expect 

 his return and wait for him; but although he may remain 

 about the same place, making these calls, and apparently 

 careless, he is all the time very suspicious ; and I only once 

 or twice, in my whole experience, knew him return to the 

 spot where he was first discovered. Should he get sight of 

 you, there is no hope, even if he does not take wing, which 

 he most likely will. The little morillon may return, if you 

 think him worth waiting for. I have called this bird the 

 morillon, although for nearly thirty years I have detected it 

 to be the female golden-eye. Before making this discovery, 

 I fancied the immature male golden-eye to be the female; 

 and having sent one to be preserved in a case with an old male, 

 was surprised to be told it was a young male. I then sent 

 eight morillons for inspection, which all proved to be females. 

 Mr Baker, the bird-fancier, told me there were two morillons 

 in the Eegent's Park in 1851, which for some years showed 

 no signs of adopting the adult plumage of the golden-eye. 

 No doubt they were females. 



When several are diving together, you must get as near as 

 possible without alarming them ; and, selecting a couple who 

 dive at the same moment, hoot away the others, who will be 

 far out of reach before their companions come up. They will 

 probably never miss them until they have taken two or three 

 dives, thus giving you an opportunity of getting the shot, of 

 which you would have a much worse chance while they were 

 together. 



In recommending this, be it observed, I am supposing the 

 ground of difficult access ; when favourable, even a novice 

 should be able to get within a run of any number of fowl, 

 without being seen by the most wary of the flock, and can 

 then make his selection. For my own part, I hardly ever 

 adopt this plan ; but where the ground is bare and open, 

 an unpractised wild-fowl shooter would stand no chance 

 otherwise. 



