ANATIN/E — THE DUCKS — CLAXGULA. 47 



disturbed, but generally appear as much at home iu this land-locked Vjasin as if in 

 their wild retreats, swimming up to within a few rods of the dwellings iu Beacon 

 Street, or diving under the much-frequented bridges. 



On Long Island, as Mr. Giraud states, the Golden-eye is better known among the 

 hunters as the " Whistler," from the peculiar noise produced Vjy its wings when fly- 

 ing. By others it is also called the " Great-Head," from its beautifully rich and 

 thickly crested head. On that island it is said to be a not very abundant species, 

 arriving there in company with other migratory Ducks. He met with it in the fall 

 and spring on the Delaware and in Chesapeake Bay, as well as at Egg Harbor and on 

 Long Island. In the interior it is said to be much more common. Its food seemed 

 to consist of small shell and other fish, which it procures by diving. In the fall its 

 flesh is said to be about equal or even superior to that of the Scaup Duck. It is very 

 shy, and is decoyed with great difficulty. In stormy weather it often takes shelter in 

 the coves with the Scaup Duck, and there it may be more readily killed. It usually 

 flies very high, and the whistling sound produced by the action of its wings is the 

 only noise that it makes as it proceeds. 



Audubon found the Golden-eye abundant iu South Carolina during the winter, 

 where at times it frequented the preserves of the rice-planters. He also met with it 

 at that season on the watercourses of Florida. In the Ohio Eiver he found it j)re- 

 ferring the eddies and rapids, and there it was in the habit of diving for its food. 

 Naturally the Golden-eye is chiefly seen in company with the Buftle-head, the ^Mer- 

 ganser, and other species that are expert divers like itself. When wounded, unless 

 badly hurt, its power of diving and of remaining under water is so remarkable that 

 it cannot be taken. In 1842 Mr. Jonathan Johnson, of Nahant, shot a male of this 

 species, wounding it in the head and stunning it. The back part of the skull had 

 been shot away, and the bird was supposed to be mortally wounded. It, however, 

 appeared to recover, fed readily on corn, and became quite tame. It was purchased 

 by the late Thomas Lee, Esq., and kept by him in an enclosure. But the cover of 

 its enclosure being one day incautiously opened, the bird, which had seemed reconciled 

 to confinement, suddenly bounded upward through the open space, and disappeared. 



The flight of the Whistler is powerful, rapid, and protracted. On rising from the 

 water it proceeds at first very low, and does not ascend to its usual height until it 

 has gone a considerable distance. Although generally a very silent bird, yet just 

 before it leaves for its breeding-places in the spring, the male has a rough croaking 

 note ; and this note may also be heard if, having fallen wounded to the ground, it is 

 taken alive. 



Audubon pronounces the flesh of this Duck fishy and unfit for food. This may be 

 true where it has been rendered rank and strong by some peculiar kind of food, but 

 birds of this species taken near Boston that I have eaten were far from being uiipala- 

 table. It feeds on shellfish, mollusca, marine vegetables, and seeds, and in confine- 

 ment will readily eat corn and grain. 



In Southern Wisconsin, according to the observations of Professor Kumlien, Ducks 

 of this species are found sparingly in the spring, but are more abundant in the fall, 

 a few being known to pass the winter in that locality, wherever they can find deej) 

 and open water. They do not, however, remain there during the summer. 



Eggs of this species closely resemble those of the islandica, being uniformly of a 

 pale grayish pea-green color. Two from Moose Eiver, Southern Hudson Bay (Smith- 

 sonian Institution, No. 4338), measure 2.55 by 1.70 inches, and 2.50 by 1.70. Three 

 from Eort Eae (No. 5032), Great Slave Lake, are of a deeper green, and measure, 

 two, 2.35 by 1.70 inches, and one 2.30 by 1.70. 



