many " dodges " for concealment as the Merganser ; 

 it is, however, a very powerful and active diver and a 

 strong and rapid flyer. The capacity of these birds for 

 swallowing fishes almost equals that of the Cormorant, 

 but I find that my pinioned birds will, when they have 

 the choice, select lumps of raw meat in preference to 

 salt-water fishes ; I think that their favourite morsels 

 are small eels and frogs, but they are not very particular, 

 and I have several times seen them bolt lumps of the 

 barley-meal pudding that we give to our Ducks and 

 Pochards. This species is said to breed in Iceland, 

 throughout Scandinavia, and certain other parts of 

 Northern Europe ; its favourite nesting-places are hollow 

 trees, and in Scandinavia it frequently takes possession 

 of the wooden boxes put up by the natives for the 

 special purpose of securing its eggs and those of the 

 Golden-eye. The nest is also occasionally made upon 

 the ground amongst rocks and stones, but, according to 

 all accounts, never without some shelter. In my expe- 

 rience this is a rare bird in the Mediterranean. I am 

 inclined to think that it is more frequently met with in 

 the eastern portions of that sea during the winter months 

 than in the great western basin that separates the Iberian 

 and Italian Peninsulas. I cannot conclude without 

 another word of admiration for this bird, which I 

 consider to be, when in full masculine plumage, about 

 the most beautiful of British birds. 



