96 NATURAL HISTOEY OF 



the northernmost locality where I have seen it. It is gene- 

 rally to be observed in pairs, or small flocks of six or seven 

 individuals, stationed on the rocks, or swimming about in the 

 extensive beds of the " kelp," which girdles the coast in most 

 spots ; but, occasionally, large flocks, composed of many hun- 

 dreds are to be met with. When undisturbed in the water 

 they swim quietly along, producing two peculiar notes, — that 

 of the male being a sort of mew rapidly repeated, while that 

 of the female is a kind of deep growl — and diligently search- 

 ing the fronds of the kelp for the animals to be found thereon, 

 or diving for mussels, which appear to be one of their 

 staple articles of diet, as I always found fragments of the 

 shells in the stomachs of those which I examined. The 

 stomach is a most powerful organ, with very thick muscular 

 coats, and the lower part of the windpipe or trachea of the 

 male possesses an enlargement of considerable size. This, 

 which is likewise to be met with in the males of many other 

 species of ducks, serves to modify the voice. At the Falkland 

 Islands, in common with many other birds, the steamer-ducks 

 are much tamer than they are in the Strait of Magellan, 

 allowing the observer to come within a few yards of them 

 without accelerating their speed. When alarmed at the pro- 

 spect of impending danger, however, they lose no time in get- 

 ting up steam, paddling through the water at a marvellous 

 rate by dint of flapping their little wings, the motion of which 

 is so excessively rapid, that it is difficult to convince one's 

 self that they are not revolving, leaving a long wake of foam 

 like that produced by a miniature steamer behind them, and 

 not ceasing this method of progression till a safe distance has 

 intervened between them and the object of their dread. They 

 often assist their escape, in addition, by diving, and coming 

 up to the surface at a distance of many yards in a direction 



