422 THE GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL 



separated from the Palsearctic individuals by American ornitholo- 

 gists under the name of Fidigula glaucion ainericana, because 

 they are said to be a trifle larger. Whether this race is worthy of 

 subspecific rank is yet by no means proved. F. islavdica, an in- 

 habitant of much the same area in the Nearctic region as 

 F. glaucion, but extending to Greenland and Iceland. Distinguished 

 from the Golden-eye by having the white on the sides of the head, 

 extending in the form of a crescent in front of the eye : females 

 and young birds are indistinguishable from those of the Old 

 World species. This species has been included in the British list 

 on the faith of a female example, said to have been shot at the 

 mouth of the Derwent ! There is no evidence whatever to con- 

 firm this. 



Time during which the Golden-eye may be taken.— 

 August ist to March ist; otherwise by authority of owner or 

 occupier of land. 



Habits. — The Golden-eye is certainly more addicted to fresh 

 water than the sea, and so long as its inland haunts remain open 

 it remains upon them ; continued frost sends it to the coast, 

 where it is most partial to low-lying muds and estuaries. This 

 Duck arrives on the British coasts and inland waters about the 

 middle of October and remains with us until the following April, 

 although immature birds have been noticed as late as the end of 

 May. Prjevalsky found small numbers of these birds wintering 

 on Lake Hanka, on the open part of the river Sungatch in 

 Mongolia (N. lat. 44°); but late in March and early in April 

 they become very plentiful. At the large lake of Koko-Nor 

 (N. lat. 37°), situated at an elevation of 10,000 feet, they arrived 

 on the 4th of March and became numerous towards the 

 middle of the month ; whilst at Dalai-Nor (in N. lat. 43°) they 

 arrived at the end of March and early in April, congregating 

 on those parts of the lake that were free from ice. The migration 

 south in autumn takes place in September and October. Sto- 

 liczka observed numbers at Lake Sirikul, on the Pamir, at an 

 elevation of 10,000 feet, in May, when most of the water was 

 covered with ice. From these facts it will be gathered that the 

 Golden-eye is a hardy species, apt to linger in its favourite haunts 

 until the frosts seal them and stop its food supplies, and returning 



