Birds of Britain 

 THE BUFFEL-HEADED DUCK 



Clangula albeola (Linnaeus) 



Only two or three examples of this North American species 

 have been obtained in this country. In general coloration 

 it bears a distant resemblance to the Golden-eye, but the 

 male may be recognised by the presence of a large triangular 

 white patch on the head, having its apex at the back of the 

 eye. The female is a dull-coloured bird of various shades 

 of brown. Length 15 in. ; wing 6 7 5 in. 



THE LONG-TAILED DUCK 



Harelda glacialis (Linnaeus) 



Like many other of our Ducks this is a species which 

 breeds in the north and only visits us in winter. It is 

 fairly common in the north of Scotland and adjoining islands, 

 and there is some evidence that it may occasionally have 

 stayed to breed in the Shetlands. On the east of England 

 immature examples are sometimes shot, especially in severe 

 winters, and the same may be said for the north of Ireland. 

 Over the rest of our islands it is decidedly a rare bird. 



Like most Diving Ducks, its food consists of crustaceans 

 and molluscs, and during the winter it is rarely found in- 

 land ; in the breeding season, however, it frequents small 

 meres and ponds, feeding largely on aquatic vegetation. 



258 



