Birds. 2293 



nor at a great height above the surface of the ocean. It is marked by a greater flapping 

 of the wings than what is observable in the flight of the cluck tribe in general, and is 

 not unlike the movements of the common pigeon. Their wings, also, appear broader 

 and extended more horizontally than those of most other species among the Anatidas. 

 Their cries are of a singular character ; and from these cries their own trivial name 

 has been formed, according to the manner in which they have struck the ear of the 

 different people among whom the birds have, at any time, their abode. Dr. Richard- 

 son, for example (' Fauna Boreali-Americana,' vol. ii. p. 460), enumerates the names 

 by which they are known, in this way, among the inhabitants of the United States, the 

 Canadians, and the Cree Indians ; and they are all of them, more or less, an exact 

 imitation of the sounds themselves as they are heard in Nature. The name, however, 

 given to them in the locality to which I am referring, would appear to be the most ac- 

 curate imitation of any : it is expressed by ' coal an' cannel licht,' being the Scotch 

 for ' coal and candle light.' These words, when pronounced rapidly, and when the 

 last word is dwelt upon, convey an exact representation of the cries of which we are 

 speaking. When the sea is calm, these cries may be heard of an evening all over the 

 bay. Towards Whitsunday, even in the severest seasons, the long-tailed ducks have 

 all taken their departure for the north, and are no longer to be seen. 



When the season is severe the scaup duck {Fuligula marila) makes its appearance 

 on the river, but, so far as I have remarked, does not penetrate inland beyond the in- 

 fluence of the tide. On the occurrence of a continued storm, when the snow lies deep 

 and the frost is intense, this duck has been observed in a flock of from ten to a dozen. 

 On their first arrival, I have approached the brink of the river, and have stood looking 

 at them at the distance only of a few feet. They seemingly took no notice of the cir- 

 cumstance, continued their movements, and appeared wholly unconscious of danger. 

 After the lapse of a few days, however, having experienced probably how formidable 

 an enemy is man, they became as wary and as difficult of approach as at first they were 

 heedless and undismayed by the vicinity of a human being : this circumstance would 

 tend to show that they had come direct from a region where man is not to be seen. 

 They are known among the inhabitants, or rather the sportsmen, of the locality in ques- 

 tion, by the absurd name of the Norwegian teal. 



In stormy winter the river is adorned by the presence of the goosander {Mergus 

 merganser). This handsome and conspicuous bird has no provincial name, so far as I 

 am aware, by which he is known in this locality. His visits are rare, and there are 

 many seasons when he does not make his appearance at all. On some occasions, how- 

 ever, I have seen as many as from a dozen to twenty. The female, as is well known, 

 is so different in her appearance from the male, that she was long regarded by natural- 

 ists as a distinct and separate species, under the name of the ' dun diver.' There is 

 still the recollection present to my mind of having remarked, that, while the male al- 

 most uniformly takes wing on your approach to the river, the female rarely or never 

 does so, but, with a hoarse and as it were suppressed kind of croaking, makes off for 

 the opposite side, sunk deeply in the water, and hurrying rapidly down the stream : 

 should she be surprised unexpectedly, or pressed more hardly and perseveringly than 

 usual, she finally dives, makes her way rapidly under the water, and emerges silently 

 at a very considerable distance from the spot where she went down : the male, on the 

 contrary, although he gets upon wing with apparent difficulty, moving at first like a 

 stone skimming the surface of the water, ascends, nevertheless, to a great elevation in 

 the air, describing a circle of extended diameter, and only alighting again after more 



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