292 VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF LAKELAND 



When a party of Scaup are feeding, it rarely happens that all 

 the birds are submerged at the same time. They generally 

 feed in one and the same direction, and after travelling a 

 certain distance on the feed, will rise and fly back to the point 

 from which they started and begin to work the same area of' 

 sand or scar over again. They generally go down to feed with 

 an ebbing tide, and return with the tide. The pace at which 

 an old Scaup drake will swim up an estuary, when the tide is 

 helping it, has surprised me on one or two occasions. Their 

 call-note is extremely harsh, and can be heard at some distance, 

 but during the winter it is not very often uttered. Towards 

 the close of winter, when the old males are in full dress, they 

 pair off and frequently ascend the Eden and other rivers for 

 considerable distances, though it is chiefly birds in immature 

 or female dress which are shot on our fresh waters. In 

 February, the Scaups which have passed the winter in small 

 and large flocks begin to collect in Silloth Bay ; at least such 

 has been their custom of recent years — but their movements, 

 and the abundance or scarcity of their numbers generally, have 

 a direct relation to the food supply and to the quiet which they 

 enjoy. In 1889 I went to Silloth on March 22nd, on purpose 

 to see the flocks of Scaups which had assembled in the bay, 

 knowing that they must shortly be taking their departure from 

 our coast. The tide was flowing, and we at once fell in with a 

 flock of about fifty Scaups which were congregating in the open 

 channel. Our trawling boat awakened their apprehension of 

 danger ; after swimming in front of us for a short distance, they 

 rose hurriedly on the wing. Four of the number went off to 

 the open sea. Their companions rose to a good height, and, 

 swinging past us heavily, broke into three divisions, which came 

 flighting round, and then flew away to the eastward. That 

 afternoon, when the tide had begun to ebb, we watched a flock 

 of two hundred Scaups, most of them diving for shellfish ; while 

 resting on the surface of the water they frequently shook their 

 wings and sat half erect upon the tide. Occasionally a duck 

 left the main flock to enjoy a solitary flight. In 1890 we 

 went down to see the Scaup in Silloth Bay on the 28th of Feb. 

 The weather was magnificent, and, though the tide had nearly 



