294 VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF LAKELAND 



GOLDENEYE. 



Glangula glaucion (L. ). 



Dr. Heysham knew the Goldeneye as ' pretty frequent in 

 winter.' There can be no doubt that he was right, since the 

 species is more widely distributed over the interior of Lake- 

 land than any other species of Fuligulinss. Murray meets with 

 it commonly at Carnforth, and Bell at Milnthorpe ; the late 

 Mr. Kirkby showed me some specimens shot near Ulverston in 

 November 1888, and Mr. Williams tells us that a few are shot 

 every winter on the Barrow reservoir. It is not with us a 

 maritime duck. Those I have seen preserved at Whitehaven, 

 as almost everywhere else, were shot on fresh water. It is a 

 common bird on many of the lakes, Windermere, Bassenthwaite, 

 Eydalwater, among others, being frequented by a few Golden- 

 eyes every winter. I saw a very handsome drake and three 

 birds in female dress on Derwentwater on April 2, 1889, and 

 have seen others shot there. It is not a common bird in the 

 extreme east of our faunal area; immature birds have been 

 obtained on various occasions near Alston, but suitable tarns 

 are few and far between, south of Talkin Tarn. But on the 

 lakes and estuary rivers, and all along the Eden valley, the 

 Goldeneye is one of the most frequent of visitors, chiefly in 

 small flocks. It does not arrive in any abundance before the 

 middle of November, but a few stragglers in female or immature 

 dress generally appear at least a month earlier; thus in 1884 

 our first example was shot on October 10th ; in 1885, five birds 

 appeared on the Eden on October 22d ; in 1886, the first seen 

 arrived on October 21st; in 1888, the first came on October 

 10th ; in 1889, October 8th ; in 1890, three which I examined 

 in the flesh were shot on Coniston on the 11th of the month. 

 Goldeneyes were rather scarce during the mild spring or late 

 winter of 1890, when they almost disappeared from the Solway, 

 but more than usually abundant in the winter following. Not 

 less than a score were shot at the mouth of the river Eden 

 between October 19th and 26th, 1890. Many birds arrived in 

 November; and on December 1st we saw thirty birds in one 



