58 British Diving Ducks 
quarrelling, or suddenly alighting, or on being scared. The call of the male in spring 
is a low gentle whistle, and the onlooker must be at close range to hear it at all. 
Early in March the large flocks of Tufted Ducks split up into smaller companies, and 
if the weather is fine, and they are observed with the glass, it will be seen that a constant 
commotion is taking place amongst their ranks. Two or three males are sometimes to 
be seen "showing off" before a duck, and, vice versa, some drakes seem to have a decided 
attraction for the females, which swim rapidly round and alongside them, dipping their 
bills frequently, and uttering their harsh call. The courtship of the male Tufted Duck 
is probably the most undemonstrative of any of the Anatidc^. I myself, and such good 
observers as Mr. Gerald Legge and Mr. Hugh Wormald, who have these birds constantly 
under notice both in a wild and domesticated condition, have never seen any show on the 
part of the male except the following : The male swims rapidly past the female but without 
turning his head in her direction, and extends the neck to its full length. At the same time 
the bill is raised to an angle of 45°, and retained in this position for some seconds, whilst it 
utters frequently a low gentle whistle something like the word "hoi," and well-nigh 
impossible to express onomatopoeically. In many cases in which male birds are furnished 
with ornaments of exceptional beauty, we notice that these parts are displayed in courtship, 
but in the case of the Tufted Drake, the bird seems to be incapable of displaying his long 
crest in any fashion, for at the period of courtship it hangs limp at the back of the head 
as at other seasons. In moments of excitement the pupil of the eye almost disappears, 
as it does in so many birds, and the golden iris seems to blaze with unusual fire. 
Writing on April 4, 191 1, Mr. Gerald Legge says: "I have been watching the 
courtship of the Tufted Duck, such as it is. There are now a nice lot of breeding birds 
on the lake (Patshull). A few days ago I watched a flock of thirteen at close range. There 
were three drakes courting one duck, and as far as I could see they did nothing but raise 
their heads, not a 'bob' like a Shoveller, but straightened out their necks and held their 
heads up for quite a long time ; then they lowered them and did the same thing again. 
What I wish to explain is that they did not bow like other ducks, but the whole proceeding 
was much slower. The drakes kept up that curious mewing whistle, and I could not see 
that they raised their crests at all." 
Since the foregoing was written I have had a letter from Mr. Hugh Wormald, who 
writes (May 7, 1912): "I saw a male Tufted Duck in display the other day. He threw 
back his head exactly like a Golden-Eye. I had not seen a Tufted do this previously, 
though I believe that all diving ducks adopt this attitude in courtship." Under any 
circumstance I think that the attitude must be rare in the case of the Tufted Duck, and 
only adopted, perhaps for a day or two, when the bird is in full show. 
Additional proof that the male Tufted Duck does throw back his head in the same 
manner as the Ferruginous Drake is furnished in a note written by Mr. Gerald Legge (June 7, 
1912). He says : "I have now at last seen the male Tufted Duck exhibit his full show, 
I was watching two drakes with the glass. They were on the other side of the pool at 
Patshull, and were both about three yards from the bank and facing it. They repeatedly 
threw back their heads very quickly, just like the male Ferruginous. I went round the 
pool, and discovered on the bank, close to the spot where the drakes were 'showing,' a 
female Tufted on her nest, with seven eggs." 
