9^ British Diving Ducks 
at this moment were high, I should say 80 yards in the air, and closed their wings as 
they heard or saw the Peregrine coming, and dropped as if shot to the surface of the water. 
On striking the water there was no pause, they just passed out of sight, rising nearly 100 
yards away, and flying low over the water. The Peregrine, after its unsuccessful "stoop," 
did not pursue them. Like the Long-tailed Duck, but scarcely with the same skill in 
starting, the Golden-Eye has the power of opening its wings immediately on reaching 
the surface of the water, and commencing to fly. I have seen other ducks act in a similar 
manner when chased by Peregrines, but none displayed such promptitude or fell from 
such a height as did these Golden-Eyes. 
No diving ducks are more swift to take alarm than Golden-Eyes, or more ready 
to communicate their fears to other ducks that may be feeding near at hand. Not only 
is their eyesight especially keen, but Naumann says "they fly from a skiff or boat, and 
over a portable screen of reeds, or a shooter's shelter if they can scent the marksman in 
it, for they have an unusually keen scent, which may be accounted for by the unusual 
size of their nostrils." There may be something in this, since the recent evidence of some 
of our best field-naturalists has gone far to prove that both ducks and geese are able to 
apprehend the presence of man by the scent, and to be warned thereby. 
On the other hand, Golden-Eyes show their natural intelligence by appreciating pro- 
tection more quickly than most species, for there are many instances of wild birds of this 
species becoming remarkably tame, and accustomed to the sight of human beings, in lakes 
and streams where they were unmolested. In Dresden, wild Golden-Eyes may be observed 
throughout the winter, in a pond situated near a promenade, where hundreds of people 
daily pass. 
Both sexes make use of a hoarse " Kraa-aa " as a call, the male being somewhat louder 
than the female. This is usually uttered when quarrelling or frightened, but it also acts 
as a warning cry. In the courting season the male makes it more frequently, " Kraa-kraa- 
kraa-kraa " sometimes repeated many times. I have heard the female make a low note like 
" Wah-wah " when talking to her young. On the whole they are remarkably silent birds. 
In late March and early April Golden-Eyes assemble in large flocks and leave our 
islands. In some cases the birds pair before they depart. One day in March I spied 
a large flock of adult Golden-Eyes on the Loch of Harray, Orkney, which were all engaged 
in courtship, and the splashes and rushes of the males were clearly visible, although I was 
at a considerable distance. Something alarmed the birds, so that I was unable to get 
nearer to them, and two days later they had all gone, except one pair which, according 
to my gillie, remained for some weeks. 
The courtship of the Golden-Eye is a very attractive one, and may be described in 
detail, as I have read no account of it in standard works. 
The male approaches the female with his head and neck held stiffly up at an angle of 
from 60 to 75°, the feathers on the cheeks being much puffed out. He swims, sometimes 
with raised tail, in a semicircle round her, gradually elevating the bill until it is quite 
perpendicular. 
The third action is to drop the head, still more puffed out, suddenly between the 
shoulders, the bill still pointing heavenwards, and to kick once alternately with both feet so 
as to throw a jet of water high in the air behind the bird. At the moment of throwing back 
