Golden-Eye 
95 
been assured by the peasants that this always takes place in the dead of the night " (Dresser, 
p. 600). I have also heard the same story from the peasants both in Scandinavia and in 
Iceland, and always doubted it after seeing a nest of young wild duck descend from a high 
broken elm. In fact, I think that the whole thing is nothing but a saga" or tale which 
has been handed down from one generation to another. Moreover, in addition to the 
foregoing instance, when I saw the whole of the brood fall out of the nest some 20 feet 
from the ground and run uninjured to the mother who called them, I had the good fortune 
to witness the following incident on July 3rd at Myvatn. I had been stalking some Pintail 
drakes in eclipse, and came to the edge of the high bank overlooking the Skalfandi river 
about two miles from Myvatn. There was nothing in sight except a female Icelandic 
Golden-Eye, who seemed to be in a frantic state of excitement in the water below me, not 
15 yards away. I wished to get away, as the flies were unendurable on that day, but 
stopped to look at the bird, and wondered where her brood was. She was evidently not 
frightened of myself, but kept swimming up and down uttering her oft-repeated " Kra-kra." 
She would not go away, however, but kept for the most part opposite to me, occasionally 
striking the water with her wings as if attempting to fly. I sat for some moments watching 
her, and was about to leave, thinking that a Skua had killed her young, when I observed 
a small black-and-white spot on the edge of a hole on the farther bank. Presently it dis- 
appeared, and its place was again taken by two similar objects. A moment afterwards I 
saw the head and neck of a baby Golden-Eye peering over the edge of the hole. Imme- 
diately another chick seemed to leap upon its head in less time than it takes to tell it. 
Eight little Golden-Eyes literally "poured" out of the nesting-hole one after the other, 
and fell in the water close to the mother. The distance these nestlings fell would be only 
about 10 feet, but I have not the slightest doubt that if the distance had been 30 feet the 
chicks would not have been injured. 
Immediately her brood had descended the mother swam away with them. I followed 
them for a short distance, and at the second shot killed one of the young ones with my 
small catapult, as I wanted the specimen which appears in the coloured plate of this 
volume. I have not the least doubt that young Golden-Eye always descend from the nest 
in the manner I have described, and that the idea of the mother carrying them down is 
merely a fairy tale. 
Since the above note was written, many years ago, I have found a note by Brewster, 
who also witnessed the exit of young Golden-Eyes from the nest. He also describes their 
appearance as ''pouring" out. He says : — 
" At 6,45 o'clock the old duck appeared at the entrance of the nest, sat there for five minutes, turning 
her head ceaselessly from one side to another and searching her whole field of vision ; then she withdrew 
again inside and reappeared after a minute to look round again as before for five minutes. At the end of 
this second period of watching she flew to the water and swam three times round the stump, clucking and 
calling. When she had gone round for the third time, she stopped just under the hole and uttered one 
loud cry or cluck, upon which the chicks scrambled to the entrance and fell so quickly one after the other 
into the water that they almost sprang on top of each other. They poured out of the nest like water out 
of one's hand. One or two hesitated for a moment when they reached the opening of the nest, but most 
swung themselves over the edge as soon as they appeared. All agitated their little wings quite freely and 
beat them in plunging down. They did not seem to swim strongly. 
"Whilst this was going on the old hen sat motionless on the water and looked up at the nest. 
