301 
there till April; and about sun-set they are 
seen in vast companies going to, and return- 
ing from the bays, in which they frequently 
pass the night, making (says Low) *? a 
great noise, which may be heard at a vast 
distance, especially in a still frosty nighty 
when it may be heard some miles. 
They are very scarce in England, being 
found only in the most severe winters and 
even than in small straggling parties. 
They are expert divers, but as their food 
consists entirely of shell fish and aquatic 
worms, their flesh is not in request for the 
table. 
Capt. Sabine, from observations made 
during the recent Voyage to the Arctic 
regions, has thrown much new light upon 
the Natural History of this species. In a 
paper published in the Linnean Transac- 
actions he says that " As the Long taijed 
Duck only winters in Europe, returning to 
the Arctic regions in the summer, the state 
of its plumage at the time we were in 
Baffin's Bay is interesting. I obtained a 
specimen of a mature male on the 30th of 
June. Its winter dress has been detailed 
