148 
British Birds. 
THE 
GOLDEN-EYED 
DUCK. 
(Clangula claiigula. 
are from six to nine in number, but as many as twelve have been found; they 
are of a pale greenish-grey or stone-colour, and measure about two-and-a-half 
inches in length. 
The Golden -eye is an unmistakable species, easily told by 
its black and white coloration, the white scapulars being a 
strongly marked feature, as also are the white wing-speculum, 
the orange-yellow feet, and golden-yellow iris. The female may 
be recognised by its white speculum, and by its brown axillaries. 
It is a winter visitor to the British Islands, and has even been said to nest in 
Scotland, but this has not yet been confirmed. It breeds in the high north 
of Europe and Asia, as far south as Holstein and Eastern Prussia ; it likewise 
occurs throughout North America. In winter it visits China, North-western India, 
and the Mediterranean countries, and is also found as far south as Mexico and 
the West Indies. 
The Golden-eye is a wonderful diver, and feeds on water-plants, insects, shell-fish 
and even on frogs and small fish. The nest is in the hole of a tree, sometimes at 
a height of twelve or fifteen feet from the ground, and consists merely of the 
greyish-white down of the bird. The eggs 
are from ten to thirteen in number, of a 
greyish-green tint, fading to dull green or 
olive-green. 
THE BUFFEL- 
HEADED DUCK. 
( Charitonetta 
albeola.) 
The Buffel-head has 
the nostrils situated 
nearer to the base of 
the 
the 
the bill than in 
Golden -eyes, and 
style of plumage is different from that 
of the latter birds. The male has the 
feathering of the head very much de- 
veloped, and the sides of the face are 
shot with green and steel-blue, while there 
is a good deal of purple on the crown of 
the head. The iris is dark brown. The 
female is much duller than the male in 
colour, and has a broad white patch from 
the ear-ccverts to the sides of the neck. 
The present species has occurred three times in England, and twice in Scotland, 
but its home is in North America, from Labrador to Alaska, whence it migrates 
south in winter. In habits it resembles the Golden-eye, and, like that species, nests 
in the hole of a tree. The eggs also resemble those of the Golden-eye, and are 
from six to ten in number. 
The Buffel-headed Duck. 
