395 
GOLDEN EYES, OR GARROTS—GILPIN. 
A female common Golden Eye, shot at Digby, March, 1876, 
measured : 
Total length.1 ft. 4 inch. 
Length of bill.1 ft. 8-10 “ 
Height of bill. 9-10 “ 
I considered this to be a female of the common species, because 
its bill was longer and forehead lower actually than other fe¬ 
males of larger dimensions. Colour of head, cheeks and nape, 
dark, umber brown, with a yellowish wash on forehead, a narrow 
greyish white ring about the neck, followed by a French grey 
collar, with whitish pencillings two inches broad. Below the 
breast, belly, and beneath tail, pure white ; the sides of belly 
however, marked with black and grey pencillings, and an inter¬ 
rupted line of black through the vent. On the back this obscure 
French grey collar spread itself down the shoulders and back, 
insensibly joining with the sooty black of back and tail. As 
each feather was lighter on its edge than middle, it gave the 
idea of scales. Primaries black, secondaries white, two or three 
posterior ones with a black spot on inner veins. In the folded 
wing, a few of the greater coverts being white, and uniting with 
the speculum, make a good sized white patch upon the wing. 
In this specimen there was no interrupted line of white and grey 
upon the shoulders, as there is in many. On the inside of the 
wing the primaries, secondaries and tertiaries were slate blue, the 
other parts were darker, nearly black. The bill was longer and 
lower than in other specimens ; it was blue-black with the slight¬ 
est brownish yellow upon culmen and tip of lower mandible. 
The legs and feet pale orange; the webs black, a black line run¬ 
ning up the back of the leg to tibia ; hind toe, outside yellow, 
inside black with yellow edge. The irides were golden yellow. 
In figure this specimen was tumid head, short neck and very 
round body, short wings and long tail. I have given the exact 
colour of this specimen, which being shot in March may be con¬ 
sidered a good type, but in looking carefully over a series, I 
found they varied only in intensity of colour; the most having 
an irregular patch of black and whitish grey upon shoulders. 
The dark umber of the head sometimes approaches black and 
