Sanford, in “The Waterfowl Family,” tells of a bird with 
young; “When disturbed, the duck at once flew to the far¬ 
ther end of the pond, directing the young ones by a gutteral 
note, which I have never at other times heard from the 
Golden-eye.” 
D. G. Elliott, in his “Wild Fowl of North America,” says: 
“The Whistler is a silent bird, its wings generally provid¬ 
ing all the noise it makes, but occasionally I have heard it 
utter a hoarse kind of croak, similar to that made by the 
Mergansers, but at no time anything resembling a quack.” 
My own experiences with the vocal sounds produced by 
the Golden-eye are as follows: 
On a tributary of the Natashquan River in Labrador I 
came across a female Whistler with four young. The young 
uttered beseeching peeping notes and disappeared in the 
bushes by the riverside, and the mother, uttering loud rasp¬ 
ing, croaking notes, led our canoe away. On another occa¬ 
sion, near the mouth of the St. Augustine River, in Lab¬ 
rador, a party of five young paid no attention to me until 
the mother appeared and gave a warning croak, which 
caused them to dive and swim away. These are the only 
vocal sounds I have heard from the female. 
I have heard no call nor conversational notes of the male, 
but I am, however, very familiar with his courtship song, 
which may be heard on pleasant days, not only in the late 
winter and in the spring, but also in the autumn in connec¬ 
tion with his curious courtship dance, both of which I have 
described in the “Auk,” 1910, Vol. XXVII,, pp. 177-181. 
It is a harsh and rasping double note, vibrating and search¬ 
ing in character, and may be expressed by the syllables 
zzee-at. On a calm day this note can be heard for half a 
mile over the still water, but if there is a breeze blowing 
and the waves are pounding on the beach, it is often in¬ 
audible at a hundred yards. So much for the vocal music 
of the male Golden-eye. Considering his elaborate vocal 
apparatus, it is disappointing to say the least. It reminds 
one of the fable of the mountain in labor. 
The instrumental music made by the wings—the whistl¬ 
ing of the Whistler—is familiar to all. In former days. 
8 
