[Pg 158]
All travellers who have had an opportunity of studying these Ducks in a wild state tell us that they are beautiful, lively, and well-flavoured birds, equally attractive to the naturalist and the sportsman. This species is extensively distributed throughout the South American continent, from Paraguay to Guiana, and is to be met with almost in equal numbers near the mouths of rivers flowing into the sea, and amid the swamps and marshes of wild uncultivated parts of the country. The Prince von Wied found it swimming upon rivers in the depths of the primitive forests, and also in still, secluded bays, and upon islands near the sea-coast. Schomburghk observed it at an altitude of 1,500 feet above the level of the sea. During the mid-day heat, and in the afternoon, these birds generally seek out shady places upon the shores and on sandbanks; in the morning and evening they employ themselves in searching for their food, which consists of fishes and snails, also algæ and other water-plants. They invariably pass the night upon trees, and if disturbed in the daytime always seek shelter among their branches; even those which spend their days in marshes and morasses exchange these localities as the sun descends for extensive woods, and perch upon the loftiest trees they can find. Their flight is remarkably rapid, and is always, at their first rising, accompanied by a loud noise, somewhat resembling that produced by a covey of Partridges when first flushed. Their pairing-time seems to be signalised by incessant quarrelling amongst the jealous males; and if the violence of these combats is to be judged of by the number of feathers left upon their battle-fields, they are more than usually pugnacious. Their nest is sometimes built in the hollow of a tree near the sea-shore, sometimes amid the branches. The female parent shows herself most vigilant in protecting her young ones, and should they be attacked, rushes at once to their rescue; when she has succeeded in driving back their enemies she calls them together with a peculiar cry. These birds seem to have two broods during the season—one in May, the other in September.
In Brazil, tame Musk Ducks are everywhere to be met with; indeed, at the period of the visit of the Prince von Wied there seemed to be no others kept in a state of domestication. In Germany, also, breeders have endeavoured to rear them for the table, and speak favourably of the result of their efforts. In their good opinion of these birds we cannot participate. To say nothing of their being unable to endure the cold of our winter so well as other more common species, we consider them to be positively dangerous; they not only attack and do serious damage to other Ducks, but they have been known to set upon children and injure them very seriously. Should any of their companions fall under their displeasure, they follow them unremittingly by land or water, pluck their feathers off and bite them savagely; indeed, they not unfrequently kill them outright by swimming after them and holding them so long under water that they are drowned.
The DIVING DUCKS (Fuligulæ) were formerly considered as belonging to the same race as the preceding, from which they are now properly separated, seeing that they have no more in common with them than Geese or Swans. The Diving Ducks are at once recognisable by their short, broad, plump body, by their short thick neck, their large head, and moderate-sized beak; the latter is broad, furnished with very short teeth, and occasionally somewhat enlarged at the base. The tarsi are short, feathered quite to the heel, and compressed laterally. The anterior toes are large, long, and strongly webbed. The wings are short and vaulted, the two first quills being the longest. The tail is short, but broad, consisting of from fourteen to eighteen close-set feathers; the general plumage is thick and close, differing in colour according to sex and age, and on the head is generally prolonged into a tuft or crest, which is rendered more conspicuous by the brightness of its colours. These Ducks, in correspondence with their power of diving, always prefer open deep water to such as is either shallow or overgrown with plants. The greater number of them live upon the sea, and only visit fresh water during the breeding season. There are, however, some that must be considered as fresh-water birds,[Pg 159]seeing that they spend the greater portion of their lives upon ponds, lakes, or rivers. In consequence of the backward position of their legs, they are obliged, when they stand or walk, to keep themselves very upright; indeed, their gait can scarcely be called a waddle, inasmuch as it is with difficulty that they stagger along. Their flight is, perhaps, better than that of most other Ducks, and when once on the wing they move pretty rapidly through the air. In the water they are quite in their proper element; their broad powerful body is so deeply immersed that only a small portion of the top of the back is visible, and their tail touches the surface of the water. As they row themselves nimbly along, striking well out their broadly-webbed feet, they tilt their body tail upwards, and disappear with a single stroke. These birds are not, like the Divers, able to catch their prey by pursuing it under water; when they dive they seem to plunge more or less perpendicularly down to the bottom, and, after about a minute's absence, again make their appearance nearly upon the same spot from whence they vanished. As it is from the bottom of the water that they obtain their food, even those inhabiting fresh water have necessarily to dive to a considerable depth; whilst those that live in the sea must occasionally plunge still deeper, even to the depth of fifty or sixty fathoms—a fact of which it is easy to convince oneself by examining the contents of their stomachs. A few of them seem to prefer a vegetable diet, but the greater number live upon small bivalve shell-fish and other mollusca; they likewise eat worms, crustaceans, and fishes, while those that inhabit fresh water also feed upon aquatic insects. The booty thus procured from the bottom is also swallowed under water. The Diving Ducks, when employed in fishing for their food, only come to the surface to breathe. Their voice is totally different from that of the Swimming Ducks; instead of quacking they only screech. The manner of their breeding agrees pretty closely with that of ordinary Ducks; still, however, there are points of difference. They breed more in company with each other, and sometimes form regular settlements. Two females even of different species will occasionally lay their eggs in the same nest, sharing the duties of incubation and the charge of the young brood. Some individuals exhibit a sort of mania for brooding; they will slip into the nests of other birds, roll away the eggs, and take possession of them, or even tempt the nestlings away from their proper parents in order to take them under their own care. The eggs are rounder, the shells more closely-grained than those of the Common Ducks, but in other respects resemble them. Some Diving Ducks are valuable on account of the down with which they line their nests, others on account of the excellence of their flesh, but, generally speaking, the latter is rank and ill-flavoured.
The EIDER DUCKS (Somateria) first claim our attention, inasmuch as they are not only the largest and most beautiful of the Diving Ducks, but also the most useful members of the family, ornamenting the seas that they frequent, and conferring inestimable benefit upon the inhabitants of the inhospitable coasts where they are common. Apart from their very considerable size, the Eider Ducks are distinguishable by their long slender beak, the base of which extends up the forehead, and is divided by a triangular projection of the feathers; the upper mandible, which is brightly coloured, terminates in a large nail-like appendage, covering the entire anterior margin of the bill; the tarsi are short, the feet broad-soled, and the toes long; the wings are of moderate length, the second primary quill being the longest; the tertiary quills, which are sickle-shaped, are deflected, and prolonged so as to overlap the primaries; the tail, which is slightly rounded at its extremity, consists of fourteen or sixteen tapering feathers. The general plumage is soft, thick, and fleecy. In the adult male the prevailing colours are simply black and white; the head, however, is ornamented with sea-green, and the breast suffused with roseate pink or brownish yellow; in one species smalt-blue is likewise observable. The colour of the female is brownish grey or reddish brown. All the various species inhabit the colder regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Although the name[Pg 160]of these Ducks is supposed to be derived from the river Eider, dividing the duchy of Holstein from Lower Schleswig, they are in reality seldom found south of the sixty-third degree of north latitude, from which point to the North Cape they are met with in vast numbers all along the coast and in the fiords that indent it in every direction, stretching sometimes 200 miles inland. The northern shores of Russia, Siberia, and the same latitudes of North America, are also inhabited by these valuable fowls.
The Eider Ducks are strictly sea-birds; upon dry land they walk with extreme difficulty, and as they clumsily waddle along often stumble and fall down flat on the ground. Their flight seems difficult and fatiguing, requiring the sustained rapid action of their proportionately short wings. They rarely rise to any height in the air, but wing their way straight down into the water beneath, and it is only when they reach this, their proper element, that they begin to show what are their real capabilities. They swim with the body less deeply immersed than the generality of Diving Ducks, but their movements are quicker than those of any of their congeners.
The breeding-time of the Eider Ducks is rather late in the season, generally towards the end of May, sometimes in June or July; about this period they assemble upon certain small islands, apparently selected because they are easily accessible; the birds then separate into pairs, each pair proceeding at once to chose a place for establishing its nest, the principal conditions required being seclusion and safety. In localities where the birds are tended as though they were private property, the owners of the islands to which they resort take care to furnish a supply of old boxes, platforms built with stones, boards covered with brushwood, and other similar conveniences for breeding.
Though shy enough before, the birds now become wonderfully tame and fearless; they not only unhesitatingly take possession of the platforms, boxes, ledges, and other contrivances prepared for them, but allow themselves to be driven to the most suitable places, without being at all alarmed or disturbed at the presence of their conductors. They come into the immediate neighbourhood of the solitary huts of their keepers, and will enter them in search of a snug corner in which to build; indeed, it not unfrequently happens that adventurous females will take possession of bedrooms, stables, and other similar localities, to the great inconvenience and discomfort of the keeper's wife. At first the male bird always accompanies his mate in these pedestrian excursions in search of lodgings, which generally occupy them during the morning; about noon they fly away towards the fiords or swim about upon the open sea; but towards evening they come on shore to pass the night. While the female is employed in laying her eggs, the male watches over the nest with great perseverance and devotion; but no sooner is the number of eggs complete, and the female begins in earnest the work of incubation, than the male flies off, leaving both nest and wife, and hastens to join the society of other males who may be disporting themselves far out at sea. Upon the rocks and "scaars" upon the coast of Norway these forlorn widowers may be seen playing together by hundreds. The nest of the Eider Duck is a very simple affair, consisting merely of a few twigs, stalks of seaweed, blades of grass, straw, and similar materials, such as can be picked up in the immediate neighbourhood, heaped together in the most slovenly manner; the rougher the framework, however, so much thicker and more valuable is the rich lining of down—the costly toll which the breeding birds have to pay to the masters of the soil for their temporary residence. After the lapse of a few days, the female sits most assiduously; in places where she is accustomed to the sight of men she will not stir even should they approach her nest; she simply bows her head to the ground, and slightly spreads her wings so as to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. The colour of her plumage generally coincides so exactly with that of the surrounding rocks, that to an unpractised eye the bird is with difficulty distinguishable from the ground on which it sits. We have more than once had convincing proof of the efficacy of this mode of concealment, in the shape of a sharp bite on the leg,[Pg 161]inflicted by the beak of a brooding female, of whose presence we were quite unaware before—at the last moment—she flew away. Those females who happen to have taken up their abode in the vicinity of men will allow themselves to be taken up from the nest while their eggs are examined, after which they immediately settle down again to brood, without showing the slightest desire to escape. Frequently we have sat close to their nests for hours together, have stroked their feathers, put our hands between their bodies and their eggs to note the temperature, and yet few of them have stirred from the spot. Some of them would occasionally bite our fingers as if in play, but the majority testified neither timidity nor annoyance. Some we purposely took to a little distance from their nesting-place and placed upon the ground, but they would immediately waddle back to their domicile, arrange the down around the eggs, and quietly resume their position, as if nothing had happened. When left quite to themselves the brooding females quit their nests regularly every morning, taking care, however, to cover their eggs warmly with down, so that they may not be chilled during their absence; having done this, away they fly out to sea, and dive assiduously for half an hour in search of food, and in this short period manage to fill their crops almost to bursting with various kinds of shell-fish, after which they return at once to their charge. The males are much more timid than the females, even when with them at the breeding season or whilst keeping watch over their nests. Should any one approach, they immediately get into a terrible flurry, toss their heads, call loudly to their wives, and after blustering for a little time, fly off to sea, whence they anxiously watch the proceedings of the disturber of their quietude. After the lapse of twenty-five or twenty-six days, the young ones break their shells and make their appearance; they are beautiful little creatures, clad in rich parti-coloured down. From the first moment of their birth they are well able both to swim and to dive; they also walk with considerable facility, even better than their mother, who takes them, before their downy coat has had time to dry, down to the sea. Should the breeding-place be far from the sea, and the departure of the little flock be unusually delayed, the keepers frequently come to their assistance, and, putting the entire brood into a basket, walk with them to the shore, followed by the waddling parents, who seem quite satisfied with the arrangement.
EIDER DUCKS AT HOME.
EIDER DUCKS AT HOME.
EIDER DUCKS AT HOME.
[Pg 162]
The sea, indeed, is the safest place for these helpless nestlings, as there they can most readily escape from their natural enemies the Falcons, Ravens, and Skuas. Very frequently several mothers, accompanied by their little families, consort together, and then they present to the observer a very attractive spectacle. Should the parent birds perceive that they are followed by a boat, they at once begin to paddle away with all their strength, hoping to escape from their pursuers, and it is not till the boat has come close upon them that they decide upon taking wing; by so doing they are of course compelled to desert the young birds, who, however, seem very well to understand how to provide for their own safety, as they immediately make for the land, and scrambling on to the shore, may be seen running nimbly in search of some convenient hiding-place, dropping down between stones, or concealing themselves behind slight inequalities of the ground, from which they are scarcely distinguishable. Should the threatened danger pass away, they will be found after a little time hastening back to the sea, into which they immediately plunge, and paddle away directly from the shore, until they are joined either by their own mother or by some other elderly female belonging to their flock. Should their mother be killed, the young, if unable to do without assistance, at once join some other family, into which they are received without the slightest reluctance, and tended and cared for by the old birds precisely as if they were their own offspring. The instinct for brooding in the Eider Ducks is indeed very remarkable; they will even steal each other's eggs in order to brood upon them. The nestlings grow rapidly, and often within a week from their birth are well able to procure their own food; they remain, nevertheless, in company with their parents till the early part of the following year. In their earliest infancy they are fed with small crustaceans and other soft-bodied animals; at a later period they live for the most part upon bivalve shell-fish, but likewise feed willingly on fishes, or indeed on any small marine animals that they may meet with. Although the Eider Ducks constitute a considerable portion of the wealth of the countries they inhabit, they are by no means cared for and protected as they might be. Intelligent landholders, whose property the breeding-places are, take the opportunity while the birds are laying to remove some of their eggs, and thus succeed in making them lay a greater number than they otherwise would do. Moreover, they are content to wait patiently until the breeding-time is over before they gather the down from[Pg 163]their nests. More generally, however, neither birds nor eggs are taken the least care of. Notwithstanding that their flesh is not by any means palatable, these Ducks are continually persecuted and slaughtered, and the consequence is, that in Spitzbergen and other localities where the sale of the Eider-down used to be reckoned by the hundredweight, it is now reckoned only by pounds. Malmgren assures us that it is a rare thing to see young birds in the autumn; and the bird-catchers are loud in their complaints of a scarcity, for which they have only their own improvidence to blame. In Greenland the diminution, although not quite so conspicuous, is still very great, not more than a thousand pounds being now collected there annually. "Formerly," says Holboell, "the gross quantity of down procured in South Greenland in the course of a year was 5,007 lbs., and North Greenland produced about half that quantity." According to the usual reckoning a dozen nests yield a pound weight of the raw material, so that every year 104,520 birds were not only despoiled of their down but also robbed of their eggs.
THE TRUE EIDER DUCK, OR ST. CUTHBERT'S DUCK.
The TRUEEIDERDUCK, or ST. CUTHBERT'SDUCK(Somateria mollissima), has the cheeks, chin, back, and breast white, the latter with a reddish tinge. Front and sides of the head black; nape, to the throat, pea-green; quills and tail brown, marked on the wings with velvet-black. The eye is reddish brown, the beak greenish yellow, the foot olive-green. The length of this bird is twenty-four inches, the breadth forty; the length of wing eleven inches, and length of tail three inches and a half. The female is smaller than the male, and her plumage rust-red, marked on the head and neck with longitudinal brown streaks, elsewhere with crescent-shaped black spots; her under side with deep brown, slightly lined with black. After the breeding season the plumage of the male loses much of its beautiful glistening appearance, both head and neck become blackish grey, more darkly clouded, the shoulders greyish black, and the region of the crop yellowish white, marked with black and rust-brown upon the borders of the individual feathers. It seems probable that this change of plumage is not produced by moulting, but by a gradual change in the colour of the feathers.
This valuable Duck is met with throughout the northern regions of the globe, its range extending from Jutland to Spitzbergen, and from the west coast of Europe along its northern shores to Greenland and Iceland. It is a constant resident in some of the northern parts of England and Scotland, and has the name of St. Cuthbert's Duck from the numbers that nest in that island. Its most southern breeding-places are upon the Island of Sylt and other small Danish islands in the same latitude, and from thence north it is met with in continually increasing numbers. In Iceland, Greenland, and Norway, it is very abundant, and is preserved with the utmost strictness. Their nests along the coast of Norway, we are told, produce, from the down they yield, on an average, a profit of five pounds a-piece in the year; so that a small barren rock, frequented by these birds, becomes a very valuable property, and has often been the subject of litigation between Norwegian landholders. Some years ago the Eider Fowl were killed in such numbers that their extinction in that country seemed imminent, but in 1847 the Norwegian Parliament passed a law for their relief, and since that time their pursuers have been obliged to confine themselves to robbing the nests; the consequence is that these Ducks are now very plentiful, and from the perfect security in which they live have attained a degree of impudent assurance unsurpassed by the London Sparrows, or their own distant connections on the ornamental waters in our parks. In the town of Tromsöe they come to the house doors to be fed, and walk about as if strongly impressed with the consciousness of their own importance. In the northern parts of Great Britain these birds are seen assembling in groups along the shores of the mainland about April, from whence they cross to the adjacent islands early in May. The nest of this[Pg 164]species, which contains from four to ten (generally six or eight) well-shaped, smooth-shelled eggs, usually of a dusky greyish green, is formed of fine seaweed, and is lined, after the eggs are deposited, with down from the mother's breast, placed so thickly that the eggs are completely hidden from view. The down from a single nest, when cleansed, although sufficient in bulk to fill a man's hat, seldom weighs more than one ounce. In northern countries the business of robbing the nests of this valuable material begins soon after the eggs are laid, the female replacing it by a fresh supply from her breast, until it is quite bare, when the male bird in turn strips himself to provide a warm covering for his young. "In a month's time," says Mr. Selby, "the little family are led or carried in their parent's bill to the water, where they swim and dive with facility; the mother meanwhile carefully watching over them to defend them from their biped foes, and feigning lameness to lure their pursuers from the spot."
THE EIDER DUCK(Somateria mollissima).
THE EIDER DUCK(Somateria mollissima).
THE EIDER DUCK(Somateria mollissima).
"The care which the mother takes of her young," says Audubon, "cannot be exceeded. She leads[Pg 165]them gently in a close flock in shallow waters, where, by diving, they procure food, and at times, when the young are fatigued and at some distance from the shore, she sinks her body in the water and receives them on her back, where they remain several minutes. At the approach of their merciless enemy, the Black-backed Gull, the mother beats the water with her wings, as if intending to raise the spray around her, and, on her uttering a peculiar sound, the young dive in all directions, while she endeavours to entice the marauder to follow her, by feigning lameness, or she leaps out of the water and attacks her enemy, often so vigorously that, exhausted and disappointed, he is glad to fly off, on which she alights near the rocks, among which she expects to find her brood, and calls them to her side. Now and then I saw two females which had formed an attachment for each other, as if for the purpose of more effectually contributing to the safety of their young, and it was very seldom that I saw these prudent mothers assailed by the Gulls."
We must not omit to mention that the eagerness of these birds for brooding is so great, that, when robbed of their eggs, they have frequently been known to steal the eggs or even the young of others of their species. In its natural state the Eider Duck subsists upon small fish, molluscs, crustaceans, and fish spawn, but when kept confined will eat grain. The flight of this species, which is steady and rapid, is usually carried on near the surface of the water; it dives with facility, and is capable of remaining submerged for a considerable time.
THE KING EIDER.
The KINGEIDER(Somateria spectabilis) has the bill, the sides of which are elevated, arched and ridged, surrounded by a fine black band; a similar band runs from the base of the under mandible down each side of the neck. The upper head is grey, the cheeks are sea-green, the neck, back, and sides of the rump white, the front of the breast is light flesh-red; the scapulars, lower part of back, wings, tail, and belly, are white, and the rest of the feathers black; tertials, as in the preceding species, deflected. The eye is brown, beak red, and foot reddish. The female is distinguishable from that of the True Eider by her light reddish brown plumage, and by the structure of the base of the bill.
General Sabine states (in the Appendix to Sir E. Parry's first Voyage) that these birds were abundant in the North Georgian Islands, their nests being placed on the ground in the neighbourhood of fresh-water ponds, and their food consisting of the aquatic vegetation. Sir J. C. Ross says, "Vast numbers of this beautiful Duck resort annually to the shores and islands of the Arctic Regions in the breeding season, and have on many occasions afforded a valuable and salutary supply of fresh provision to the crews of the vessels employed on those seas. On our late voyages comparatively few were obtained, although seen in very great numbers. They do not retire far to the south in the winter, but assemble in large flocks, the males by themselves, and the females with their young brood are often met with in the Atlantic Ocean, far distant from any land, where the numerous crustaceans and other marine animals afford them abundance of food."
This species, which very rarely occurs in Great Britain, was found, on one occasion, according to Dr. Latham, about June, at Papa Westra, one of the Orkney Islands. The eggs, six in number, rather smaller than those of the True Eider Duck, were embedded in down, and placed on a rock overhanging the sea. Nuttall states that the eggs of this bird are whitish, while Yarrell describes them as pale green, and Audubon as of a uniform dull greenish hue. Latham tells us that in Greenland, where the King Ducks are common, the natives assemble in canoes, and by their shouts terrify the birds, which dive to avoid them; but as the place where they are about to emerge is betrayed by the bubbling of the water, their pursuers follow them, and the same game being several times repeated, the birds are at length tired out and easily secured.
[Pg 166]
The WESTERN or STELLER'S EIDER DUCK (SomateriaorHeniconetta Stelleri) is a smaller species, still more beautifully coloured and marked. In the male the head, nape, and sides of neck are white, a spot on the forehead, and a transverse band at the back of the head are green, a circle round the eye, the fore and hinder neck, the rump, tail, and points of the quills are black. The upper wing-covers and shoulders are white, striped with dark blue. The under side, as far as the blackish brown centre of the belly, is yellowish brown. In the plumage of the female reddish brown predominates. The eye is brown, the beak grey, and the foot greenish grey. The Western Eider Duck was first described by Steller, from specimens which he obtained in Kamschatka, where it builds on inaccessible rocks. But few specimens of this rare Duck have been shot in England. This species is exclusively a sea bird, is never seen entering the estuaries of rivers, and breeds among rocks and precipices. It flies in large flocks.
The SCOTERS (Oidemia) are birds of considerable size, with remarkably dark plumage. Their beak is moderately long, broad, irregularly swollen at its junction with the forehead, and bright coloured. The tarsi are short, the toes long and large, and the wings of medium length; the tail, which is wedge-shaped, consists of fourteen feathers; the soft and velvety plumage only exhibits colour on the head and wings. All the species belonging to this group are inhabitants of high latitudes, and breed within the Arctic Circle.
THE VELVET SCOTER.
The VELVETSCOTER(Oidemia fusca), one of the species most common in Great Britain, is coal-black, with the exception of a spot beneath the eye, and another on the wing, which are white; the beak is bright yellowish red, marked with black at the edges and at its base; the feet are pale flesh-red, varied with black at the joints; the eye is pearl-white. The female is dark brown, with the exception of a white spot in the region of the ear, a white patch upon the wing, a yellowish bridle-streak, and a grey place upon the centre of the breast. Her eye is brown, her beak black, and her foot greenish yellow. The length of this species is twenty-four inches; the breadth forty inches; the length of the wing twelve inches, and that of the tail three inches and a half. The range of the Velvet Scoter extends from the northern parts of Scandinavia eastward as far as America. In the north of Russia and Siberia it is common. During its excursions it not only visits our shores, but goes still further southwards, and has occasionally been seen even upon the coasts of Spain and in Greece, but rarely shows itself inland. It makes its appearance in our latitudes late in the year, generally about the middle of November or the beginning of December, and returns to its northern home early in the spring. In the neighbourhood of the Gulf Stream, where the sea remains open, it may be met with throughout the winter, frequenting the fjords and bays, sometimes in numerous flocks, at others only in small parties, and seldom visits the shores.
The Velvet Scoter walks and flies badly, but swims well and dives admirably. Naumann states that it is less shy than the generality of its race, a statement which we cannot subscribe to; in Norway, at least, we have always observed it to be one of the most timid and circumspect of diving birds. The food of these Ducks consists principally of bivalve shell-fish; in their breeding-places they may likewise procure insects, worms, and probably small fishes; but it is upon the bivalve molluscs that they chiefly feed, and to obtain these they will even leave their brooding-ground and fly out to sea. They have also been observed to feed upon vegetable substances.
Upon the mountain lakes of Southern Norway the Velvet Scoters breed with tolerable regularity; and further to the north there is hardly a sheet of water of this description, if not too remote from the sea, upon which their young are not to be found. About the middle of June their rudely-constructed nests may be met with hidden in bushes or high grass, or amid tufts of rushes. The[Pg 167]nest itself is constructed of coarse sticks, stalks, and leaves, loosely heaped together, and lined with down plucked from the body of the female. The eight or ten eggs constituting a brood are elongated, smooth, and shining, and of a reddish yellow colour. The young remain in their native lakes until fully able to fly, and do not betake themselves to the sea till the end of October.
The FEN DUCKS (Aythya) are handsome, strongly-built birds, with moderately long beaks, which are not dilated at the base; short, broad-soled feet; moderately long, pointed wings, and smooth plumage.
The range of the members of this group extends from the Arctic Circle to the tropics. They do not inhabit very high latitudes, and only visit the south during their migrations. They may, therefore, be considered as properly belonging to the temperate zone. During the winter months they are to be met with in Southern Russia and the low countries bordering on the Danube, also in Greece, South Italy, Spain, and throughout the north of Africa. These birds make their migrations by night, great numbers of them flying together in large flocks, generally without any regular order, but sometimes arranged in converging oblique lines. In the spring they are usually seen in pairs or in small parties. During the summer they visit lakes of fresh water, large ponds, morasses, or fens having a considerable surface of water of sufficient depth, sometimes resorting to smaller ponds which may happen to be in the neighbourhood. As regards their locomotive powers, these Ducks are decidedly the best endowed of their family—they can walk tolerably well, but, being very unwieldy, they do not willingly come upon dry land, and then only to repose upon some sandbank, or beat up any masses of reeds that may be lying on the margin of the pond. When swimming their body is not so deeply immersed as is that of some of their congeners; they cut through the waves, however, with the same rapidity, and dive as quickly as any of their neighbours. Their flight is hasty and performed by frequent strokes of their wings, that make a perceptible rushing sound, but do not propel them very quickly through the air; nevertheless, they do not seem to become fatigued so quickly as might be expected.
During the summer time the Fen Ducks live almost entirely on vegetable substances; bulbous roots, buds, and tender shoots of trees, succulent leaves, blossoms and seeds of water-plants, constitute the staple of their diet; they will, however, likewise catch aquatic insects, fishes, and pond mollusca; in fact, they seem to like variety. During their migrations they appear more partial to animal food, and when they indulge in this to any extent, their flesh, at other times excellent food, acquires a somewhat disagreeable flavour.
Their breeding-time begins late in the season, generally about the middle of May, when they usually construct their nests among the sedges and reeds that grow upon the margins of the marsh or pond which they may have selected for their residence. Whether this be fresh water or salt seems to be to them a matter of no consequence. Sometimes they will build in situations frequented by man, sometimes by the side of very small ponds, but in the latter case they soon remove their young ones to a more roomy locality. After their first arrival they spend a long time in the society of other species of Ducks, apparently without ever thinking of the great object of their visit. Towards the end of April they become restless and lively, and the males begin to utter their amorous call, the flock separates into pairs, which at once set to work in earnest to construct their nests. There does not seem to be any fighting amongst the males; the females quietly select their mates, and the espoused couple immediately resort to their building ground. The nest is usually a mere pile of sedges, stalks of reeds, hay, straw, and leaves, slightly hollowed at the top, and warmly lined with feathers. The eggs, eight or ten in number, sometimes in exceptional cases more, sometimes fewer, are moderately large, roundish, and of a dull grey or olive-green. So long as the female continues to[Pg 168]lay, her mate remains true to his duty, and carefully watches over her safety. When, however, she begins to sit upon her eggs, the male deserts his charge, leaves her while he amuses himself in the society of other roving males, and finally troubles himself no more about either mother or eggs. After the lapse of twenty-two or twenty-three days, the young ones make their appearance, and on the very day of their birth are to be seen paddling about upon the surface of the water, but at first they do not venture beyond the shelter of the floating herbage at the side of the pond. Soon, however, their parent, by the pressure of her body, crushes down the reeds and water-plants, so as to make a sort of bed, to be used as a sleeping or resting place, and here she may be found sitting, closely surrounded by her little flock, as they sun themselves and preen their feathers. If disturbed in their snug retreat, they endeavour to save themselves by repeatedly diving, and if the threatened danger continues, the mother hastens to lead them to a more secluded spot, always, if possible, making their way thither by water, never, except in cases of urgent necessity, trusting to the dry land. The size of the young Ducks rapidly increases, and they do not learn to fly until they have attained their full growth. Owing to the excellence of their flesh, the chase after these birds is eagerly followed up, and the sportsman is able sometimes to bring down several of them at once, seeing that, if pursued, the young birds always crowd closely together. Occasionally they are taken in considerable numbers by means of decoys.
THE RED-HEADED DUCK, DUNBIRD, OR POCHARD.
The RED-HEADEDDUCK, DUNBIRD, or POCHARD(Aythya ferina), one of the best-known representatives of the above group, is of a beautiful brownish red upon the head and fore part of the neck, the front of the breast is black, the back and sides are pure ash-grey, delicately marked with cross lines of black. The under side is greyish white, the region of the vent black; the wing-covers are ash-grey, the wing-spots light grey, and the quills and tail grey. The eye is yellow, the beak black at its base, and the margins elsewhere blueish grey; the foot is greenish grey. In the female the head and neck are reddish greyish brown, marked with an indistinct crescent of dark brown. Her body is whitish grey, and wings ash-grey. The young males in their summer dress resemble the females, but are somewhat brighter in hue, and have the back-feathers of a purer grey. The length of this bird is nineteen inches, its breadth thirty inches, the wing measures nine inches and a half, and the tail two inches and a half.
The Red-headed Ducks are winter visitors to Great Britain, appearing in October, and, as a rule, departing in spring. Occasionally a few have been said to remain and breed in Norfolk. These birds do not confine themselves to the sea-coast, but visit inland lakes and rivers. Their note is usually a low whistle, but, when alarmed, they utter a hoarse croak. The nest, which is placed among rushes or coarse herbage, contains from ten to twelve buffish-white eggs; they are about two inches long, and one inch and five-eighths broad. "Although," says Audubon (in speaking of this species, which is numerously met with during winter about New Orleans, East Florida, and Chesapeake Bay), "these Ducks dive much and to a great depth, while in our bays and estuaries, yet when in the shallow ponds of the interior, they are seen dabbling in the mud along the shores, much in the manner of the Mallard; and, on occasionally shooting them there, I have found their stomach crammed with young tadpoles and small water lizards, as well as with blades of grass; nay, on several occasions I have found pretty large acorns and beech-nuts in their throats, as well as snails, entire or broken, and fragments of the shells of several small unios, together with much gravel."
Pochards are sold in large numbers in the London markets, and Gould tells us, on reliable authority, that no less than 14,400, the sale of which produced £1,200, have been captured in one decoy.
[Pg 169]
The method by which Pochards were formerly taken is thus described by Montagu:—"Poles were erected at the avenues leading to the decoys, and after a great number of birds had collected for some time on the pond, a net was, at a given time, erected by pulleys to these poles, beneath which a deep pit had been previously dug; and as these Ducks, like the Woodcocks, go to feed just as it is dark, and are said always to rise against the wind, a whole flock was sometimes taken together in this manner; for if once they strike against the net, they never attempt to return, but flutter down the net till they are received into the pit, from which they cannot rise."
The PIN-TAILED DUCKS (Erismatura) are recognisable by the structure of their tail; their body is elongated; neck short and thick; and head tolerably large. Their beak, which is flat in front, and considerably enlarged towards its base, is furnished at its tip with a small nail; the tarsi are short; toes long; and the wings remarkably small and much vaulted. The long, wedge-shaped tail is formed of eighteen feathers, which are of hard strong texture, and very tapering towards their extremities. The close harsh plumage of this group is readily distinguishable by the peculiarity of its colouring from that of all other Ducks.
THE WHITE-HEADED PIN-TAILED DUCK.
The WHITE-HEADEDPIN-TAILEDDUCK(Erismatura leucocephala) has the head white, with the exception of a large black patch upon the centre; a band around the neck and throat is black. The lower neck and region of the crop are chestnut-brown, finely marked with black; the mantle is greyish yellow, streaked with black; the under side reddish yellow, with greyish white centre and black markings; the primary quills are grey, and the tail black. The eye is reddish yellow; beak blueish grey; and foot reddish grey. This species is nineteen inches long and twenty-five inches broad; length of wing six inches and a half, and of tail four inches and a half. The female is smaller than her mate, and more variegated, but is not so handsome, owing to the absence of the white feathers and black spot that adorn the head of the male; the upper part of her head and a spot upon the cheeks are brown, the latter encircled by a line of yellowish white; the rest of her plumage is principally reddish brown, marked with watered black and grey lines. The White-headed Pin-tail is met with throughout the south and south-east parts of Europe, the south parts of Southern Asia, and North-west Africa; it is, however, scarcer than the generality of Ducks, even in localities where it is most frequently observed. It is principally abundant on the lakes of Asia, whilst in countries more to the west it seems less common. In Greece it is a regular visitant, but has not yet been found in Spain. Buvry and Tristram encountered it upon the lakes of Algeria, and the first-mentioned naturalist succeeded in obtaining its eggs. "The White-headed Ducks," says Buvry, "are most elegant birds, and are always met with in pairs. Their beautiful light blue beak forms a lively contrast to their white head and brown body. Their attitude when swimming is very striking; they lift up their tail almost perpendicularly, and glide lightly and quickly over the water like so many little boats. If pursued they seldom have recourse to their wings; nevertheless, such is the rapidity of their movements in the water that they are rarely captured." They lie so deep when swimming that, with the exception of their head, neck, and tail, very little of them is seen; and if they choose to exert themselves when paddling with their powerful and broadly-webbed feet, they swim and dive with all the facility of a Cormorant. In their flight they rather resemble Divers than ordinary Ducks, and the rapid motion of their wings produces a very audible whirring sound. Their voice, which is a somewhat jarring quack, reminds us of that of the Duck. The food of these birds consists of molluscs and fishes. In Central Asia their breeding-time occurs later than that of any of their kindred, their eggs being never met with before July. The nest is difficult to find, as it is carefully hidden in the thickest entanglements[Pg 170]of the reeds, rushes, and bushes, that abound in their favourite resorts; occasionally it is still further concealed by a covering of similar materials. The nests found by Tristram in Algeria contained—the one three and the other eight eggs. "These," he says, "are very large in proportion to the size of the bird, of a regular elliptical shape, very rough shelled, and, unlike those of other Ducks, of a dingy white." We have no information respecting the rearing of the young.
The MERGANSERS, or GOOSANDERS (Mergi), are distinguishable by their very elongate body, moderately long, thin neck, and large head, which is generally ornamented by a tuft or hood; their bill is long, straight, or slightly arched, slender, and almost cylindrical; its callous margins are sharp and strongly denticulated, and its tip terminated by a strong hook; the legs are short, and placed very far backwards, the feet large, and toes long; the hind toe is furnished with a supplementary web, resembling that of some of the Divers. The wings are of moderate length, and very acutely pointed, the first and second quills being the longest; the tail, which consists of sixteen or eighteen feathers, is short, broad, and rounded; the plumage is short, thick, and prettily coloured, but the colours vary at different ages, and also in the sexes as well as at different seasons of the year. These remarkable birds walk badly, with a vacillating waddling gait, keeping their bodies erect, but they are excellent swimmers, and dive with wonderful facility. Their flight is rapid, light, and somewhat resembles that of the Duck. When Mergansers fly in company, as they frequently do, they range themselves in a certain regular order; they rise readily, but with a loud noise, splashing with their feet upon the water, and when they alight again in that element, fly obliquely downwards, and either at once dive or stop themselves by means of their outstretched tail. All the members of this family belong to the northern regions of our globe, but are met with pretty equally both in the eastern and western hemispheres. When driven south by the intensity of the cold, their migrations sometimes extend to the south of Europe, and to corresponding latitudes in Central Asia and America. The Goosanders subsist chiefly upon fishes, crustaceans, worms, and insects; the fishes they obtain by diving, and chasing them through the water, exactly after the manner of the true Divers. These birds are strictly monogamous, and construct their nests sometimes upon the ground, in clumps of herbage, among reeds, in hollow trunks, or amongst the branches of trees, and occasionally in the deserted homes of other birds. The nest is inartistically formed of dried stalks, leaves, moss, and rushes, warmly lined with down. The brood consists of from seven to fourteen unspotted grey or greenish white eggs. The female alone broods, sitting for a period of from twenty-two to twenty-four days, the male always taking up a position in the neighbourhood of his mate. At first he seems to take some interest in his young brood, but soon forsakes them, and joining company with others of his own sex, retires from his family cares in order to undergo his autumnal moult. The flesh of the Goosanders is disagreeable, and of an oily taste, but they are often killed for the sake of their down and feathers. The eggs are in much request.
THE WHITE-HEADED GOOSANDER.
The WHITE-HEADEDGOOSANDER(Mergellus albellus) has been made the representative of a distinct sub-family, probably on account of the shortness and breadth of its bill, and the peculiarities in its mode of life. This bird bears a great resemblance to some of the Divers, and therefore must be placed near them.
The summer dress of the male is pure white, a spot between the eyes, the beak, and a band across the nape are blackish green; the back and a portion of the wings, two small stripes upon the shoulder, and a long stripe above the wing are black; the sides are blueish grey, cross-waved with black; the primary quills blackish brown, and the tail-feathers grey; the eye is blueish grey, the beak[Pg 171]and foot greyish blue. The length is nineteen inches, the breadth thirty inches; the length of wing eight inches and a half, and the length of tail three inches. In the female, which is smaller than her mate, the head and hinder neck are brown, the bridles black, the throat and under part of the body white, the feathers of the mantle grey, the upper breast and sides whitish, transversely waved with black. After the summer moult the dress of the male very much resembles that of the female. The real habitat of the White-headed or Dwarf Goosander, as it is sometimes called, seems to be in Northern Asia, from whence it extends westward into Northern Europe, and eastwardly into the northern parts of America. During the winter months, however, it wanders far southward. It is then to be met with in considerable numbers throughout the whole of China, being more especially abundant in the northern provinces of the Celestial Empire. It is, moreover, a regular visitant to Northern India, and is not unfrequently seen in Central and in Southern Europe. It seems to be more scarce in the Southern Provinces of the United States of North America, for Audubon informs us that in the western division, at least, it was a bird of unusual occurrence. In very hard winters it makes its appearance in Germany, as early as the month of November, but more usually not until the middle of December, returning again to the north in February or March. It is likewise a winter visitor to the shores of Great Britain, large numbers being sometimes seen on the eastern or southern coasts of England. It is rarely found north of the Humber, and is comparatively rare in Scotland and Ireland. In some parts of Switzerland it may be met with even so late as the beginning of May. This species is generally only to be found in the neighbourhood of fresh-water lakes, sometimes, but only casually, it may be seen in quiet bays upon the sea-coast, more especially in such as are at the mouths of rivers. Unlike the Divers, it seems to prefer flowing streams to stagnant water, and often wanders along the course of rivers, from which it only makes excursions to such lakes and ponds as may be free from ice. When walking, the Dwarf Goosander holds its body in a horizontal position, with its head retracted; it walks with a waddling gait, but better than the generality of its near allies. When swimming it keeps itself about half submerged, and when it dives it stretches itself out to its full length, and disappears in an instant. Its flight, which very much resembles that of the smaller Ducks, is rapid, straight, accompanied by a slight whirring of the wings, and is generally but little elevated above the surface of the ground or of the water. It is remarkably lively in its disposition, and even during the bitterest cold weather is sprightly and active.
These birds may generally be recognised by the manner of their diving; the True Divers, after their plunge, generally reappear close to the spot where they went down, but the Goosanders swim while under water to a considerable distance, shooting along like a pike or a trout, and as they can keep submerged for a minute at a time, it is not easy to calculate where they will come up again. They live principally upon small fishes, crustaceans, and aquatic insects, and in confinement, at least, do not refuse vegetables; they will also eat bread greedily. In catching fishes they are quite as skilful as the larger Divers, and it is very interesting to watch a flock of them thus employed. Now you see them swimming altogether; in a moment they all vanish at once, and the water becomes disturbed by their movements underneath; at length they come up again one after another, but widely separated, and often from thirty to fifty yards from the place where they went down. Again they congregate, and anon they dive again; some of them coming up perhaps close to the shore. Sometimes they are obliged to procure their food through small holes in the ice, often not a foot square, and to pursue their game beneath the frozen surface, only presenting themselves every now and then at the aperture for a supply of air. Their power of seeing under the water must therefore be very good, or they would never be able to find the broken place at which to emerge. Where the supply of food is scanty they will rake up the bottoms of ponds, in search of frogs or insects. The habit of diving all at once is peculiar to the Goosanders, and the explanation of this manœuvre[Pg 172]seems to be that by so doing they come among the astonished fishes in all directions, thus enabling one bird to catch those that are trying to escape from another; but we have never seen them, as some writers assert, arrange themselves in the form of a crescent, so as to drive the fishes, as it were, into a narrow space. About the breeding of these birds we are very imperfectly informed; we know, however, that in the north of Russia they assemble in great numbers, and build their nests upon the shore, or upon small islands, sometimes in hollow trees. We know, likewise, that their nest is composed of dry broom (Genista) and grasses, lined with feathers, and that their eggs, eight to twelve in number, are of a dirty white, or greenish brown colour, but we are ignorant either of the duration of their incubation, or of the manner in which they educate their progeny.
THE GREEN-HEADED GOOSANDER.
The GREEN-HEADEDGOOSANDER(Mergus merganser) differs from the preceding species not only in its greater size, but in the structure of its bill, which is elongated and compressed at its sides. In his summer dress the male is blackish green upon the head and upper neck; the upper back, shoulders, and margins of the wings are black; the whole under surface and the upper wing-covers are of a beautiful yellowish red; the wing-spot is white. The wing-quills are black, the lower tail-covers grey, finely marked with black, and the tail-feathers grey. The eye is reddish yellow, beak coral-red, and foot pale red. The female has the upper head and nape brown, the back-feathers blueish grey, the under surface of her body and the wing-spot white; the fore parts of her breast and sides are grey, marked with a darker and a lighter shade. After the summer moult the plumage of the male is very similar to that of the female, but somewhat more beautiful. The length of this species is from thirty to thirty-two inches; breadth, forty to forty-two inches; length of wing, twelve inches; length of tail, three inches.
The Green-headed Goosander inhabits the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America, being pretty equally distributed in all these continents: its migrations, which occur with much greater regularity than those of theMergellus albellus, extend, on the one hand, to all the southern countries of Europe, the south of China, and north of India; and on the other, to the extreme south provinces of the United States. A few pairs are occasionally known to breed in the Orkneys and Hebrides, but with us by far the greater number only arrive from the north about the end of November, and return thither in February. The Green-headed Goosander may justly be regarded as one of the most beautiful of aquatic birds. With the exception of a few hours at noon, he is invariably to be seen in the water. Upon dry land his gait is waddling, and his flight, although rapid, laboured and heavy; but upon the sea he is quite at home. When swimming quietly upon the surface he rows himself along with powerful but slowly-repeated strokes of his broad feet, passing through the water with tolerable velocity. Should he, however, cast an envious eye upon some other bird that has caught and is about to swallow a fish he would fain appropriate, he rushes in pursuit with truly wonderful rapidity. In diving he is equally adroit, plunging suddenly down without the least sound or commotion, and in clear water, where his career, as he steers his course half way between the surface and the bottom can be observed, his rapid progress seems rather to resemble the movements of a trout than those of a bird. On occasions he can remain under water for two minutes at a time; generally, however, he comes up in about a minute, and in this short period, notwithstanding all the ins and outs of his zigzag course, will have dived, as shown by the place of his reappearance, upwards of 100 yards. As long as these birds can obtain a sufficient supply, they subsist exclusively upon fishes, preferring such as are about five or six inches long, although they are well able to vanquish and swallow those of much larger size. The breeding-place of these Goosanders is generally in latitudes very far north, their usual resort being to the Danish islands, and even still farther north.[Pg 173]Their period of incubation commences about the beginning of June. The nest is constructed in various situations, often in some excavation in the ground, hidden between stones or bushes, on the tops of pollard willows, on the lofty eyries of birds of prey, in the deserted nests of Crows, or within the cavities of hollow trees. At Jana-Elf we saw large chests, resembling dove-cots, upon all the tallest trees; these we were told were intended specially to induce the Goosanders to build their nests, and lay their eggs in them. These breeding-boxes are likewise in common use among the Lapps and Finns, and, as we learned, were regularly visited by the breeding birds.