1 ten to forty in number, toppling over the waves and looking truly
quently observed in the Firth of Forth, at the mouths of the
n some parts of Ireland. It wing-powers, when assailed

o get out of harm’s way, by flying seaward, or

Here it is seen in small troops of fron
interesting. Such scenes as this may be fre
larger rivers 1p Scotland, and in similar situation
, are sufficient to enable it t
another ; its diving-powers also ar
isition of specimens is no easy task. When paired and breeding
it is much more tame in disposition, and attired in

by the gunner in his sea-boat
from one part of the estuary to
not readily approachable, and the acqu

ff islands steri orthern regions,
) the far-off islands of the mysterious n 2
2 : e surrounding herbage of the soppy fells with their moss-

e by no means insignificant. It is therefore

a dress which closely assimilates in colour to th
covered stones and scanty vegetation.
Professor Reinhardt includes it in his
but does not furnish us with any details respecting it. a
Interior of British North America ” (Ibis, 1863), mentions that he saw it in Hudson’s Bay; and Mr. Ross
n his ‘ Notes on the Natural History

“ List of the Birds hitherto observed in Greenland ” (Ibis, 1861),
Captain Blakiston, in his notes ‘*‘ On the Birds of the

states that it is abundant on the Mackenzie. Mr. A. E. Verrill, 1
of Anticosti,” published in the Proceedings of the Boston Naot Society i me states that
Long-tailed Duck breeds abundantly, and is very common there: Mr. A. Newton, in his Notes on the Birds
of Spitsbergen” (Ibis, 1865), says the Harelda glacialis “is one of the few iu visitants to that country,
where, however, it seems to be scarce ; but it occurs as far north as the Dépot Holm, lat. 80° N., where
Dr. Malmgren saw afemale bird. He also saw a pair in Kobbe Bay, on the 28th of May, 1861, and in 1864,
on the first of August, met with a family party of five on a small pool of fresh water on De of the Horn
Sound Islands.” Mr. H. Whitely, jun., obtained several specimens at Hakodadi, in Japan, in January 1865,
from native bird-catchers, and states that it was common in the harbour in winter (Ibis, 1867); and
Mr. R. Brown includes it in his ‘‘ Synopsis of the Birds of Vancouver Island” (Ibis, 1868). The late
Mr. Wheelwright, in his ‘ Spring and Summer in Lapland,’ says :—‘‘ The Long-tailed Ducks made their
appearance on the Tana river towards the middle of May, and, after remaining there a short time, retired
up the fell-lakes to breed. Before breeding, we always saw them in small flocks ; and I think of all Ducks
these are the most restless ; for they are never still, but continually chasing each other about, uttering a pleasing
note, which Nilsson likens to the tone of a clarionet, ‘a gleck, a gleck.’ The only nest I obtained was on
the fell-meadow where the Lap Buntings breed. I was walking down a narrow track-way by the side of a fell-
lake, on the night of the 27th of June, when I nearly trod upon an old female sitting on her nest. Although
her head was turned towards me, she never attempted to rise, and I caught her on the nest, which contained
seven fresh eggs. The next morning I saw two young broods on the water, apparently a few days old.
During the breeding-season the old males appear to leave the females and congregate in small flocks; and
even in the end of June we used to see, occasionally, six or eight males on the rivers at Quickiock.”

Mr. Hewitson ‘ met with this species in Norway in considerable numbers, always in flocks, roving from
place to place, and apparently unattached to any particular localities, sometimes sweeping past within a
few yards with great rapidity, uttering their strikingly wild musical and most interesting cries.

‘Egos were brought from Iceland by Mr. G. C. Atkinson, who found a nest near the margin of a small
lake, lined with down and containing six eggs.

‘Mr. Proctor tells me that the bird is common in the last-mentioned country, and that it makes its nest
amongst low brushwood and aquatic plants at the edge of the fresh water, of a few stems of grass and reeds,
well lined with down, and usually lays from six to ten eggs, which, however, in one instance were twelve
in number. When recent they are of an asparagus-green colour, approaching to apple-green, with the shell
smooth ; of a broad oval form, an inch and eleven twelfths to two inches and a twelfth in length, and
generally an inch and a half in breadth.”

cena ’ e *We 7 ° . . ra S . F \ :
The male,” says Macgillivray, “in swimming, raises his tail obliquely, in rough water almost erects it,

and is remarkable for the grace and vivacity of his movements. Their flight is rapid, direct, and generally
performed at the height of a few feet. They rise easily from the water, especially when facing a breeze,
and alight rather abruptly. Sometimes during the day, but more frequently at night, they emit various
loud rather plaintive cries, as well as cacklings of various shorter guttural notes, which I think can neither
be easily imitated nor well expressed in words. In the north-eastern isles this bird is known by the name of
Caloe, as well as the whimsical one of Coal-and-Candle-light, both derived from its cries ; and in the
Hebrides it is named Ianbhochail, ian signifying a bird, and bhochail expressing its soft protracted note.”

The front figure in the opposite plate represents a male, of the natural size, in winter plumage, the
reduced figures a male and a female in that of summer.