slu- is lurrouudod appearing to vary in CMIOOI from • creamy salmon lo a ihill date. One moment half or
three fourth* of the brood show ap the former conspicuous tint, while shortly after a transformation takes
plaee aad the colours arc reversed. A glance through a strong binocular at once solves the mystery, and
reveals the half-fledged juveniles •pleading ll.emselvcs out to enjoy the warmth of the sun. From time to
time a portion of the brood turn over on their backs, remaining often in this position for several seconds; the
next minute a bird or two may lie seen, each antth one foot Happing iu the air and paddling slowly round
With the other; while engaged in these uuties the bright colours of the underpays are clearly exposed
to view.
Such nn appearance would be presented by a brood from five to seven weeks old; at this age the head, neck,
and back still retain a quantity of the brown-tinted down, while the breast and belly an- thickly feathered, the
plumage being of much the same creamy salmon hue as that of the adult male. 1 have repeatedly watched
this performance in still sunny weather, and remarked that till the young arrive at the age of a month or five
weeks the female seldom leads tier brood onto the deep waters of either loch or river, keeping them in the
shallows, where- there is less danger of their falling victims to the pike. On some of the larger sheets of water
I noticed broods of young numbering only four or five, the remainder of the family having in all probability
been snapped up by these freshwater sharks". On one occasion (July 1.1, 1S7S), shortly More midnight, I
surprised a brood resting on a spit of sand on the shores of a huge loch ; picking our way quietly homewards
hy the water-side, no notice was taken of our approach till within a couple of paces, when with a tremendous
splashing flu- whole party fluttered and paddled out from the shore.
The young birds figured in the 1'l.ite were hatched in one of the large pine-forests that stretch for miles
along the mountain-sides in the Northern Highlands. After bringing her brood down to the river-side, the
female kept them for a week or more about some small pools that atrorded a shelter from the strength of the
current; as they increased in size, she worked steadily down the course of the river, being usually seen about
the shallows, w here Hat or sloping ledges of rock and stone enabled the young birds to leave the water without
difficulty, Being anxious to secure specimens previous to the feathers showing on the head and back, the
brood had been examined on several occasions, and at last, when about seven weeks old, I came to the
conclusion that they wen- in the stage required. On searching for the family, consisting of the female and ten
young, they were discovered resting on the stones in a wide and shallow reach of the river, where there was
not llie slightest chance of approaching within range without atli.ieliog attention ; the birds were also much
scattered, rendering it doubtful if more than one or two could have been obtained at a shot. From having
frequently watched their actions I was well aware that though, of course, incapable of flight, they could both
swim and dive at a pace that rendered pursuit through the stisqi and rocky glen entirely out of question. As
the party remained for several hours without changing their position, beyond rising at times and stretching
their necks and wing-joints, 1 decided on attempting a drive. Having first taken up a position so as to
command a narrow gorge where the river swept down in a succession of falls between high slabs of rock,
a keeper was despatched to show him-elf below the brood, and, if possible, induce them to move up-stream. I
had previously remarked that when bent on making their way in one particular direction, no amount of
driving that was jinssihle in such situations would force them against their will; consequently it was
satisfactory to MM the brood, one by one, drop olF the ledges on which they were resting, and with heads upstream,
paddle slowly in front of the dog which the keeper had sent out into the river. On Hearing the rapids,
I noticed the birds were swimming with only their heads showing above the water, which in this part of the
river dashed through the narrow channel between the rocks with tremendous force. A low whistle was
frequently attend ; but whether this was the note of the old bird or the cry of the young, it was impossible to
GOOSANDER.
ascertain*, lly diving and swimming they succeeded iu working their way against the current at a most
surprising pace ; so rapid were their movements in ducking below the surface, that, though well within range
and keeping in a compact body, I was unable to catch a glimpse of more than two or three of their number at
the same moment. Fnder such circumstances the result of the shot proved far more satisfactory than was
anticipated, five young birds and the old female being stopped by the two barrels. The survivors at once
filmed, ami Muttering and diving, as well as aided by the current, passed rapidly down the river, iu spite of all
efforts of the keeper and dog to turn thomt. Some time was spent in securing the dead and wounded ; and
when at. last we followed the course taken by the remainder of the brood, our search, which was continued
for a couple of miles, proved a failure, with the exception lb it another di- ililed lard was discovered hy tin' dog.
The plumage or the female exhibited little ditference. to that of specimens obtained iu winter; the
crest on the head was, however, scarcely so long and thick. The young birds showed a thin covering
of feathers 011 the crown and fore put of the head, the back of the bead and neck being still eovercl with
long reddish down. The throat was a mixture of white down and due pin-feathers ; back long brown down.
Feathers of a slalc-groy had expanded on the wing-coverts. The white of the bar 011 the 11 legs had made its
appearance, though but very slight signs of the pin ion-feathers could he detected. The feathers of the tail bad
sprouted to a considerable length, the breast and belly also being thickly feathered and of almost the same
rich salmon tint as iu the adult male. The upper mandible brown along top ridge, the lower portion, including
the saw, being of a flesh tint, the lower mandible of a deep red flesh. Iris dusky yellow, with darker outside
circle. Legs a dusky brown tint, darker at the knee-joint ; toes pale orange ; webs dusky brown.
This brood, which appeared to be the only one in the immediate neighbourhood, bad been watched for
about seven Hecks, and during that time bad u'.'ived down I lie coal's-.' of the river for nearly ten mill's, Tlic-e
birds seemed, from some unknown cause, exceedingly scarce this season, iu former years three or four broods
having been usually observed on the same stretch of water.
Thoughout the districts in 11 hich I met with Goosanders during the breeding-season, the females appeared
in some instances to resort to situations for nesting-purposes at a considerable elevation on the hills. A cavity
in a large and partially decayed birch was pointed out by a keeper as the S|K>| from which some eggs (previously
seen in bis possession) had been taken. The old and weather-beaten stump was on the outskirts of a thicket of
lurch, tii", and alder stretching from a swamp up a sleep brae, and within a mile of a loch on which I have
repeatedlv watched two or three broods. The tree was carefully examined, and I noticed that down from
the breast of the bird was still clinging to the rotten wood ; the general appearance also of the rubbish in the
hollow left little doubt as to the truth of the statement. On more than one occasion I have been informed by
keepers aad gillies well acquainted with this species that they had met with broods on the bare and open moors
following the course of some of the larger burns. Whether these had been batched among the rocks and
stoues in the rugged gullies near at hand, or still higher on the mountain-side where dense patches of fir
clothed the slopes in the more sheltered curries, it was impossible to form an opinion.
Goosanders are blessed with a strong healthy appetite, their visits at times proi ing exceedingly distasteful
to the custodians of lakes and I'b ers. When wounded or alarmed, I have occasionally remarked I hat an immense
quantily of fish was thrown up. After a shot with a punt-gun, some winters back, on Heigham Souuds in the
east of Norfolk, at a number of these birds silting with other fowl at the edge of a wake on the ice, scores of
small rudd and roach were discovered lying on the surface where the tlock had been resting. On the upper
waters of the Lyon, iu 1'erlhshiro, while concealed among the alders un the bank of the river, I watched, at the