note, in the following words, appended to his notice of the
Golden Eye :—u Mr. Miller has a specimen, which he -considers
proves that the Morillon is different from "the Golden
Eye. I t was an old male,Amt is full otie-third less than
the males of the Golden Eye, and the? bill is considerably-
shorter; besides which,, the plumage is rather different.”
From a recent conversation with the Rev. Richard Lubbock,
who is well acquainted with the extensive-waters'-near Yarmouth”
visited by numerous birds,. I have reason to believe
that other example^ of Ih e Duffel-headed Dubk have-' Seen
seen in winter in that country, LutHhe bird %very shy, and
from its power of diving very difficult to get at; u T h l boat-
shooters there, o r some of them, at leastyeall this bird the
true Morillon ; they , are wethnequainted with the Golden
Eye, or Rattle-wings, as they call it, in every' staje^of
plumage, and therefore, very properly, considerph||§ Morillon
(this Buffel-headed Duck) as distinct from the^Golden Eye.
In the autumn of 1841 Mr. ^Mummerf^bhe Curator of
the Museum of Natural History at Margate, sent me word
that during a visit to Orkney,'from which, he had then but
recently returned, he had obtained a Bufihl^aded Duck
there, which was. intended for the Margate Museum.
This species is well known to the naturalists' of Nprth
America, and to their histories we must refer for an account
of its habits. Mr. Audubon says “ that during autumn and
winter it is to be seen in almost every Jiart of the Union,
frequenting the sea-shore, rivers, and lakes. I t feeds on shellfish,
shrimps, and marine plants, particularly the species of
laver called Ulva lactuca, and the' bird .being generally ver^
fat, one of its common names is Butter-box; it is also called
Spirit Duck, and Conjuror, from the facility with which it
escapes by diving' suddenly at the flash of a gun, or the
twang of a bowstring. The Buffel-headed Duck is a very
hardy bird, for it remains during extremely cold weather on
the Ohio, when it is thickly covered with floating ice, among
which it is seen diving almost constantly in search of food.
When the river is frozen over they seek the head-waters of
the rapid streams, in the turbulent eddies of which they find
abundance of prey. Possessed of a feeling of security arising
from the rapidity with which they can dive, they often allow
you to go quite near them, though they will then watch every
motion, and at the snap of your gun, or on its being discharged,
disappear with the swiftness of-thought, and, perhaps,
as quickly rise again within a few yards, as if to ascertain
the cause-of their alarm. When these birds return to us
from the north, the number of the young so much exceed
that of the old, that: to find males in full plumage is much
more Uncommon than toward the time of their departure,
when 1 have thought the males as numerous as the females.
Although at times they are very fat, their flesh is fishy and
disagreeably many of them-, however, are offered for sale in
our markets. ~
“ The note is a mere croak, much resembling that of the
Golden Eye; b u t not so loud.” These birds leave the United
States in spring to breed in more northern regions, and, like
the Golden Eye, are said to make their nests in hollow trees.
Mr. Audubon saw many in flocks in the Bay of Fundy.
The specimen figured by Edwards, plate 100, came from
Newfoundland. - Dr. Richardson states that they frequent the
rivers and fresh-water lakes throughout the Fur countries in
great numbers, but does not mention having observed them
breeding. Dr. Townsend found this species on the streams
of the Rocky Mountains; and it has been observed as far
westward as Monterey, in New California. Captain Beechey,
during a voyage to the Pacific and Behring’s Straits, found
this Duck at San Francisco.
In the adult male the bill is bluish-black, narrow, and
small; irides hazel; forehead, lore, chin, throat, and sides
t I