of Yell, and observed it in Sommervoe in July 1879.
In Ireland, though occasionally common in the north, it
is scarce on the west, and rarely seen on the south coast.
There is no record of the Long-tailed Duck’s nesting
in any part of the United Kingdom, but it breeds in
considerable numbers in Iceland.
I find in the work from which I am quoting a long
extract from the notes of the late Mr. Richard Dann
with regard to this species as observed by him in
Scandinavia, from which I gather that it is very numerous
on the coasts of Norway and Sweden in winter,
that it begins to draw northwards in March, and that a
few straggling pairs breed on the small elevated lakes
of the Dovre Fjeld. Mr. Dann remarks that those
shot by him in this region in July were filled with the
larvae of aquatic insects. The nest of the Long-tailed
Duck is generally placed by the edge of fresh water,
and is composed of a few stems of grass with a thick
lining of down. This species is said to be of a quarrelsome
disposition, and is certainly a restless and noisy
bird ; its very peculiar, loud, and musical notes have
gained for it a .variety of local names, of which I may
mention “ Calloo,” “ Coal and Candlelight,” “ Cracker,”
and “ Tilliboo.”