many “ dodges ” for concealment as the Merganser;
it is, however, a very powerful and active diver and a
strong and rapid flyer. The capacity of these birds for
swallowing fishes almost equals that of the Cormorant,
but I find that my pinioned birds will, when they have
the choice, select lumps of raw meat in preference to
salt-water fishes; I think that their favourite morsels
are small eels and frogs, but they are not very particular,
and I have several times seen them bolt lumps of the
barley-meal pudding that we give to our Ducks and
Pochards. This species is said to breed in Iceland,
throughout Scandinavia, and certain other parts of
Northern Europe; its favourite nesting-places are hollow
trees, and in Scandinavia it frequently takes possession
of the wooden boxes put up by the natives for the
special purpose of securing its eggs and those of the
Golden-eye. The nest is also occasionally made upon
the ground amongst rocks and stones, but, according to
all accounts, never without some shelter. In my experience
this is a rare bird in the Mediterranean. I am
inclined to think that it is more frequently met with in
the eastern portions of that sea during the winter months
than in the great western basin that separates the Iberian
and Italian Peninsulas. I cannot conclude without
another word of admiration for this bird, which I
consider to be, when in full masculine plumage, about
the most beautiful of British birds.