f ;ï 318 f
GOLDEN-EYE DUCK.
FVLtGUJ.A CLANfJUI-J, 1ÎOXAP.
P L A Ï E SOffiÉLÎI. I b u AKD Female.
You have" now before you- another of our Dueks, which at least
•equals any ¡of the rest in the extent of its migrations. Braying the blasts
of the north, it visits the highest latitudes in spring, and returns at the
approach of winter, spreading over the whole Country, as if it seemed
not to c'ju'f: in what -région it spends its time, provided it find abundance
of water. Now propelling itself gaily, it may be scon searching the
pebbly nr rocky bottom of the Ohio, or diving deep in the broad bays
oi' Massachusetts or the :Ghesap:eake. Presently it emerge* with a
cray-fish or a mussel held firmly in its bill. It shakes its head, and
over it.« flattened back roll the large pearly drops of water-, unable to
penetrate the surface of its compact and By'phuttagëi The food is
swallowed, and the '-bird, having already glance# around, suddenly
plunges headlong. Happy being ! -"Kqually fitted for travelling-through
the air and the \vat:('(r, and not altogether denied the pleasure ^walking
on the shore |S§ndowed- with a cunning, : too, which preserves you from
many at least-of the attempts of man to destroy you ; and instinctively
sagacious enough to place -your eggs deep, in the hollowof a troc,
* where they an: secure from the nocturnal prowler, and, amid the down
of your smnvy breast, are fostered until the expected young conic forth.
Then with your own bill you carry your brood to the lake, where under
your tender care they* grow apace. The winged marauders,, rapid
as théir flight1 may be, cannot injure you there : for while your young
ones sink into the deep waters, • you arise on whistling wings,': and,
»wifter thau Jer i'aicon, speed away:
In South Carolina the Golden-eye is abundant during winter, whenit
ait times frequents the reserves of the rice-planters. I have also met
with it on the water-courses of the- i'loridas at that season. From
these countries westward and northward, it may be, found in all parts
¡¡0 the Union where the 'waters are not frozen. It is seldom seen on
small ponds entirely surrounded by trees, but perfers open places, and.
g o l d e n - e y e duck. 819
,m*th„-<)hio'is-generally found in the more rapid parts, <"> thé eddies
» j i w l S S f e i t '' •~idr - '
This sjft^ieS'*.exhibits a d e g r é » * cunning which surpasses that of
many olhcr Ducks, and yet-at times it appears quite careless. When
I have beoi. walking, without any object- in view, along*» banks of
the Ohio, betweenShippmgpott and Louisville, 1 bave o f t® seen the
Golden-eyes, febàng almost beneath me, when, although I had a grati '
thejWW&di suffer me to approach within an hundred paces. But at
other times, i f * crawled or h i dWs t f e any way while advancing towards
them, with a wishïïo firent i t fM' ® i f l ^ « « ?
awa/e i f 1% intent ion a distance of fully two hundred yards.
On theftataer ocMsion tìfey would •follòwTthéfc'avOcations quite unconc'eiMtìÌJKj
while otl tbfcla«®rot^oft.the flock would remain above
as if to give intimation of' the least appearance^ danger. If, in thé
first, instance, I' fired my gun at the&, thsy would all dive with the celerityof
lightning, but on emerging, would shakeéfheir wings as. if in
defiance. ' But if far sway on the stream, when? I fired at them, instead
of diving, the) ¡would all'at once stretch their nocks, bond their bodies
over the water, and paddle off with their broad webb'ed<<feet, until the
air would resound with th.: smart whistling of their wings, and away
t-h.-y would speed,, quite outtóf sight, up the river. In this pari of the
country, they «rc'fîonerally known by tho'-imiio of " Whistlers."
I hart ob.sc.rved-that birds of-this. species rarely g.» ah the shores to
rest. until lare in the 'evening; and-evon then they retire to secluded
. rocks, slightly elevated above the surface, of to the margins of sand-burs,
«•oil protected % surrounding waters. rMtah.er case, it is extremely
difficult for a man tó g«t< near thorn ; but it is-difierent with the sly
BacooBi which I have» on> Several occasions surprised in the dawn, feeding
on one Which it had caught under night.- Yet, On some of the
bays of our sea-coasts, the Whistlers are easily enticed to alight by the
coarsest- representaticms-of their figures in wooden floats, and are shot
while they pass and repass over the place to assure, themselves that
what they. I B is actuallvJ bird of their own kind. This mode is successfully
followed in the Bay and Harbour of Boston in Massachusetts,
as well as farther to the eastward.
The Golden-eye is rarely if ever seen in the company of any other
species than those which are, like itseGfrexpert divers ; such, for example,
as the Mergansers, or the Buffel-headed Duek ; and it is very rare to