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Painted

Published

1930

Volume

3

Plate

152

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Barrow Goldeneye

Clangula islandica

DESCRIPTION

By the middle of April each open lake in British Columbia has its conspicuous flock of 40 or 50 courting BARROW GOLDENEYES.

Distinguished in field from the Goldeneye by crescent shape of white spot on head and more black on sides. Females and young not separable in wild state and sometimes not even in hand.

Rare and "winter" Duck in the East.

Sawyer's excellent account follows:

There were usually a number of "inviting" females to be seen floating like half submerged logs on the pond, especially after the dispersed flock had had some little time for feeding. The appearance of the female in this position is remarkable and thoroughly characteristic of her mood. For many minutes at a time the bird looks like a rounded piece of driftwood as she lies half submerged for her entire length, including head, neck and bill. She sometimes emits a low clucking call in this attitude. Here may be mentioned a very striking thing which obtained among the birds in general; that is, the females, so far as one might judge by behavior, were decidedly more precocious than the males in their desire. With a given pair the female's period begins long in advance of the male's and continues unabated until the male's period, only two or three minutes in duration, is over. It was a common thing to see a half sunken duck float and drift invitingly about a drake for a quarter of an hour or more, while he showed not the slightest knowledge of her existence. Occasionally the immediate sequel was a sudden and furious transformation — from the ignored spouse spoiling for attention to the very personification of a "woman scorned;" she would dart with apparently murderous intent at the unresponsive drake, putting him to flight that looked not to the order of his going; yet, no sooner would he come to rest than she would be again on hand, floating invitingly — the all-loving spouse again — outdoing if possible her former abject appeal. Sooner or later — usually sooner than in instances like that above described — the drake complies.

The male sometimes assumes a pose similar to that of the half submerged female. This may be, in his case also, a specific advertisement of desire; but it seemed random, was not one of the definite series of mating acts. There is no attitude or act of the drake coinciding with that prolonged period of the female. Any interest he may feel at that time is certainly well disguised. It is only fair justice to the spectacle itself to record the strangeness of seeing him drifting or slowly swimming in the most every-day posture and manner imaginable while the female drifts, with the fine art of apparent chance, within near contact; often he swims slowly away to avoid her.

The first positive indication of his desire is apt to be a peculiar and animated twitching of the water with his bill; then he is apt to stretch, turning on his side and extending the upper wing and leg — in this he is quite deliberate; pluming of the back feathers follows and looks like a gesture of ostentation. All this has taken but a minute or so (unless the water twitching has been more prolonged than usual); then the upright position is assumed, which marks the beginning of the spurt to the female; the birds are usually within a yard of each other when the spurt begins.

Scarcely a minute is consumed in the entire specific act. While finally, in coitu, they begin to swim in a very small circle a note is repeated at regular intervals of about a second; I wrote it, "Gr-err-er" or "cr-err-er," and it seemed to come from the female, yet the latter point is in doubt. The middle syllable, high and accented, seems jerked forth. Another note (I thought from the drake) is a low cluck; these two notes were timed with each other so that one appeared an echo. As I reflect about it now, there seems a possibility that both calls came from the same individual. Having circled, as mentioned, two or three times around, the pair separates, each bird swimming away instantly from the spot; dabbling and vigorous bathing begins at a distance of some forty feet on the part of the female, rather farther in the case of the male. The male's appearance in this swimming away is noteworthy. He has an extremely self-conscious bearing; in the live bird the effect is enhanced to a ludicrous extent by the regular ticktock movement of the bill from side to side. The set pose, the straight course with uniform speed, the mechanical movement of the head — all give every appearance of an automaton, personifying egotism and wound up to run a set course.

BREEDING

NEST: in hollow tree; frequently in dead stumps.

EGGS — 6 to 10; varying shades of pale green.

RANGE

Northwestern North America.

barrow-goldeneye
merganser
Merganser
129
redbreast-merganser
Redbreast Merganser
130
hood-merganser
Hood Merganser
131
mallard
Mallard
132
black-duck
Black Duck, Redleg Black Duck
133-133a
florida-duck-mottled-duck
Florida Duck, Mottled Duck
134-134a
gadwall
Gadwall
135
redhead-widgeon
Redhead Widgeon
136
baldpate
Baldpate
137
greenwing-teal
Greenwing Teal
139
bluewing-teal
Bluewing Teal
140
cinnamon-teal
Cinnamon Teal
141
shoveler
Shoveler
142
pintail
Pintail
143
wood-duck
Wood Duck
144
redhead
Redhead
146
canvasback
Canvasback
147
scaup-duck
Scaup Duck
148
lesser-scaup-duck
Lesser Scaup Duck
149
ringneck-duck
Ringneck Duck
150
goldeneye
Goldeneye
151
barrow-goldeneye
Barrow Goldeneye
152
bufflehead
Bufflehead
153
oldsquaw
Oldsquaw
154
harlequin-duck
Harlequin Duck
155
steller-eider
Steller Eider
157
spectacled-eider
Spectacled Eider
158
northern-eider
Northern Eider
159
eider
Eider
160
pacific-eider
Pacific Eider
161
king-eider
King Eider
162
scoter
Scoter
163
whitewing-scoter
Whitewing Scoter
165
surf-scoter
Surf Scoter
166
ruddy-duck
Ruddy Duck
167
mask-duck
Mask Duck
168
snow-goose
Snow Goose
169
blue-goose
Blue Goose
169.1
greater-snow-goose
Greater Snow Goose
169a
ross-goose
Ross Goose
170
whitefront-goose
Whitefront Goose
171a
canada-goose
Canada Goose, Hutchin Goose
172-172a
whitecheek-goose
Whitecheek Goose
172b
cackling-goose
Cackling Goose
172c
brant
Brant
173a
black-brant
Black Brant
174
barnacle-goose
Barnacle Goose
175
emperor-goose
Emperor Goose
176
blackbelly-treeduck
Blackbelly Treeduck
177
fulvous-treeduck
Fulvous Treeduck
178
whistling-swan
Whistling Swan
180
trumpeter-swan
Trumpeter Swan
181
flamingo
Flamingo
182
roseate-spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbill
183
white-ibis
White Ibis
184
glossy-ibis
Glossy Ibis
186
whiteface-glossy-ibis
Whiteface Glossy Ibis
187
wood-ibis
Wood Ibis
188
bittern
Bittern
190
least-bittern
Least Bittern
191
cory-least-bittern
Cory Least Bittern
191.1
great-white-heron
Great White Heron
192
great-blue-heron
Great Blue Heron
194
northwestern-coast-heron-ward-heron
Northwestern Coast Heron, Ward Heron
194a-194b
egret
Egret
196
snowy-egret
Snowy Egret
197
redish-egret
Redish Egret
198
louisiana-heron
Louisiana Heron
199
little-blue-heron
Little Blue Heron
200
green-heron
Green Heron
201
frazer-green-heron-anthony-green-heron
Frazar Green Heron, Anthony Green Heron
201a-201b
blackcrown-night-heron
Blackcrown Night Heron
202
yellowcrown-night-heron
Yellowcrown Night Heron
203
whooping-crane
Whooping Crane
204
little-brown-crane
Little Brown Crane
205
sandhill-crane
Sandhill Crane
206
limpkin
Limpkin
207