BIRDS 169. Scaup-Duck. Fuligula marila (Linn.) A sea-duck seldom met with inland, never breeding in England and only very rarely in Scotland, but common enough on the coast in winter. The name is probably derived from its feeding on mussel * scalps.' 170. Goldeneye. Clangula glaucton (Linn.) Locally, Goldeneye Daver (= Diver). A winter migrant of which young birds and females are not uncommon, but a good old drake is quite a rarity. 171. Long-tailed Duck. Harelda glacialii (Linn.) A rather irregular winter migrant of which Mr. Hele states that it ' has occurred in flocks during excessively cold winters.' An old drake in summer dress was obtained near Orford about 23 July, 1872 (Ipswich Museum), in which plumage it is extremely rare in Britain. 172. Common Eider Duck. Somateria mollis- sitna (Linn.) A rare winter visitant, but one which will perhaps be more often met with in East Anglia now that its breeding grounds on the Fame Islands are so strictly protected. The very rare king-eider (S. spectabilis) has been obtained more than once in Norfolk, and if all eiders killed in Suffolk are examined by a competent authority it may sooner or later be recognized. It is a slightly smaller bird than the common eider. 1 73. Common Scoter. (Edemia nigra (Linn.) This winter migrant is an essentially marine bird and very rarely seen inland. A few, which are probably birds which have not begun to breed, are sometimes observed flying alongshore in the summer months. In July, 1 89 1, large flocks were attracted to Sizewell Bank to feed on the barley washed out of a steamer sunk there (F. M. Ogilvic in Zoologist, 1892, p. 1 09). 1 74. Velvet-Scoter. (Edemia fusca (Linn.) Though much less frequent than the last- named species young velvet-scoters are not uncommon in winter, but old drakes in the handsome adult plumage are scarce. A very perfect one was shot at Cockfield, which is quite twenty-five miles from the sea, 26 November, 1892. The colouring of the legs and beak was very bright. 175. Goosander. Mergus merganser^ Linn. Females and young birds are not uncom- mon winter migrants, but a perfect male is always a prize collection. and an ornament to any Mergus str- 176. Red-breasted Merganser. rator, Linn. Locally, Saw-bill or Saw-bill Daver. This species shares with the goosander the local name of ' saw-bill,' and the same remarks apply to it, though it is perhaps the more common of the two. Mergus albellus, Linn rare winter visitant, which 177. Smew, A rare winter visitant, which occurs as a rule only in very severe winters. A fine drake was shot near Ixworth during the frost of 1 890-1. The Ipswich Museum (Hele collection) possesses splendid old males of this and the three last-named species, all obtained at or near Aldeburgh in i8?o and 1871. 178. Ring-Dove or Wood-Pigeon. Columba palumbus, Linn. A common resident breeding twice if not three times in the year, and often appearing in enormous flocks in winter. Many are shot by waiting for them in ' dow-houses ' (dove is usually * dow ' in Suffolk), which are huts roughly constructed of boughs in which the shooter waits for the birds as they come to the woods for the acorns and beech-mast. On 9 February, 1903, a man was shooting them in this manner near Ipswich and killed a fine young white-tailed eagle which flew down on a dead bird set up as a decoy {Zoologist, 1903, p. 107). In the Newmarket neighbourhood wood-pigeons swarmed in December, 1902, and a local paper stated that a punt gun was brought to bear on them so effectually that in one case nineteen were killed at a shot. These great flocks probably come from Scandinavia, as they have been seen crossing the North Sea, and there is a record of one having been killed by striking a lighthouse at Orford [Migration Report for 1884, p. 59). 179. Stock-Dove. Celumba aenas, Linn. Locally, Stock-Dow. A resident never seen in flocks like the ring-dove, but more numerous now than in former years. It derives its name from its habit of nesting in the ' stocks ' or trunks of hollow trees, but it also breeds freely in rabbit burrows on the warrens and sometimes in church towers. The eggs, smaller and more creamy-white than those of the ring-dove, have been found as early as April and as late as September. A nest with two almost fresh eggs was found in the tower of Tostock church, 26 August, 1900. The smaller 201 26
