THE PELICAN. 249 



hood, gives it a sprightly and animated appearance. 

 This crest, together with the whole head, neck, breast, 

 and upper part of the back, are singularly marked 

 with black and pure white, which is well contrasted 

 with the rich brown of the sides and flanks. The 

 female is a much plainer bird, but not without some 

 claims to beauty. 



Like the Common Wood Duck, the Merganser 



' O 



seems to prefer placing its nest in some hollow tree, 

 to building, as most other species do, upon the ground. 

 The eggs are deposited on a bed of dried weeds, 

 feathers, and some down from the breast of the bird. 

 When the young are hatched, they are conveyed to 

 the water by the parent, who gently takes them in 

 her bill, and removes them one by one to their favorite 

 element. Here she leads them among the tall grass 

 and weeds, and teaches them to procure the snails 

 and insects that come within reach. The Hooded 

 Merganser is an expert diver, and in this way often 

 escapes the sportsman's gun, plunging, almost in a 

 twinkling, below the surface, on the first intimation 

 of danger. 



With the name of the Pelican most of our readers 

 are familiar, while with its appearance they may be 

 wholly unacquainted. The American White Pelican, 

 which Audubon is pleased to style a " splendid bird," 

 but which is quite too awkward to merit that term, 

 is rarely seen in the middle districts, while to the 

 north and west and south it seems to be more com- 

 mon. According to Dr. Richardson,* it is abundant 



* Author of "Fauna Boreali Americana." 



