HOODED MERGANSER. 21 



S])r'ing migration.- -'Y\\q red-breasted merganser winters so far north 

 that few migration data are available. The species is most common 

 on the Massachusetts coast during the first half of April, though 

 migrants begin to pass a month earlier. The average date of arrival 

 at Montreal is April 16 (earliest, April 6, 1891); at North River, Prince 

 Edward Island, April 21 (earliest, April 15, 1891); Lake Mistassini, 

 Ungava, May 11, 1895; Heron Lake, Minn., April 2, 1884, April 1, 

 1885; Aweme, Manitoba, April 22, 1899; Fort Keogh, Mont., April 

 27, 1889; Chilcat, Alaska, May 8, 1882; mouth of the Yukon about 

 the middle of May; Kowak River, Alaska, middle of June (1899). 

 The region in the United States to the south of the breeding ground 

 is deserted in Ma}^ except l)y a few cripples and nonbreeders, some of 

 which are present all summer on the coasts of New Jersey and New 

 England. 



Fall migration . — The first arrival in 1896 at ]VIonterey, Cal., was 

 noted October 9; about the same time the species appears in the cor- 

 responding latitude on the Atlantic coast. Indeed, October can be 

 said to be the month of arrival in the winter home, and of departure 

 from the most northern breeding grounds; the last was seen on the 

 Mackenzie River, about latitude 63-', October 15 and 16, 1903. 



Lophodytes cucullatus (Linn.). Hooded Merganser. 



Breeding range. — This merganser breeds locally throughout much 

 of North America, from Florida (Fort Myers and Titusville), Georgia, 

 South Carolina, Tennessee, Kansas, Colorado, northern New Mexico, 

 Nevada, and Oregon, north to Newfoundland, southern Labrador, 

 Hudson Ba}^ (Fort Churchill, latitude 62-^), Great Slave Lake, and 

 central British Columbia (Cariboo district). One specimen was seen 

 at Fort Wrigley, Mackenzie River, latitude 63*^, where possibly it 

 ma}^ breed; it is accidental in Alaska (St. Michael, October, 1865), Ber- 

 mudas, Europe. In the Southern States mentioned the species is quite 

 rare and local, and the same seems to be true of all the district north 

 of Maine and east of Ontario. The species is most common from 

 latitude -^^ to latitude 60^, between the Rocky Mountains and Lake 

 Huron. 



^\inter range. — It remains during the winter rarely as far north as 

 Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Lake Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado, 

 Utah, and southern British Columbia. It is more common in the cen- 

 tral districts and Gulf States. A few migrate to Cuba, Central Mex- 

 ico (Orizaba, City of Mexico), and southern Lower California. 



Spring migration. — Since the hooded merganser breeds over much 

 of its winter range, it is difficult to determine when its spring migra- 

 tion begins. Migratory movements occur in late February, and aver- 

 age dates of arrival are: Western New York, March; Montreal, early 

 April; Ottawa, Ontario, April 18 (earliest, March 21, 1903); southern 

 Michigan, March 19; central Iowa, March 22 (earliest, March 5, 1895); 



