[904I Unusual nesting sites. 153 



UNUSUAL NESTING SITES OF THE AMERICAN 

 MERGANSER [Merganser america7tus.) 



Bv Walter Raine, Toronto. 



In all works on North American birds, nests and eggs the 

 nesting situation of this species is given as being in a hole in a 

 tree, after the manner of the hooded merganser, buffle-head, 

 American golden-eye and wood duck. I was therefore very much 

 surprised to find American mergansers nesting in holes under 

 boulders on an island in Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba, during 

 June, 1903. 



My son and I found about 30 pairs nesting on Gun Island on 

 June i6ih. All the nests that we could reach were built far back 

 at the end of dar»c passages under boulders on the highest part of 

 the island, some nests being from four to six feet back from the 

 entrance and were hard to get at ; in some cases my boy had to 

 crawl between the boulders to reach the eggs and I had lo pull 

 him out by the feet. In one hole he caught a female on the nest, 

 and afterwards my boy tied a fishing line to its leg and let it swim 

 around the boat. It was astonishing with what speed it cut 

 through the water using its wings and fairly flying under water, 

 after which we gave it its liberty and it flew away. The nests 

 contained from 8 to 12 eggs, one nest containing as many as 13. 

 They are easily distinguished from other duck eggs by their very 

 large size and pale buff tint, averaging 2.60 x 1.80. One nest 

 contained eggs laid by two females as half the eggs were of a 

 deeper tint and diff'erent size and shape than the others. The down 

 is pale greyish-white after the fashion of all other ducks that nest 

 in holes in trees or in the dark. The male mergansers flew away 

 as our sail boat approached the island, but the females sat close 

 dashing past our feet as we scrambled amongst the boulders 

 where they were nesting. On this same island several red- 

 breasted mergansers had nests containing 8 and 9 eggs each ; 

 their nests were not at the end of burrows, but in depressions 

 under dense undergrowth. The eggs are smaller than those of 

 the American merganser and of a darker tint, being yellowish- 

 drab or warm drab ; average size 2.50 x 1.70. The down is also 



