ALLEN] CONCERNING WILD DUCKS 173 



or one hundred and fifty feet deep) . The diving ducks can remain 

 beneath the surface of the water for minutes at a time, probably 

 owing to the air which they store in their five pairs of air sacs. 



Representatives of all three sub-families visit central New York. 

 There are nine species of merganser, or sheldrake, or saw-bill, as 

 thev are variously called, three of which, the American merganser. 



A Pair of Wild Mallards 



the red-breasted merganser, and the hooded merganser occur on our 

 lakes between October and April. The first fall migrants are the 

 dull colored immature birds, and those in "eclipse" plumage. 

 Later in the winter the lakes are dotted with small flocks of the 

 bright colored adults. All the mergansers are handsome, crested 

 birds with rather slim bodies, the males having very striking plimi- 

 age. They feed on fish, frogs, crayfish, etc., which they secure 

 by diving, and the mandibles are provided with saw-like teeth 

 which prevent their slippery prey from escaping. 



The early fall, September and October, brings in mostly the 

 dabblers or river ducks (Anatinae) among which are the black 

 duck, the mallard, the blue and green- winged teals, the pincail, 

 the widgeon, and the wood duck. The western gadwall and 

 shoveller rarely come here. Black ducks, mallards, and blue- 

 winged teal, occasionally nest here in the larger marshes and iso- 



