Jan., 1909. Birds of Illinois and Wisconsin — Cory. 317 



Genus MERGUS Linn. 



37. Mergus americanus Cass. 

 American Merganser. Sheldrake. 



Merganser americanus (Cass.), A. O. U. Check List, 1895, p. 47. 



Distr.: General North America, breeds from northern Wisconsin 

 and Pennsylvania northward. It ranges in winter as far south as 

 Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, northern Mexico, and Lower California. 



Adult male: Bill, red, long and narrow, with tooth-like serrations 

 on edges; head and neck, greenish black; under parts, creamy white, 

 tinged with salmon color; tail, gray; feet, red; distance from anterior 

 end of nostril to the tip of the bill, less than i.jo inches. 



Length, 26; wing, about 11; tarsus, 2; bill, 2.10. 



Adult female: Upper throat, white ; breast and head, rufous brown ; 

 belly, white; speculum, white; feet, reddish orange; distance from the 

 anterior end of nostril to tip of bill, less than 1.50 inches. 



Length, about 24.50; wing, about 9.75; tarsus, 1.90; bill, 2. 



Immature males resemble the female. 



The distance from the anterior end of nostril to the tip of the bill 

 is less than 1.50 inches in this species, and the female may be dis- 

 tinguished from the Red-breasted Merganser by this character, as 

 in that species the distance from the anterior end of nostril to tip of 

 bill is more than 1.50 inches. 



This species is common in Illinois and Wisconsin, during the mi- 

 grations, and at times a number remain during the winter. It does 

 not breed in Illinois, and I find no satisfactory record of its having 

 done so in Wisconsin, although Kumlien and Hollister say: "Said to 

 nest in the extreme northern end of Door County." (Bull. Wiscon- 

 sin Nat. Hist. Soc, p. 16.) Both this and the next species are known 

 to the local gunners by the name of "Sheldrake." 



38. Mergus serrator Linn. 

 Red-breasted Merganser. Sheldrake. 



Merganser serrator (^Linn.), A. O. U. Check List, 1895, p. 47. 



Distr.: Northern portions of the northern hemisphere, breeding 

 from northern Illinois northward; winters throughout the United 

 States from Lake Michigan and New England to the Gulf coast, Cuba, 

 and Lower California. 



Adult male: Head and upper throat, black, tinged with greenish; 

 a white ring around the neck, not always well defined; breast, rufous. 



