332 OUR RARER BIRDS 



also sought for : and I have known it feed on limpets and 

 whelks which the Oystercatchers have detached from the 

 rocks and only partly devoured. 



A word as to the peculiar bill of this interesting bird. 

 If you examine it you will find that it is long and narrow, 

 something like that of the Cormorant, and both mandibles 

 are furnished with small teeth all directed inwards like a 

 saw. This bill is beautifully adapted to seize and hold a 

 fish ; and in many places the Merganser is universally 

 known to the country-people as the '' Saw-bill." 



I do not think that the Eed-breasted Merganser is at all 

 gregarious during the breeding season. It is usual to meet 

 with them in scattered pairs, although very often several 

 nests may be found quite close together, especially in places 

 where suitable situations are scarce. Even then the birds 

 keep to themselves, and I never see the males in parties near 

 the nesting grounds, although they may so congregate when 

 moulting later on in the season. In all cases the Merganser 

 prefers an island to the mainland for a nesting-place, and I 

 have never met with the eggs of this species at all in the 

 latter situation. Of the numbers of nests that I have 

 examined, all have been on the rocky islands ; but on one 

 occasion I found a nest built on a portion of the shore which 

 was an island only at high water. The nest is scanty, and 

 in some cases is dispensed with altogether. In many cases 

 you will find the eggs on the bare ground under a rock, with 

 only the down from the female's body round them. In other 

 cases a slight nest is made amongst the tall heather or furze 

 — of dry grass, dead leaves, and the usual quantity of down. 

 The eggs are from eight to twelve in number, olive-gray in 

 colour without markings. In many cases, when only a few 

 of the eggs have been deposited, there is nothing to cover 

 them, and they are left exposed whilst the female is away ; 

 but when a nest is made, and the down has been plucked. 



