ORDER OF LAMELLIROSTRAL SWIMMERS 



C)rder An seres 



"^l UT one family is included in this order; this, however, is divided into five 

 subfamilies: Mergansers, River Ducks, Sea Ducks, Geese, and Swans. The 

 general appearance and habits of this group are well known through their 

 familiar representatives in barnyards and parks. There are about two hundred 

 species scattered throughout all parts of the world ; about fifty occur in North 

 America. Economically they are among the most important of all birds. 



The name given to the order is descriptive of the bill which is characteristic 

 of all the members of the order except the Mergansers. This subfamily have 

 round bills with saw-toothed edges, but the Ducks, Geese, and Swans have 

 the bill flat and lamellate, or fitted along the edges with a series of flutings, 

 with a membranous covering, and with a nail, or hard spot at the tip. Other 

 characteristics of the LamcUirostral Swimmers are: tail generally short; wings moderately 

 long; legs short and placed far apart, not so near the center of the body as in the Gulls and 

 not so far back as in the Grebes; the knee joint buried in the general body covering and the 

 thighs feathered nearly to the heel joint; toes four in number, hind toe free and elevated, 

 front toes webbed; a peculiar waddling gait; neck usually long; plumage soft and dense, 

 especially on the breast, with a copious covering of down. 



The nest is placed on the ground, or among rocks, or in the hollow of a tree or stump. 

 The eggs are usually numerous, of an oval shape, and plain in color. The young are covered 

 with down when hatched, and as soon as this natal down is dry they are able to leave the 

 nest and follow the mother. 



There is a great variety of coloration among the birds of this order. With some species 

 the female is the brighter, in others her dress is as plain as that of any Sparrow while the 

 male is gaudily clad, and in other species there is no difference in coloration between the 

 sexes. In some species the postnuptial molt of the male is not complete — an unusual 

 proceeding in the bird world. This incomplete change is called the "eclipse plumage"; 

 at this period these birds also lose their power of flight, because all the flight-feathers are 

 shed at one and the same time. The eclipse plumage is worn only until the wing-feathers 

 are regained, when it is shed and the distinctive male plumage again acquired. 



MERGANSERS 



Order Aiiscrcs ; family Auatida; : subfamily Mcrgiucc 



HE Mergansers constitute a small group {Mergina:) of fish-eating Ducks often 

 called Fishing Ducks, Sheldrakes, or Sawbills. They are characterized by 

 comparatively long, narrow, cylindrical bills, whose saw-toothed edges enable 

 the birds to seize and devour fish of considerable size. This diet imparts a 

 rank favor to the flesh of the various species, except that of the Hooded Mer- 

 ganser which evidently takes food enough of other kinds to counteract the 

 efi^ect of the fish eaten. This species and the common Merganser are also 

 peculiar in that they nest in hollow trees or on a ledge of a cliff. All of the 

 species have more or less striking and beautiful plumage and both sexes are 

 usually crested. There are nine recognized species of Mergansers, three of 

 which range throughout North America and as far south as Cuba. 



[109I 



