MERGANSERS 



III 



were taking their exercise in a placid lake. Their 

 marking, the dark green glossy head of the male, 

 its glistening light under parts, and the crested 

 head of the female at once identify them as 

 Mergansers, for this is the only American Duck 

 the female of which is crested while the adult 

 male is not. The feathers on the head of the 

 male are elongated somewhat but he has no such 

 crest as that of the female. The young of both 

 sexes are more or less crested. 



The birds are silent and if undisturbed they 

 diligently dive and chase their finny prey be- 

 neath the surface. If disturbed they rise and fly 

 to some other rapid, for only in such places can 

 they find food in winter. Sometimes when sud- 

 denly alarmed they croak solemnly but this is 

 rare. Ordinarily they fly at a speed of perhaps 

 forty miles an hour but if startled they can dis- 

 tance a railroad train going at that speed. 



This is a fresh-water bird, rarely seen on salt 

 water except when driven there by very severe 

 freezing weather. As soon as the ice breaks up 

 in spring numbers of these sheldrakes may be 

 seen in the ponds and rivers of the North fol- 

 lowing retreating winter to his lair. 



The Merganser nests normally in hollow 

 trees and is said to carry the young to the water 

 in its bill. It feeds mainly on fish that are not 

 much valued by man, such as minnows, chubs, 

 and suckers, and in the salt water it devours also 

 crustaceans and mollusks. 



Its flesh as ordinarily cooked is so rank and 

 strong that its flavor is not nuich superior to 

 that of an old kerosene lamp-wick but some of 

 the hardy gunners of the Atlantic coast know 

 how to prepare it for the table in a way to 

 make it quite palatable. 



Edward Howe Forbush. 



RED-BREASTED MERGANSER 

 Mergus serrator Linmvus 



A. O. U. .Number 130 See Color Plate 10 



Other Names. — Shelduck ; Shell-bird ; Long Island 

 Sheldrake: Spring Sheldrake: Salt-water Sheldrake; 

 Saw-bill: Common Saw-bill; Fishing Duck; Fish Duck; 

 Red-breasted Sheldrake: Red-breasted Goosander; Sea 

 Robin. 



General Description. — Length, J4 inches. Adult 

 males have the head and upper parts greenish-black, 

 while the females and immature have the head red 

 and the upper parts ashy-gray ; all have the under parts 

 white, but the males have a band of brownish-red on 

 the breast. Both sexes have a long crest of thin f>oinli'd 

 feathers. 



Color. — Adult Male: Head and upper neck all 

 around, dark mallard green ; under parts, white, usually 

 with pale pinkish shading; forc-hrcast, brov-'nish-rcd 

 streaked with dusky: sides, finely zca?'ed ivith the same 

 color: fore-back, shoulders, and long inner secondaries, 

 black ; middle and lower back, gray waved with whitish 

 and dusky ; rump and tail, grayish ; a narrow black line 

 extending up back of neck, reaching color of head: 

 wings, mostly white ; inner secondaries, edged on outer 

 web with black; lesser coverts, encircled by black; two 

 black bars across wing behind greater coverts ; pri- 



maries, dusky; bill, carmine, dusky on top and tip; feet, 

 bright red; eyes, carmine. Adult Fem.\le: Crest, 

 double; head, chestnut, more brown on crown and crest; 

 throat, paler but not white ; beneath, white, shaded on 

 sides with ashy-gray ; above, plain ashy-gray, the 

 feathers dark centrally ; white of wing restricted to a 

 patch formed by ends of greater coverts and outer 

 secondaries ; the base and ends of greater coverts, 

 dusky; primaries, plain dusky; bill. red. paler at base, 

 with dusky ridge and tip ; feet, dull reddish, webs 

 darker ; iris. red. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: On the ground, in brush or 

 crevices of rocks, near water; made of leaves, grass, 

 and mosses, and lined with feathers and down from the 

 parents. Eccs : 6 to 12. usually 9 or 10, olive buff. 



Distribution. — Northern part of northern hemis- 

 phere ; breeds in North America from Alaska along 

 Arctic coast to Greenland (latitude 73°) south to British 

 Columbia. Alberta, Minnesota, Wisconsin, northern New 

 York, Maine, and Sable Island ; winters throughout 

 most of its ran.ge south to Lower California, Louisiana, 

 and Florida ; occurs casually in the Bermudas, Cuba, 

 and Hawaii. 



The Red-breasted Merganser is a swift and 

 rather silent flyer, and an exceedingly expert 

 diver. While swimming on the surface it some- 

 times raises and lowers its crest. This is more 



X'liL. I — Q 



of a marine species than the American Mer- 

 ganser, but is nevertheless not uncommon in the 

 interior of the country, particularly in the lake 

 regions, during migration. 



