2 BULLETIN 126, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



and swims back. Again they swim in and out among each other, and every now and 

 then one with swelling breast and slightly raised wings spurts ahead at great speed 

 by himself or in the pursuit of a rival. The birds suggest swift motor boats by the 

 waves which curl up on either side, and by the rapidity with which they turn and 

 Bwasli around. Again they suggest polo ponies, as one in rapid course pushes side- 

 wise against a rival, in order to keep him away from the object of the quest. They 

 frequently strike at each other with their bills, and I have seen two splendid drakes 

 rise up in the water breast to breast, and, amid a great splashing, during which it 

 was impossible to see details, fight like gamecocks. The pursuit is varied by sudden, 

 momentary dives and much splashing of water. 



The smooth iridescent green heads, the brilliant carmine bills tipped with blacK 

 nails, the snowy white of flanks and wing patches and the red feet, wliich flash out 

 in the dive, make a wonderful color effect, contrasting well with the dark water 

 and white ice. The smaller females, with their shaggy brown heads, their neat white 

 throat bibs, their quaker blue-gray backs and modest wing patches, which are gener- 

 ally hidden, are fitting foils to their mates. I have reserved for the last the mention 

 of the delicate salmon yellow tint of the lower breast and the belly of the male, a 

 coloration of which he is deservedly proud, for, during courtship, he frequently 

 raises himself up almost onto his tail with or without a flapping of the wings and 

 reveals this color, in the same way that the eider displays his jet-black shield. 

 Most of the time he keeps his tail cocked up and spread, so that it shows from behind 

 a white center and blue border. Every now and then he points his head and closed 

 bill up at an angle of 45° or to the zenith. Again he bows or bobs his head nervously 

 and often at the same time tilts up the front of his breast from which flaslies out the 

 salmon tint. From time to time he emits a quickly repeated purring note, "dorr- 

 dorr" or " krr-krr." 



The most surprising part of the performance is the spurt of water fully 3 or 4 feet 

 long which every now and then is sent backward into the air by the powerful kick of 

 the drake's foot. It is similar to the performance of the whistler but much greater, 

 and while the foot of the whistler is easily seen and is plainly a part of the display, 

 it is difficult to see the red foot of the merganser in the rush of water, although it is 

 evident, doubtless, to the females. The display of the brilliantly colored foot in 

 both species is probably the primary sexual display, and the splash, at first inciden- 

 tal and secondary, has now become of primary importance. 



During all this time the female swims about unconcernedly, merely keeping out 

 01 the way of the ardent and b'^lligerent males, although she sometimes joins in the 

 dance and bobs in a mild way. At last she succumbs to the captivating display and 

 submerges herself so that only a small part of her body with a bit of the crest appear 

 above the water, and she swims slowly beside or after her mate, sometimes even 

 touching him with her bill. Later she remains motionless, flattens herself still more, 

 the crest disappears, and she sinks so that only a line like that made by a board 

 floating on the water is seen. One would never imagine it to be a live duck. The 

 drake slowly swims around her several times, twitches his head and neck, picks at 

 the water, at his owa feathers, and at her before he mounts and completely submerges 

 her holding tightly with his bill to her neck meanwhile. Then she bathes herself, 

 washes the w^ater vigorously through her feathers and flaps her wings; the drake 

 stretches himself and flaps his wings like^\nse. From the beginning of submergence 

 ^"the female the process is the same in all the duck family that I have observed. 



'"Nesting.— On the nesting habits of the American merganser there 

 has been much discussion and many conflicting opinions, some assert- 

 ing that it always nests in hollow trees or that it never nests on the 

 ground. As a matter of fact it does both, for its nesting habits 



