THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 



Range in Ohio. — Rare migrant; casual winter resident in southern part of 



Mate. 



S\\ [MMING is the way of nature and Hying a slowly acquired art for 

 the Shelldrakes. The adults, indeed, are capable of rising quickly and Hying 

 with great rapidity at a considerable height, but oftener they patter over the 

 surface of the water to get a running start, and then with outstretched neck 

 and supple wing skim along close to the water, as tho loth to leave its friendly 

 shelter. Many a time have I seen them in the swiftest part of some rushing 

 stream, repeatedly breasting the current with tireless energy for the sake of 

 being swept along some favorite riffle under water, adding thus the momentum 

 of the stream to their own power of locomotion in enabling them to seize 

 quickly unsuspecting trout. 



The young birds swim from the shell, but are nearly full grown before 

 the) can fly. A troop of half-grown young under the care of the mother 

 bird affords an interesting study, and not infrequently provokes some novice 

 to make the exertion of his life at the oars. At this time there is scarcely 

 more than a trace of muscular tissue on the breast of the youngsters, but the 

 legs and hinder portions, the swimming gear, is fully developed, so that in 

 motion they look curiously like long-necked water bottles. If pursued in a 



1" ;ii the In- 1 keeps well together, each bird leaning forward, almost standing 



on the water, and keeping up a motion like a tiny stern-wheeler, the whole 

 flock leaving a wake behind them not unlike that of a small steamer. The 

 anxious mother directs the flight, now dropping into the water to urge the 

 chicks to greater exertions, now flying hack to distract the attention of the 

 pursuers, or to develop some ruse to cover the escape. Once when a party 

 of us were pursuinga brood in this manner along the rocky shore of a lake, the 

 mother bird hit upon a very clever scheme. When the flock was becoming 

 winded and we would head in toward them, she would fly between us and 

 the shore, pretending to lead the flock back down the lake. At first we bit 

 eagerly, and pressed in between her and the flock, intent on cutting off the 

 retreat, only to find upon looking about that the cunning mother had made a 

 wide circuit an mud us and was urging her brood up the lake again at a head- 

 long speed. Finally, when thoroughly tired out, after a three mile 

 chase, the ducklings took to shore and hid successfully in the loose rubble of 

 the beach without the aid of a scrap of vegetation, and near water so clear 

 that a movement could have been detected at a depth of a hundred and fifty feet. 



