ANATID.^.. 



471 



THE GOOSANDER. 



Mergus ^ierganser, Linn?eus. 



In England this species, the largest of the British 'Saw-bills,' is 

 known as a visitor to estuaries and fresh-water lakes during the cold 

 season, and sometimes remains in Norfolk until May. In the east 

 it is more plentiful than the Red-breasted Merganser, but in the 

 south, and on the waters of Wales, it is of somewhat irregular 

 occurrence. In Scotland, besides occurring in winter, it has for 

 some years been known to nest in Sutherland and down to the Great 

 Glen, as well as in Strathspey and elsewhere in the Highlands ; but 

 in the Shetlands, Orkneys and Outer Hebrides it is rare at any 

 season. To Ireland it is only an irregular visitor, though sometimes 

 seen on inland waters in small flocks during severe frosts. 



Though not yet recorded from Greenland, and seldom seen in 

 the Faroes, the Goosander breeds and is said to be resident in 

 Iceland. It is common throughout the summer in Scandinavia, 

 Finland, and Northern Russia as far south as the Ural and Central 

 Volga districts ; it nests sparingly in hollow trees where the forests 

 come down to the water in Denmark, as well as in the north- 

 eastern provinces of Germany ,; and it also breeds in Switzerland on 

 the lakes of Bienne, Neuchatel, Morat and Constance. In winter it 

 occurs on the waters of the Continent as far as the south of Spain, 



