338 DUCK GROUP 



endeavours to escape b)' pluiiL^iiiL^ below the surface rather than by 

 takiiiLj \vin<^. Nevertheless, when once under way in the air, it is a 

 strong .and rapid flier. Smew seek their food by diving^, after the 

 fashion of the pochards and their kin, their main diet consisting of 

 small fishes, water-insects, and crustaceans. In diving, the wings are 

 employed to some extent to assist progress. At the proper season the 

 nest, which is generally built in a hollow tree, contains a clutch of 

 seven or eight creamy-white eggs almost indistinguishable from those 

 of the wigeon, although said to be heavier. A pound and a half is the 

 usual weight of a smew, the length of the adult bird being about 

 1 6 inches. No clue to the meaning of the name of this bird 

 appears to have been hitherto obtained. 



Goosander ^'^^ goosander (the JSIergus merganser of some 

 (Merganser castor) ^^''^^crs and Merganser vierganser of others) and 

 mergan.ser, together with their foreign representatives, 

 are now generally separated from the smew to constitute a genus by 

 themselves ; the main distinction being the much greater relative length 

 of the beak, which is considerably longer than the shank of the leg, 

 and the constant presence of eighteen tail-feathers. In form, the beak 

 is narrow and strongly hooked at the tip, with the terminal " nail " as 

 wide as the ujjper half, and the nostrils situated at a distance of from 

 a quarter to a third of the whole length from the base. The head is 

 crested, and the tail wedge-shaped. 



The drake of the goosander is the largest British representative 

 of the whole group, measuring about 26 inches in length (different 

 writers give this as from 25 to 28 inches!) and weighing from y\ 

 to 4 lbs. It is characterised by the relatively small crest, the dark 

 glossy green head and upper part of the neck, the white, tinged with 

 salmon-colour (which rapidly fades after death), lower portion of the 

 neck and under-jjarts, the black upper part of the back and scapulars, 

 the white wing-coverts, the ash\'-brown quills, the grey tail and lower 

 portion of the back, the vermilion beak, orange-red legs and toes, and 

 red eyes. In this dress the drake is indeed a gorgeously coloured bird, 

 but for a short time after the breeding-season it reverts to the original 

 non-breeding plumage, which is practically the same as that of the 

 tluck. The latter is remarkable for possessing a longer crest than her 

 partner, and is further ciiaracterised by the reddish-brown head and 

 upper half of the neck, ashy-grey Uj)i)er-parts, while chin and adjacent 

 part of the throat and wing-coverts, buff-tinged white under-parts, and 

 grey and white flanks. Immature birds are generally similar to the 



