BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 147 



Great Britain. The six to nine yellowish-white eggs are 

 laid in a nest of grass and moss, lined with almost black 

 down, and placed near water. 



The large flocks of Common Scoters seen in winter 

 usually contain a proportion of Velvet Scoters. This 

 species, readily identified by its conspicuous white wing- 

 bars, has been suspected of having nested in the High- 

 lands. 



[The Long-tailed Duck, a small marine diving duck of 

 pied plumage, may have bred in Shetland. Large flocks 

 may be seen off some of oui* coasts in winter, and 

 individuals may then be found in estuaries, or even in 

 inland waters. The drake is a handsome bird, whose 

 central tail-feathers are greatly elongated.] 



THE RED=BREASTED MERGANSER 



(Mergus serrator). 

 Plate 48. 



The Merganser is the commonest British representative 

 of a small group of Ducks characterised by bills adapted 

 for a diet consisting almost entirely of fish caught by 

 under-water pm'suit. These bills are quite different from 

 the usual duck type, being rather long and slightly 

 hooked, with the edges of the mandibles serrated. 



The Merganser is found in estuaries and bays round 

 most of our coast-line in winter ; but its breeding area is 

 more restricted. It includes part of the Irish seaboard 

 and most of the larger loughs, as well as many of the 

 Scottish inland waters and the north-west coast and the 

 isles. In Orkney and the Hebrides it is especially 

 abundant. 



It is also typical of the gi-oup that the nest is in 



