240 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
eastern coast of America as far south as the mouth of the Mississippi. 
In Labrador he found a female on its nest in a marsh; the nest 
was snugly placed amidst the tall blades of a bunch of grass, and 
was raised fully four inches above the roots. It was composed of 
withered and rotten weeds, the former being circularly arranged over 
the latter, producing a well-rounded cavity, six inches in diameter and 
two and a half deep; the border of the inner cup being lined with 
down from the birds, after the manner of the Eider Duck. In it lay 
five eggs, the smallest he had ever seen in a duck’s nest. They are 
equally rounded at both ends, about two inches and a half long, 
and an inch and five-eighths in their greatest breadth ; the shell 
perfectly smooth, and of a uniform yellow colour. 
The plumage of the bird is soft, dense, and glossy ; the feathers 
of the head and neck blended and velvety ; the wings short, narrow, 
and pointed ; the upper mandible orange red, the protuberance on 
each side yellowish grey; at the base is a large-square patch of 
black, margined with orange red, with a patch of greyish white in 
front. 
Intimately allied to the Ducks in many respects, and to the Divers 
and Cormorants in others, are the Goosander, a very distinct family, 
characterised by a large, elongated, and depressed body; long and 
slender neck ; oblong, compressed head, narrowing anteriorly ; bill 
straight, narrow, and slender, sub-cylindrical outwards, wide at the 
base, and abruptly hooked at the tip; margins of both mandibles 
serrated ; the teeth directed backwards. 
THE GoosaNDER (Jergus castor). 
The Goosander is sometimes separated from the Ducks. Prince 
Charles Bonaparte includes in it two sub-genera, the Smew 
(Mergus) and the Merganser of Leach, for by this name also this bird 
is known. It is distinguished by its slender and almost cylindrical 
bill, armed on the edge with points turning backwards, somewhat 
resembling the teeth of a saw; yet, in its general appearance, 
plumage, and habits, this bird bears much resemblance to the 
Ducks. 
The Goosanders rarely come on land ; they are exclusively aquatic, 
and frequent rivers, lakes, and pools, preferring them to estuaries ; 
but they may be seen in summer fishing in the sea-lochs of Scotland. 
The Latins gave them the name of A/ergus in consequence of their 
habit of swimming with the body submerged—the head only appearing 
above the surface of the water. 
