BIRDS OF GUERNSEY. 167 



and a mistake may easily have been made, how- 

 ever, as the Velvet Scoter occurs tolerably frequently 

 on the south coast of Devon, though never in 

 such numbers as the Common Scoter ; it may, of 

 course, occur in the Channel Islands occasionally. 

 There is no specimen of either bird in the 

 Museum. 



145. Goosander. Mergus merganser, Linnaeus. 

 French, "Grand Harle." — The Goosander is a 

 regular and tolerably numerous visitant to all the 

 Islands, arriving in the autumn and remaining 

 throughout the winter. The heavy-breaking seas 

 of the Channel Islands do not appear to distm^b 

 the composure of these birds in the least, for once, 

 on my voyage home on the 16th November, 1871, 

 I saw a small flock of Goosanders off Herm, close 

 to the steamer ; they were swimming perfectly 

 unconcerned in a heavy-breaking sea, which made 

 the steamer very lively, dipping first one and then 

 the other paddle-box into the water ; as we got 

 close up to them they rose, but only flew a short 

 distance and pitched again in the white w^ater. 

 They seem to me to keep the sea better than the 

 Ked-breasted Merganser — at least, I have not seen 

 them seek shelter so much in the different bays. 



The Goosander is included in Professor Ansted's 

 list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey. 

 There is no specimen in the Museum at present, 



