MERGANSER SERRATOR 333 



entrance of a small bay, and evidently driving the tish before tlieni, 

 as they formed a sort of cordon round the entrance to the bay, some 

 diving, whilst the others remained on the surface. When pursued 

 or threatened with danger, it usually seeks safety by diving in pre- 

 ference to trusting to its powers of flight. It flies with great swift- 

 ness, and I observed, when one passed at full speed near my hiding- 

 place in the rocks, that it made a whistling sound with its wings, 

 easily heard even at some little distance. It feeds on fish of various 

 kinds : larvte of water-insects, worms, and it is also said to some 

 extent frogs, form its sta])le food." 



Naninann describes the cry as "a loud, resounding, guttural 

 hiier-rr or ger-rr." heard chiefly during flight, sometimes on rising, 

 and the females and young are said to be more noisy than the adult 

 males. 



Like the Goosander, the Red-breasted Merganser can at will 

 either float fairly high on the surface of the water, deep down in 

 the water, or entirely submerge its body, leaving only its head and 

 neck visible. 



