BIRDS OF ESSEX COUNTY. 



117 



39 [125] Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmel. 

 American White Pelican. 



Accidental visitor from the south. 



There is a fine specimen in the Peabody Academy collection taken by a 

 fisherman, at Gloucester, in 1886. The only record given by Howe and Allen 1 

 for the State is of a bird taken at North Scituate on October 5th, 1876, by Mr. 

 George Pratt. 



[126] Pelecanus occidentalis (Linn.). Brown Pelican. I have decided to drop this bird 

 from the list and put it among the doubtful species as the only record is that "Mr. J. F. 

 Le Baron is confident of having seen two of this species at Ipswich some years ago." 2 It is a 

 southern bird and according to Howe and Allen 3 the only other record for the State is of one 

 killed about 1867 from a flock of thirteen, at Nantucket. 



40 [129] Merganser americanus (Cass.). 

 American Merganser ; Goosander ; " Pond Shelldrake." 



Not uncommon transient visitor ; a few winter ; October 1 5 to April 24. 



The American Merganser is essentially a fresh-water bird, frequenting the 

 ponds and rivers, and the pools in the fresh marshes, although it is occasionally 

 seen in the salt creeks, at the mouths of the rivers, and in harbors. In this 

 respect it differs from its cousin the Red-breasted Merganser, which prefers 

 salt water and is less common than the Goosander in the ponds. Mr. William 

 Brewster tells me that for the last twenty years he has seen the Goosander in 

 small scattered flocks in the open rough water of the Merrimac River between 

 Lawrence and Haverhill during the winter months. I saw one in Lynn Harbor 

 on February 14th, 1904, and one or two are not infrequently seen and shot in 

 Plum Island River during the winter. My latest date, April 24th, in 1904, 

 records a pair I saw flying up the Ipswich River close to its mouth. 



In habits, the American Merganser closely resembles the Red-breasted 

 Merganser, from which it can be distinguished in adult male plumage by the 



1 R. H. Howe, Jr., and G. M. Allen : The Birds of Massachusetts, p. 60, 1901. 



2 C. J. Maynard : The Naturalist's Guide, p. 149, 1870. 



3 R. H. Howe, Jr., and G. M. Allen : The Birds of Massachusetts, p. 60, 1901. 



