224 BRITISH SEA’ SIRDS: 
of the east coast ‘“‘ Red-headed Smews.” Unfortu- 
nately, the male Smew is a bird that does not 
approach the coast much, and the female, from her 
duller colouration and small size, is readily over- 
looked. Lastly, it is the least maritime of the 
family. The male Smee or Smew, in) nupia 
plumage, is black and white—some of the former 
colour displayed in curious crescentic markings on 
the shoulders and in front of the wings, the elon- 
gated crest is pearly white, emphasised by greenish 
black, and the flanks are finely vermiculated with 
gray. The female has the head reddish-brown. 
During winter the Smew is gregarious, living in 
flocks of thirty or forty individuals, mostly imma- 
ture. It prefers the more open water at some 
distance from shore, seeking to evade pursuit by 
swimming, but, if fired at, diving at once and re- 
appearing far out of danger. When feeding most 
of the birds dive at once, rising in scattered order, 
but soon bunching together as each bird swims to 
a central rallying point. The Smew does not visit 
the land much, and even sleeps upon the water. 
It is a most accomplished diver, descending to great 
depths, and using its wings to assist it through the 
water, which it traverses with as much ease as a 
Cormorant or an Auk. Upon our coasts its food 
consists principally of small fishes and crustaceans. 
Its note is a harsh £uzr, but at its breeding grounds 
it is said to utter a bell-like call, hence in Northern 
Asia it has been called the “ Bell Duck.” 
