WILD DUCKS. 303 



The hooded merganser, or swanbill diver {Mergus cu- 

 cullatus), which ranges all over the Continent, is about 

 eighteen inches in length. The male has a thick crest; is 

 blackish in hue above; the under parts, the speculum, 

 center of crest, and the stripes on the tertials are white; 

 the sides are chestnut, and barred with black. The head 

 and neck of the female are brown; the chin is whitish; 

 the wing tip is decorated with white; and the back and 

 sides are dark-brown. The mergansers being unfit for 

 the table, owing to the character of their food, which is 

 solely composed of animal matter, principally fish, tliey 

 are not pursued to any extent, yet they are shot occa- 

 sionally by sportsmen in search of other game. Their 

 feathers bring a good price, and this induces some jjio- 

 neers to kill them at every opportunity. 



Of the eiders, the most prized are the sea duck and 

 king duck, as their feathers are so elastic that the down 

 taken from a nest may be squeezed in the hand, and when 

 the hand is re-opened it will regain its original bulk. 

 This down, which is plucked from her own breast by the 

 female, is a dark-slate color, and so highly prized that it 

 meets a ready sale in all civilized countries. The great 

 breeding grounds of these ducks are in the far north, and 

 there they are regularly pursued by the Indians and j)io- 

 neers who know the value of their plumage. Their nests 

 are despoiled both for the sake of the down and the eggs, 

 as the latter are considered delicacies. The eggs, which 

 number from three to five, and are of a beautiful olive- 

 green color, are about three inches long, very smooth, 

 and large in circumference. The young are pretty crea- 

 tures, good divers and swimmers from the moment of 

 their birth, and readily susceptible to domestication. 



Certain kinds of sea ducks are shot from boats anchored 

 in some bay or creek, as they fly past overhead. A fleet 

 of thirty or forty of these boats are sometimes engaged 

 in this business at a time on Long Island Sound, and 



