nSH DUCKS. 



SUB-FAMILY MevgincB. 



The mergansers, or, as they are often called, the fish- 

 ing ducks, may be distinguished from all others of the 

 Anatidcs by their narrow and round (not flattened) 

 bills, always provided with sharp, backward-directed, 

 tooth-like lamellae. Except for their bills, they are 

 like the sea-ducks. They are birds of handsome plu- 

 mage, always provided with a crest, which in the male 

 may be enormously enlarged and very striking, as in 

 the hooded merganser, or merely puffy, with brilliant 

 iridescent hues, as in the goosander. The mergansers 

 feed almost altogether on small fish, which they cap- 

 ture by diving, and as a consequence their flesh is not at 

 all desirable. Our species are widely distributed over 

 America. 



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