34 WATER FOWL OF INDIA AND ASIA. 
wing is grey, and there are two black bars across the 
white part ; there is a patch of white black-edged feathers 
just in front of the armpit; and the lower part of the 
back is finely pencilled with black and white, this mark- 
ing being continued more coarsely on the upper flanks. 
The female is very like the female Goosander, but is 
of a dull mottled brownish grey instead of the clear pale 
bluish grey of that bird; the head is not so reddish, 
and the white of the throat is duller and less clearly 
defined ; and the white patch on the wing formed by 
the secondaries and their coverts is crossed by a black 
bar, this occupying the same position as the shorter of 
the two black wing-bars of the male. 
The young and the male in undress closely resemble 
the female. 
Young birds and females have less bright red feet 
than males, and there is more black along the ridge of 
the bill in these ; the male has bright red eyes. The 
male of this species is about twenty-two inches long, 
with a wing of about nine and three-quarter inches, 
and shank nearly two; bill about two and-a-hallf. The 
female is smaller. | 
This species of Merganser, like the Goosander, inhabits 
the north temperate zone of both worlds, breeding in 
the north and wintering to the southwards. It is a 
ground breeder, laying eight or more dirty buff eggs. 
it has only occurred in India twice so far as is known, 
but probably often gets confused with the Goosander. 
There are, Dr. Blanford informs us, in the British 
Museum the wings of one obtained at Karachi by 
Major Yerbury and in the Indian Museum there was 
a good skin of a female or young male specimen 
obtained in the Calcutta bazaar on December 17th, 
1889. 
