DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS: Family Anatidae [ 173 ] 



mance has a mechanical air about it, as if they were all on a string manip- 

 ulated by some unseen power. 



While on the coast, the birds often feed on mollusks and other aquatic 

 life until their flesh becomes strong and unpalatable. Consequently, they 

 are not sought as game as ardently as are some of the more palatable 

 species. 



Hooded Merganser: 



Lophodytes cucullatus (Linnaeus) 



DESCRIPTION. "Bill narrow, slender, and with terminal part cylindrical, armed 

 along edges of mandibles with blunt, scarcely inclined teeth; head with high thin, 

 wheel-shaped crest, less prominent in female. Adult male: Head, neck, and back 

 black; middle of crest and under parts, white; sides light brown, finely cross-lined 

 with black. Adult female: upper parts grayish brown, browner on crest; patch on 

 wing, throat, and belly white. Young: similar to female, but with little or no 

 crest." (Bailey) Downy young: "The downy young is thickly and warmly clothed 

 with soft down in deep, rich shades of 'bister' or 'sepia' above, including the upper 

 half of the head, the hind neck, and the flanks; the sides of the head, neck, and 

 cheeks, up to the eyes, are 'buff pink' or 'light vinaceous cinnamon,' the chin, 

 throat, and underparts are pure white; and there is an obscure dusky band across the 

 chest and an indistinct white spot on each side of the scapular region and rump." 

 (Bent) Si%e: "Length 17. 2.5-19. 2.5, wing 7.50-7.90, bill 1.50." (Bailey) Nest: In 

 hollow trees, lined with grass and down. Eggs: 6 to 18, usually 10 to 12., pure 

 white. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Temperate North America from southeastern Alaska, Brit- 

 ish Columbia, northern Manitoba, Ontario, and Labrador south to Oregon, Nevada, 

 northern New Mexico, Arkansas, Tennessee, and central Florida. Winters from 

 northern States to Cuba and Mexico. In Oregon: Year-around resident, most 

 abundant west of Cascades. 



THE LITTLE HOODED MERGANSER, or "Fish Duck," ranks with the Wood 

 Duck and the Western Harlequin Duck in sheer beauty. The lovely black 

 and white crest and dainty shape of the male make an exceedingly beauti- 

 ful display, and the females have the same soft beauty as the hens of the 

 other two species mentioned. The species was first recorded for the State 

 by Townsend (1839). Bendire (1877) listed it from Malheur, and Mearns 

 (1879) from Fort Klamath. Johnson (1880) and Anthony (1886) both 

 found it in the Willamette Valley. Although found over a wide territory 

 in Oregon, it is not seen as frequently as is either of the other two species, 

 and we do not regard it as quite as abundant. It remains as a year-around 

 resident and is most common west of the Cascades, where it is found along 

 the smaller streams, near which it nests in hollow trees. The nest is lined 

 with grass, and the eggs are covered with soft down. We have no actual 

 egg dates from Oregon, a gap that must be filled by later workers. 



Many observers have written of seeing this and other tree-nesting ducks 

 bring their young to the water, and it is quite generally agreed that the 



