[176] BIRDS OF OREGON 



game fish. We have very few data on Oregon stomachs on which to base 

 an estimate, and stomach examinations by the Biological Survey over 

 the entire area of the United States show that this species is not par- 

 ticularly destructive to game fish. 



Red-breasted Merganser: 



Mergus senator Linnaeus 



DESCRIPTION. ''Adult male: Head and crest black, glossed with green; neck white; 

 back black; middle of wings white; rump gray; chest buffy brown, streaked with 

 blackish; belly white or creamy; sides gray. Adult female: head and neck brown, 

 darker and duller on crown and crest; rest of upper parts and tail slaty gray, except 

 for white patch on wings; under parts white." (Bailey) Downy young: "The downy 

 young red-breasted merganser is exactly like the young American merganser except 

 for two very slight differences in the head; the nostrils in the red-breasted are in the 

 basal third of the bill, whereas in the American they are in the central third; and the 

 white loral stripe is tinged with brownish or buffy, but with a more or less distinct 

 white spot under the eye." (Bent) Si%e: "Length 2.0-2.5, wing 8.60-9.00, bill about 

 1.50." (Bailey) Nest: On the ground, usually near the water, well concealed by 

 weeds, shrubs, or trees, and lined with down. Eggs: 8 to 10, olive buff. 

 DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds in northern portion of northern hemisphere south in 

 North America to Newfoundland, northern New York, central Michigan, Wiscon- 

 sin, and Minnesota, southern Manitoba, and southern British Columbia. Winters 

 mainly on coasts of United States. In Oregon: Abundant winter resident on all 

 coastal bays and river mouths from November until May. 



FIRST REPORTED by Lewis and Clark (1814) from the mouth of the Colum- 

 bia on March 2.7, 1806, the Red-breasted Merganser is now known as a 

 winter bird on all the larger bays and river mouths along the coast, 

 where it replaces the American Merganser, which is abundant over the 

 fresh waters of the State. It arrives in November and remains until early 

 May (our earliest date, November zx; latest, May 2.3, both Tillamook 

 County), during which time it may be seen either as single birds or in 

 little flocks. All Oregon specimens that we have been able to obtain 

 have come from the coastal district, and so far as we know the species 

 is at best only a casual visitor to the interior. Bendire (1877) and Merrill 

 (1888) recorded it from Fort Klamath, and Bendire (1877) from the Blue 

 Mountains. Although the adult males can be distinguished easily in life, 

 it is possible to tell the young males and all females only by specimens 

 in hand. We feel, therefore, that many of the Red-breasted Mergansers 

 reported on sight observation from Malheur and Klamath basins are in 

 reality the American Merganser. 



Like its larger relative, previously discussed, the Red-breasted Mer- 

 ganser, is rather clumsy on land and in launching itself into the air, but 

 once aloft is a swift, strong flyer. Either in or under the water, it is an 

 expert of the first rank, being able to pursue and capture small fish and 

 other aquatic life with ease. The strikingly marked males, with their red 



