DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS: Family Anatidae [177] 



breasts and brilliant green crests, contrasting beautifully with their bril- 

 liant red bills, are among the handsomest of American birds. The females 

 are very much like those of the American Merganser and can be distin- 

 guished from them only by the position of the nostril on the bill. In 

 this species, the nostril is in the basal third of the bill, close to the feather- 

 ing, whereas in the American Merganser it is in the central third of the 

 bill, approximately halfway between the feathering and the tip. This 

 characteristic will distinguish the bird in any plumage. 



This species, like the preceding, is able to capture almost any kind of 

 fish present in the waters that it frequents. Stomach examinations show, 

 however, that trash fish make up a large percentage of the diet in other 

 sections of the United States, and we have no reason to believe that it 

 would be different in this territory. In any event, the birds are so few 

 in numbers in Oregon that they can have little effect on the abundance 

 of valuable fish, and we can well afford to contribute the few fish that 

 they take in return for the pleasure that many persons get from seeing 

 them. 



