IV ANATIDAE 



115 



in Swans, and occasionally brown, blackish, or greenish else- 

 where. 



Sub-fam. 1. Merginac. The commonest British species is M. 

 srrrator, the Eed-breasted Merganser, which breeds plentifully 

 in the Scotch Highlands and Ireland, and ranges over the northern 

 parts of the globe, extending in winter from the Mediterranean to 

 China, Japan, and the Bermudas. The head is glossy green-black 

 with a long liairy crest, the neck is white with a black nuchal line, 

 the upper parts are chiefly black, the large wliite wing-patch 

 is crossed by two black bars, while white feathers edged with 

 black adorn the sides of the breast, which is rufous with black 

 streaks, and becomes reddish-wliite towards the abdomen. The 

 female is brown, with reddish head and nearly white under 

 surface. Tlie bill and feet are red in this species and the next. M. 

 merganser, the Goosander, nests sparingly in North Scotland, and 

 has a similar range to the above abroad, though less abundant; 

 it has a green-black head with little crest, a black back, almost 

 white wings, and pinkish-white lower neck and under parts. 

 The female has a blue-grey back, and lacks the wing-bars of the 

 hen Merganser. The American species, with a black alar 

 band, is separated as M. americanus, and the Central Asiatic 

 form as M. comatus ; M. australis, of the Auckland Islands, has 

 I a brown head and neck with long crest, a dark grey body with 

 j white bands below, a white speculum, and red-brown bill and 

 j feet ; 31. hrasilianus, of Brazil, is black above with two bars on 

 I the white speculum, and white below barred with black, the bill 

 I and feet being greenish-black. The female has the crown and 

 long occipital feathers brown. M. alhcUus, the Smew, ranging 

 from Lapland eastward to Bering Island, but not to North America, 

 and found in winter from Britain and tlie Mediterranean to 

 North India, China, and Japan, is mainly white, with blackish 

 cheeks, occiput, back, remiges, rectrices, and two crescentic bands 

 on each side of the breast, the bill and feet being lead-coloured. 

 The female has a red-brown head and nape, brownish-grey upper 

 parts, and a smaller crest than the male. Lophodytes ciicullatus, 

 the Hooded Merganser of North America, which has strayed to 

 Greenland and Britain, has black upper and white under parts ; 

 the dense compressed crest has the posterior part white in the 

 middle, the white speculum shows a pair of black bars, two black 

 crescents mark each side of the breast, the long inner secondaries 



