AMERICAN MERGANSER 405 



the family are regular residents of North Amer- 

 ica, and one Old World member of the race, the 

 *'Smew" or ''Nun," is an exceptionally rare 

 visitor on the northeastern coast line. All have 

 long, narrow, cylindrical bills with notched and 

 toothed edges — even the tongues are serrated 

 to hold more firmly when they close upon their 

 slippery prey, for this is a family of ''fishing 

 ducks," and are sometimes called ''Saw-bills" 

 from these saw-like teeth along the edges of 

 the bill. These barb-like lamellae are indispen- 

 sible to the owner, making the bill perfection 

 for its purpose and enabling the bird to hold 

 fast to all on which it closes, as tightly as a pol- 

 itician with a "pull." 



Any one of the Shelldrakes is more than half 

 fish. Seen under the water in pursuit of a 

 breakfast or dodging about to escape capture 

 when wounded the resemblance to some finny 

 dweller of the sea is very marked; head and 

 neck outstretched, every feather hugged closely 

 to the body, the half-opened wings like large fins 

 aiding the feet in their work, he goes shooting 

 through the water like a flash. 



The Shelldrake's body is more compressed 

 and somewhat longer in proportion to its size 



