-250 AVES NATATORES. [MERGUS. 



DIMENS. Entire length eighteen inches : length of the bill (from the 

 forehead) one inch eight lines, (from the gape) two inches ; of the tarsus 

 one inch three lines ; of the tail three inches ten lines ; from the carpus 

 to the end of the wing seven inches six lines. 



DESCRIPT. (Adult male.) Head and neck brownish black; the former 

 furnished with a large, erect, compressed, semicircular crest, extending 

 from the forehead to the occiput ; frontal portion of the crest, space above 

 the eyes, and a narrow edging all round, black ; the remaining part of 

 the crest, and a space on the sides of the occiput commencing five lines 

 behind the eyes, white : back, rump, tail, primaries, and lesser wing- 

 coverts, dark cinereous brown, inclining in some places to dusky : greater 

 coverts, and secondary quills, black at the base, the tips of the former 

 and outer borders of the latter white ; the whole together forming a spe- 

 culum consisting of four bars, black and white alternately : scapulars long 

 and pointed, greenish black, streaked longitudinally down the middle 

 with white : sides of the breast with two or three crescent-shaped trans- 

 verse black bars; flanks, and sides of the body near the bend of the wing, 

 finely undulated with black and yellowish brown ; rest of the under parts 

 pure white : bill and legs reddish brown. (Adult female.) Forehead, 

 sides of the head, and all the neck, dark ash-colour ; crest shorter than 

 in the male, reddish ash, without any white : all the upper plumage dark 

 brown, approaching to dusky, with a tinge of cinereous : upper part of 

 the breast, and flanks, lead-gray, the feathers edged with white : the rest 

 much as in the male. (Young female ?) * Chin grayish white, speckled 

 with grayish brown ; the whole of the face, cheeks, and neck, of an uni- 

 form grayish brown, or mouse-colour; crown of the head darker; occi- 

 pital crest pale reddish brown, tinged with gray; breast gray, the margins 

 of the feathers paler ; upper back and wing-coverts grayish black, the 

 feathers margined with obscure grayish brown ; scapulars and lower back 

 black; margins of four or five of the secondary quills white, forming 

 a small spot in the middle of the wings ; quills and tail grayish black ; 

 lower part of the breast, belly, and abdomen, pure white, with a silken 

 lustre ; sides and flanks deep grayish brown ; bill reddish brown at the 

 base, the tip black; legs reddish brown." SELB. (Egg.) White. 

 LATH. 



A single individual of this species, supposed to be a young female, of 

 which the above is a description borrowed from Selby, was killed near 

 Yarmouth in Norfolk, in the Winter of 1829. It is a native of North 

 America, and had never before been seen in Europe. According to 

 Latham, appears at Hudson's Bay as a summer visitant at the end of 

 May, and builds close to the lakes. Nest composed of grass, lined with 

 feathers from the breast. Eggs four to six in number. Frequents fresh 

 waters. 



263. M. albellus, Linn. (Smew.) Head, neck, and 

 all the under parts, white ; cheeks and occiput greenish 

 black : bill and legs bluish gray : crest (in the adult male) 

 bushy, moderately elongated. 



M. albellus, Temm. Man. d'Orn. tom.u. p. 887. Smew, Mont. Orn. 

 Diet, fy Supp. Bew. Brit. Birds, vol. n . p. 260. Selb. Illust. vol. 1 1. 

 p. 385. pi. 59. (Trachea,) Linn. Trans, vol. iv. pi. 16. f. 3, & 4. 

 DIMENS. Entire length seventeen inches : length of the bill (from the 

 forehead) one inch three lines, (from the gape) one inch eight lines ; of 

 the tarsus one inch six lines. 



