THE EED-BEEASTED MERGANSER 



(Mergus serrator) 



THE naturalist in the southern portions of the British 

 Islands only knows the Red-breasted Merganser as a winter 

 guest, but it is a resident in all suitable parts of the wild 

 and rocky north. It is a bird of the coast, and loves to frequent 

 the quiet lochs and inlets, the secluded bays, and the rocky 

 islands, where the shores are little frequented by man, and it 

 can find an abundance of that solitude it so dearly loves. 



Stroll into the haunts of this singular yet handsome bird 

 when May has carpeted the banks of loch and bay with 

 primroses, with golden gorse and bluebells, and watch its 

 actions by the shore. It is wary and shy, but the rocks will 

 conceal you, and you may watch its every movement. It is 

 now in pairs, each pair taking up its residence on some 

 particular part of the coast, or near the rocky islands, where 

 eventually the duck will make her nest. Swimming side by 

 side in the deep water close to the rocks, they ever and anon 



