THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER 333 



they are usually carefully covered during her absence. Some^ 

 times the female sits very closely, at others she slips off at 

 the first sign of danger, and in all cases she goes right away 

 from the place and evinces no further concern or anxiety for 

 her home. The male bird does not assist the female at the 

 nest. As is the case with the other Ducks, he keeps guard 

 on the sea close by, joining his mate when she comes to feed; 

 and as soon as the young are hatched he retires to complete 

 his annual changes of dress. The mother takes her ducklings 

 to the sea shortly after they are hatched, where they are very 

 active, swimming and diving with perfect ease. 



In the winter months the Mergansers become much more 

 gregarious, and in stormy weather often frequent for days the 

 sheltered creeks and lochs. In many cases, however, these 

 flocks are only composed of the brood and their parents. At 

 this season they wander far from their usual haunts, and are 

 sometimes driven inland by storms to ponds and rivers. 

 Eed-breasted Mergansers are remarkably silent birds, and 

 rarely utter their harsh call-note. 



The Goosander (Mergus merganser) is best known as a 

 winter visitor to the British Islands, but a few pairs remain 

 to breed in the remote parts of the Highlands. The bird is 

 readily distinguished from its commoner ally by its larger size 

 and beautiful black and white plumage. I have often met 

 with this charming bird on the coast in winter and early 

 spring. It loves the wild lochs and mountain islets, and 

 swims up and down the tiny creeks in quest of food, usually 

 in pairs, just like the Eed-breasted Merganser. Although I 

 did not meet with it in St. Kilda (the shores are too steep), I 

 have repeatedly seen it along the coast -line of the Outer 

 Hebrides, and less frequently on the low-lying coasts of the 

 Wash. Its food is almost exclusively composed of fish, which 

 it catches in the same manner as its congener. The most 

 interesting feature in the economy of this beautiful bird is the 



