THE AMERICAN HOODED MERGANSER. 203 



Family ANA TID^> 



AMERICAN HOODED MERGANSER. 



Mergus cucullatiis, LINN. 



THIS very charming water bird is a purely American species, inhabiting the 

 greater part of the northern Continent, and occurring only casually in 

 Europe. It breeds plentifully in the States and throughout British North America, 

 extending its range as far as Alaska on the west. Sir John Richardson found it 

 plentiful on all the lakes and rivers in the fur country, and it is said to have 

 occurred accidentally in Greenland. 



The Hooded Merganser has occurred on several occasions in Great Britain, 

 between the dates 1829 and 1870, Mr. Harting, ("Handbook of British Birds"), 

 has put fifteen on record, but some of these occurrences are perhaps doubtful ones. 

 In Ireland, Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey was specially fortunate in shooting three 

 one pair in the severe frost of 1878, in Cork Harbour, and another in yet more 

 severe weather, in 1881, on the north coast of Kerry. Sir Ralph says from what 

 he saw of those he shot they fly faster and with a more darting motion than other 

 Mergansers, which quite bears out the description given by American authors. 



In " Sporting Days," Mr. John Colquhoun, describes his meeting with 

 three on May 5th, 1853, near one of the islands on the Firth of Forth, he had 

 just emptied his gun at a drake Eider when, " before I could rise from my hiding, 

 three little sea-fowl swam rapidly into view from the bay. They never saw me, 

 and seemed more surprised than frightened, never attempted to fly. The leader 

 had a hood like a Hoopoe, and in the centre of the hood a white star, the Hooded 

 Merganser ! It was a tempting and mortifying moment to watch the little trio, 

 within such fair distance at first, quickly paddle out of reach before I was 

 ' shotted.' " Attempts have been made to discredit this record, but Mr. Colquhoun 

 was far too good a naturalist to mistake the Hooded Merganser for any other 

 species at gun-shot range, and I consider his interesting observation may be 

 thoroughly relied upon. 



