356 MERGANSERS 



corded is that of the youngsters jumping out of the nest at the call of 

 the mother duck from the ground or water below the nest. Bent quotes 

 several instances in which the young of this species have been seen 

 tumbling out of their nest high above the ground, but as the method 

 has been fully described in the "Life Story" of the American Golden- 

 eye, and it differs in no essential from that account, it will not be re- 

 peated here. The same writer (1923) says: "After a day or two of rest 

 in the nest, probably longer in tree nests than in those on the ground, 

 the young have dried off their down and gained sufficient strength to 

 take to the water, where they are very precocious. The downy young 

 are very handsome and attractive. It is a beautiful sight to see a female 

 merganser swimming in the clear calm water of some mountain lake or 

 wilderness stream, where the mirrored reflections of picturesque scenery 

 and forest trees make a splendid setting for the picture of a swiftly glid- 

 ing, graceful duck followed by a procession of pretty little balls of down, 

 with perhaps one or two of them riding on her back. If danger threatens 

 she quickens her pace, but the little fellows are good swimmers and keep 

 right at her heels; even if she dives they can follow her under water, 

 working their little paddles vigorously and darting along like so many 

 fish. If too hard pressed she rises and flaps along the surface, half 

 flying; they can almost keep up with her at this pace, for they can run 

 along the surface as fast as we can paddle our canoe. They soon be- 

 come exhausted with some exertion, so she leads them into some 

 sheltered cove, where they can run up on the shore and hide in the grass, 

 or even up into the thick woods, where it is almost hopeless to hunt 

 for them; it is surprising to see how quickly the young and even the 

 mother bird can disappear." 



In the spring these hardy birds are the very first of our waterfowl 

 to start on the northward migration. They follow the retreat of winter 

 and by March and April are well on their way to their summer breed- 

 ing range, which extends across the northern portion of the entire con- 

 tinent and well up into the sub-arctic regions. In autumn the months 

 of greatest movement are October and November, but the birds linger 

 on their way, and remain as near to their breeding grounds as open 

 water can be found. They winter in large numbers on the Great Lakes 

 and all the larger inland bodies of water, and are to be found on both 

 coasts from far north to the Southern States. 



