362 



M ERG A NSERS 



cleared. A pair that I disturbed from the beach on a calm day showed 

 the marks of their feet for 29 yards before they succeeded in getting 

 away from the sand. Once on the wing their flight is noiseless and is 

 generally close to the water, differing in this way from that of the 

 Golden-eye which frequents the same shore, but which usually rises to 

 a considerable height. When flying in pairs in the spring, the female 

 generally precedes. It is a rapid swimmer and perfectly at home in the 

 roughest water. As a diver the bird is truly an expert, and it disappears 

 under water with wings close to its sides, making use of its powerful feet 

 alone except on rare occasions when its wings are also brought into play. 

 At times it leaps clear of the surface, describes a graceful arc and enters 

 the water like a curved arrow, while at other times it disappears with 

 scarcely a sign of effort. It often swims with its head and neck stretched 

 out in front, as if it were swimming the water and straining it with its 

 serrated bill for food. Again it advances with the head, all but the crest, 

 below the surface apparently on the lookout for fish, and, at such times, 

 it is constantly diving. At the moment of diving the crest is flattened 

 down; when the birds swim before a strong wind the crests often blow 

 up and over the head. On the land the Red-breasted Merganser is an 

 awkward walker. It often rests flat on its belly or stands up with its 

 body at an angle of 45 degrees. Again, it stands with its body parallel 

 with the ground like an ordinary duck." 



Though they do to a certain extent feed on various molluscs, crusta- 

 ceans, and aquatic insects, 

 the principal food is fish. It 



is an unforgettable sight to 

 see a flock of these voracious 

 birds feeding on a shoal of 

 fish. The entire flock rushes 

 along the surface of the water, 

 diving and splashing contin- 

 uously. Those at the rear, in 

 their eagerness, rise and fly 

 over the rest of the flock, 

 landing in the water ahead, 

 repeating this process con- 

 stantly during the feeding. 

 Unhappy and short is the life 

 of the fry when attacked by 

 a flock of these ravenous saw- 

 bills. Allan Brooks (1934) 

 says: "The Red-breasted Mer- 

 ganser is much more maritime 

 than the larger species [the 

 American Merganser] and at 

 the proper season attends the 

 spawning of the herring 



