MERGANSERS 411 



inches in length. With the exception of the aforesaid white spot, the head is of 

 a brilliant greenish black, the back is black, the lower half of the neck, scapulars, 

 speculum, and under-parts are white and the thighs dark brown. The eyes 

 are golden yellow, the beak black, and the feet yellow with black webs. The 

 female, which is smaller than the male, has no white spots, a brown head, and a 

 white collar, with the shoulders iron-grey, and the back and flanks brown. 



The tufted duck (Fuligula cristata) lives during the breeding season near 

 fresh water rich in molluscs ; but at other times prefers shallow, sheltered spots 

 near the shore. Its breeding-area is the north of Europe, Asia, and America, its 

 boundaries being 50° N. and 70° N. latitude. In winter it migrates up the Nile 

 valley to Abyssinia, and farther east has been recorded so far south as the Pelew 

 Islands. It breeds in all the British Isles and in some of the northern parts of 

 Germany. The nest, which is always close to water, and hidden in a tuft and made 

 of grass or sedge with a lining of down, contains in May or June from eight to twelve 

 pale eggs, grey or olive-green in colour. The tufted duck is an exceedingly quick 

 diver, with the tendency to dive in case of danger distinguishing all the diving 

 ducks from the swimming ducks, which seek their safety in flight. It is 16 or 

 17 inches long, black above and white below, with a white speculum. The head 

 is purplish, the beak pale blue with a black nail, the feet greyish blue, the eyes 

 pale yellow, and the feathers on the crown elongated to form a crest or tuft. In 

 the female the colour is brown above and grey below, and the crest is shorter. 



The mergansers, of which three species are indigenous not only 

 Mergansers. 1 ■ 



to central Europe but also to the north, resemble ducks in the con- 

 formation of their feet, wings, and tail, but are distinguished by the slenderer, 

 more cormorant-like body and the narrow beak with its sharp marginal serrations. 

 They fly like ducks, frequent running waters, nest on the ground or, occasionally, 

 on trees, and feed on fish and other [denizens of the water captured by diving. 



Of the three species, the goosander (Mergus merganser) lives as a rule in 

 forest countiy on the bushy banks of rivers and lakes, but sometimes contents 

 itself with open water in marsh-lands, or even with barren rocky shores, and is often 

 found on the coasts of islands and isthmuses. It inhabits Europe and Asia from 

 the far north down to about 54° N. latitude, and in some cases still farther south. 

 In Asia it breeds around Lake Baikal, and in Europe comes south from Iceland to 

 the British Isles, Holland, Denmark, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Though 

 one of the best known of the mergansers, it is not very common in many parts of 

 the Continent ; it journeys inland from the Baltic and North Sea along the courses 

 of the rivers and appears on the Lake of Constance and the Danube. Resident in 

 the highlands of Scotland, it has been found nesting in Switzerland, and once in 

 Bosnia. The nest is rarely far from water ; and, like that of all the ducks with 

 light-coloured down, is usually placed in a hollow tree, but may sometimes be 

 situated in a depression in the ground hidden among plants and bushes. Some- 

 times, again, it is perched on cliffs, and occasionally the abandoned nests of crows 

 or birds-of-prey are annexed. The goosander subsists mainly on fish, frequently 

 caught by several birds hunting together. As indicated by its build, the goosander 

 swims fast, and dives well and almost noiselessly, being able to remain under water 

 for two minutes or more at a time, and darting about under the surface with the 



