68 



BIRD NAMES. 



[No. 21. 



He was charmingly ignorant, of course, of what he ate, but 

 when informed a short time after, he not only succeeded in re- 

 taining his food, but confessed like a man that Shinnecock shel- 

 drakes, at least, were a success. 



Bill of No. 21. 



RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. RED-BREASTED GOOSANDER 

 of Edwards's Natural History of Birds, Vol. II., 1747. 



Very generally known as SHELDRAKE from Eastport, Me., 

 to I can only say, lower waters of Chesapeake, as I have 

 no note of hearing it used for the species farther south than 

 Eastville, Northampton Co., Va. (See No. 20, a bird sometimes 

 confounded with this ; and also odd use of " Sheldrake " under 

 No. 15.) Certain names more especially distinguishing this from 

 " Sheldrakes " Nos. 20 and 22, and other exceptions to above- 

 mentioned general use of the name, are noted as follows : 



At Bath, Me., SPRING-SHELDRAKE ; at Kowley, Mass., SEA- 

 ROBIN, or ROBIN simply; at Stonington, Conn., though the 

 name Sheldrake is more or less used for both sexes, many gun- 

 ners distinguish the female as SHELDUCK, and this latter form 

 is common for both sexes in New Jersey at Pleasantville (At- 

 lantic Co.), Cape May C. H., and Cape May City. 



At Essex, Conn., LONG ISLAND SHELDRAKE; at Barnegat 



