392 ANATID^l. 



numerous woody islands. Richard Dann, Esq. sent me word 

 that the Merganser is far more numerously spread over 

 Norway and Sweden than the Goosander ; it breeds on all 

 the coasts, and is also found in the Dofre Fiell and Lapland 

 mountains as high as the birch grows. This species is 

 found in Iceland and at the Faroe Islands ; in Russia, and 

 on the great rivers of Siberia and Lake Baikal. Its food 

 is fish, obtained by diving, which its serrated beak, with 

 the horny nail depending at a right angle from the upper 

 mandible, enables it to catch and hold with certainty. 

 M. Temminck says this species is abundant on the shores 

 of Holland, and sometimes on the marshes of the interior : 

 it is found also in Germany, Switzerland, Provence, and 

 Italy. A few are seen at Corfu, in Sicily and at Malta in 

 winter. According to M. Temminck birds from Japan 

 exactly resemble European examples. 



The Red-breasted Merganser is found in Greenland, 

 Newfoundland, and Hudson's Bay. Dr. Richardson ob- 

 tained specimens in the fur-countries of North America ; 

 and interesting accounts of its habits in the United States 

 are given by the ornithologists of those countries. 



In the adult male the upper mandible is dark reddish- 

 brown, except the edges, which are of a brighter red, 

 under mandible wholly red ; irides red ; all the head and 

 the upper part of the neck dark, but shining green, the 

 feathers on the crown and occiput elongated; middle of 

 neck all round white, except a narrow line of black de- 

 scending from the occiput to the upper part of the back, 

 which, with the shoulders, is also black ; the short 

 scapulars white, those more elongated are black ; before 

 the point of the wing on each side are several roundish 

 white feathers, margined with broad and rich velvet- 

 black ; point of the wing dark brown ; small wing-coverts 



