AMERICAN MERGANSER 405 



tlie family are regular residents of North Amer- 

 ica, and one Old World member of the race, the 

 ''Smew" or ''Nun," is an exceptionally rare 

 visitor on the northeastern coast line. All have 

 long, narrow, cylindrical bills with notched and 

 toothed edges — even the tongues are serrated 

 to hold more firmly when they close upon their 

 slippery prey, for this is a family of "fishing 

 ducks," and are sometimes called "Saw-bills" 

 from these saw-like teeth along the edges of 

 the bill. These barb-like lamellae are indispen- 

 sible to the owner, making the bill perfection 

 for its purpose and enabling the bird to hold 

 fast to all on which it closes, as tightly as a pol- 

 itician with a "pulh" 



Any one of the Shelldrakes is more than half 

 fish. Seen under the water in pursuit of a 

 breakfast or dodging about to escape capture 

 when wounded the resemblance to some finny 

 dweller of the sea is very marked; head and 

 neck outstretched, every feather hugged closely 

 to the body, the half-opened wings like large fins 

 aiding the feet in their work, he goes shooting 

 through the water like a flash. 



The Shelldrake's body is more compressed 

 and somewhat longer in proportion to its size 



