162 



Order VIII 



in a hole in broken ground or in the artificial boxes used 

 by the natives of the north ; the dozen or more eggs 

 are large and of a distinct cream -colour. 



The Red-breasted Merganser (M . senator) prefers 

 the sea to inland waters in the cold season, and is much 

 commoner than the last-named " Sawbill," breeding 



Red-breasted Merganser 



freely in the Shetlands, the Orkneys, and the north and 

 north-west of Ireland and Scotland, both inland and on 

 the coast. The foreign range is north of the Baltic in 

 Europe and similar latitudes in Asia and America. As 

 in the case of the Goosander, the nest consists of little 

 but down, but this is brownish grey instead of white, 



