78 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 



129 Mergus americanus Cassin. 

 Merganser, Fresh-water Shelldrake. 



PLATE 8. 



Adult male. Length, 21-24. Wing, 9.60-9.75. Head and throat, all around 

 glossy greenish-black ; upper back, black ; lower back, rump and tail, gray ; 

 wing-coverts and secondaries, mainly white ; under parts and entire neck white, 

 tinged with salmon in life. 



Adult female. Head crested, rufous, as is the fore neck all around; throat, 

 whitish ; entire upper parts, gray ; lower parts, white ; a white wing speculum. 



Winter resident on the coast, and more especially on Delaware Bay 

 and some distance up the river. October loth to May 1st. Mr. Bab- 

 son 1 records one taken at Princeton March 10th, 1881, and another 

 November 18th, 1898, and one was seen near Medford, October 27th, 

 1901, by Mr. G. S. Morris, 2 but it does not seem to be common inland. 

 Mr. G. E. Hix 3 records a flock of 150 at Englewood, February 12th, 

 1907, but Mr. Chapman regards it as not common in that vicinity. 

 Mr. Thurber states that it is rare at Morristown. 



130 Mergus serrator Linnaeus. 

 Eed-breasted Merganser, Shelldrake, Fish Duck. 



Adult male. Length, 20-25. Wing, 8.60-9. Entire throat black, somewhat 

 glossed with green ; head crested, broad ring all around the neck white, behind 

 which is a rusty band speckled with black, which does not quite meet behind ; 

 whole back, black; wings, largely white; sides and rump narrowly vermicu- 

 lated with black and white ; lower parts, white ; feet and bill, red. 



Young male in first winter. Similar, but back and rump largely gray ; head 

 crested, grayish-brown; neck, gray above; throat and neck below, dull rusty; 

 rusty breast-band very poorly defined ; rest of under parts, white. 



Adult female. Similar, but dull gray above, and breast slightly dusky; no 

 rusty. 



Common migrant, and often winter resident. 



Owing to the general confusion between this and the following, I 

 am inclined to think that some misstatements have been made regard- 

 ing their relative abundance. This species is said by Messrs. Willits, 

 Laurent, Braislin and Scott to be very common on the coast at Barne- 



1 Birds of Princeton, p. 35. 



2 Cassinia, 1901, p. 51. 



Abst. Proc. Linn. Soc., N. Y., XIX., p. 28. 



