ANATID^E. 521 



to be taken advantage of by the Laplanders, as in 

 the case of the Goldeneye before mentioned, for the 

 purpose of procuring the eggs. When stumps of 

 trees are not to be found the nest is placed amongst 

 stones, in long grass or under cover of bushes : it is 

 made of a mass of grass, roots, and other matter, 

 mixed and lined with down.* 



The adult male is certainly a splendid bird, con- 

 siderably exceeding in size the Redbreasted Mer- 

 ganser. The bill is vermilion-red, the nail and a 

 ridge on the upper mandible black ; irides red ; head 

 and neck black, glossed with green and purple, 

 according to the light ; a collar at the back of the 

 neck, the breast and all the under parts are a rich 

 buff, tinged with salmon -colour;! the higher part of 

 the back and some of the scapulars, and of the tertials 

 nearest the body, are black ; the rest of the scapulars 

 and tertials are the same colour as the under parts ; 

 the lesser wing-coverts nearest the body are black, 

 margined with white; all the rest of the lesser 

 coverts, and all the greater, are white, exeept a few 



* Yarrell, vol. iii., p. 400. 



f In stuffed specimens this beautiful delicate colour 

 generally fades to white. I have managed to preserve the 

 original colour pretty well in my bird, as I always keep the 

 blind and shutters closed in my bird-room, so as to exclude 

 the daylight as much as possible, and I find this precaution 

 keeps the colours of all the birds much fresher and brighter 

 than is generally the case in collections of stuffed birds. 



2 Y 3 



