178 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



bar; lower parts white, tinted with salmon-pink when freshly killed; back 

 and inner scapulars black; outer scapulars white; inner secondaries black 

 and white ; rump and tail ashy gray ; bill and iris red ; legs and feet bright 

 orange. Female and immature: Head and upper neck reddish brown, 

 throat whitish ; vipper parts ashy gra}' ; breast and belly creamy or pinkish 

 white ; white patch on secondaries and wing coverts ; the female's crest quite 

 conspicuous, but the male's short and stubby. Downy young: Upper head 

 and hind neck reddish brown ; upper part of body hair brown with four 

 white s|X)ts ; under parts white ; one white and two brown stripes on the lore. 

 Length, male, 24-27 inches; extent 34-36; wing 10-11.25; tail 5; bill 

 2-2.25; along gape 3; front of nostril to tip 1.25; rear of nostril to lore 

 feathers .5; tarsus 1.75-2; middle toe and claw 2.75. Female, i to 4 inches 

 shorter and other dimensions correspondingly smaller. 



Distinguishing marks. Old males of this species and the Red-breasted 

 merganser can be distinguished at some distance by the reddish color of the 

 chest in the latter and its long double crest. Females and young of both 

 species are very similar, but the red-breasted species is smaller, the crest 

 is double, and the feathers on the sides of its mandible extend forward 

 forming a decided angle, while those of the American merganser do not 

 project noticeably. The position of the nostril, however, is the best mark, 

 being nearer the base of the bill in the Red-breasted merganser [see dimen- 

 sions]. 



This bird called also Goosander, Sheldrake, Sawbill, and Wheezer or 

 Tweezer, is fairly common and well known throughout the State. It is 

 more northerly in distribution during winter than the Red-breasted mer- 

 ganser, but more southerly in summer, its nest having been found near 

 Buffalo, Montezuma, and Little Sodus bay. It formerly bred on many 

 of the Adirondack lakes, but now is distui-bed by summer tourists and 

 fishermen to such an extent that it is fast disappearing from the more 

 frequented waters of that region. During the colder months this Merganser 

 is found on the open waters of the State, and often visits the rapid streams 

 on its fishing excursions. In April or early in May the last stragglers have 

 gone north to their breeding grounds and return in October or early Novem- 

 ber, when the young, or reddish headed birds are almost the only individuals 

 seen. 



