MERGUS SEKHATOR. 461 



than elsewhere, and breed in holes of trees. I have never been fortunate enough to find 

 one of their nests but observed the downy young following their parents, in the Susipie- 

 hanna River late in June, A week or two after, I came upon two broods in the same 

 stream and succeeded in securing several specimens, but the task was not easily accom- 

 plished, Cor although I was provided with a boat and accompanied by an assistant, the birds 

 which were but about a quarter grown, managed to elude us for a long time. The adult 

 female was present and always kept herself between us and her young which not only swam 

 exceedingly fast but also dived with ease, remaining under water for some time; then if 

 hard pushed, would raise their wings and flap along the water after the manner practiced 

 by domestic Ducks under similar circumstances. 



MERGUS SEBBATOB. 



ried-breaqfed Merganser. 



Mergui serralor LINN., Syst. Nat., I, 1766, 208. 



DESCIUPTION. 



SP. Cu. Form, rather slender. Size, medium. Occipital feathers, lanceolate and elongated. COLOR. Adult male. 

 Head and upper neck all around, black , glossed with greenish. Lower neck, white. AboTe, and on sides and flank", black 

 with tlie two last and posterior portion above, finely banded with white. Greater wing coverts, secondaries, outer scupu- 

 larii-s, and under parts not described, white, the last tinged with creamy. Two bands across white of wings and outer mar- 

 gin c'l upper secondaries. Mack. Iris, red, bill and feet, reddish-orange. Adult female. Head and upper neck all nround, 

 reddish-brown, becoming dusky on crown, tipper portbns, sides, and flanks, bluish-ash, with edges of feathers, lighter. 

 Wings, brown, with secondaries and greater coverts, white, banded with brown. White beneath, tinged with dusky on the 

 brrast. Youny. Similar to adult female. Ncst/iny*. Brownabove, becoming reddish on head, and marked with patches 

 of whit;- ; and there is a white line passing through eye. Beneath, white. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Known in the adult stages by the reddish breast and small size, and the female may be distinguished by the indistinct 

 line of dcmarkation between the color of lower neck and remainder of body. Nestlings of this and following species, are 

 indistinguishable. ^Distributed, in summer,- from Gulf of St. Lawrence, northward, wintering from Massachusetts, smith- 

 ward. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of specimens from North America. Length, 21'63; stretch, 32 25; wing, 8 85; tail, 3 95; hill, 

 221; tarsus, 1-70. Longest specimen, 23-25; greatest extent of wing, 33 00; longest wing, 9 111; tail, 4 10, bill, 224; tarsus, 

 1 80. Shortest specimen, Sd'OO; smallest extent of wing, 31'OH; shortest wing, 8'6<>; tail, 3 MO; bill, 2' 18; tarsus, 1-00. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed on the ground near water, composed of weed-s, grass, feathers, etc. Eyys, six to twelve in number, oval 

 in form, and greenish-brown in color. Dimensions from I'70x2'50 to I'75x2 60. 



HABITS. 



I found the Red-breasted Mergansers breeding on the Magdalen Islands about the mid- 

 dle of June, 1872. The nests were placed beneath the overhanging branches of some 

 dwarfed spruces, about fifteen or twenty yards from some small ponds of fresh water which 

 were, however, at no great distance from the shore. The trees were only about four feet 

 high, flat in form, with the branches long, and as the lowest were but a foot from the ground, 

 the birds were completely concealed. They also sit closely, not rising until nearly trod- 

 den upon, and therefore their eggs were not easy to find. When disturbed, the female 

 would fly silently, away, and I did not see the males at all; but a few weeks later, when 

 the downy young were swimming in the neighboring ponds, both parent birds were pres- 

 ent and exhibited considerable solicitude, flying distractedly about, often coming within a 

 few yards of me. The Red-breasted Mergansers migrate southward in November, when 

 they are abundant on our coast, feeding at such times, along the shores, and they arc es- 



