THE HOODED MERGANSER. 



( f.op/ifldytex ciKullafiis.) 



LYNDS JONES. 



EVEN the merest tyro in bird 

 study need have no fear of con- 

 fusing the male of this species 

 with any other bird, as a glance 

 at the picture will make evident. No 

 other bird can boast such a crest, and 

 few ducks a more striking pattern of 

 dress or a more stately manner. The 

 species inhabits the w^hole of North 

 America, including Cuba, occasionally 

 wandering to Europe and rarely to 

 Greenland. It is locally common and 

 even abundant, or used to be, in well 

 watered and well wooded regions where 

 fish are abundant, but seems to be grow- 

 ing less numerous- with the advance of 

 settlements in these regions. The food 

 consists of fish, mollusks, snails, and 

 fresh water insects which are obtained 

 by diving as well as by gleaning. 



The winter range of this "fish duck" 

 is largely determined by the extent of 

 open water on our lakes and streams. 

 Thus it is regularly found in Minnesota 

 wherever there is open water, even dur- 

 ing the severest winters, but under 

 other conditions it may be absent from 

 regions much farther south. There can 

 be little doubt that a large proportion 

 of the individuals pass the winter well 

 south, only a few being able to find 

 subsistence about the springs and 

 mouths of streams in the northern 

 states. 



Is it entirely due to individual taste, 

 or may it be a difference in the food 

 habits of these birds in different parts 

 of the country that their flesh is highly 

 esteemed in some regions but will 

 scarcely be eaten at all in others? If it 

 is true that the Michigan individuals 

 eat snails, crabs, and mollusks rather 

 than fish, and are therefore excellent 

 tor the table, while the California ones 

 prefer fish and are therefore not fit for 

 food, why have we not here a clear case 

 of tendency to differentiation which 

 will ultimately result in a good sub- 

 species? 



The nesting of the hooded merganser 

 is even more erratic than its occurrence. 



It has been found nesting in Florida as 

 well as in the more northern parts 

 of the country, and here and there 

 throughout its whole range, being ap- 

 parently absent from many regions dur- 

 ing the nesting season. It is unlike 

 the other "fish ducks" in preferring still 

 water and secluded streams, but resem- 

 bles the wood duck in building its nest 

 a short distance from the water in a 

 hollow tree or stump or on the flat side 

 of a leaning or fallen tree, often forty 

 or more feet from the ground. The 

 nest consists of weeds, leaves, and 

 grasses with a soft lining of feathers 

 and down. This warm nest must be in- 

 tended to act as an aid to incubation 

 rather than as a warm place for the 

 young ducks, since they, like other 

 ducks, are carried to the water in the 

 beak of the mother-bird shortly after 

 they are hatched. The nest comple- 

 ment ranges from six to eighteen eggs, 

 the average being about ten. The eggs 

 are variously described by different au- 

 thors, both as regards color and size, 

 from pure white, pearly white, creamy 

 white, buffy white to buff-colored, and 

 from 1,75 X 1.35, to 2.25 X 1.75 inches. 

 The average size is probably nearly 

 2.10 X 1.72. 



The downy ducklings are brown in 

 color and, as they skim over the water, 

 their pink feet churning up a spray be- 

 hind, they present a bewitching picture. 

 The male bird, like other ducks, as- 

 sumes no share of the labors of incuba- 

 tion, but entertains himself hunting fish 

 in some solitary stream where food is 

 plentiful, and in proper season returns 

 to assume the duties of the head of his 

 lusty family. 



The nesting season must necessarily 

 vary greatly with locality. In Minne- 

 sota fresh eggs are found during the 

 third week of April, according to Dr. 

 P. L. Hatch. The date would probably 

 be much earlier with the Florida birds. 

 The locality selected for the nest is also 

 variable with the different parts of the 

 countrv. 



