Nest, &e. 
Food. 
376 NATATORES. MERGUS. GoosANDER 
and even more southern countries ; and WiLson mentions it 
as a well known winter visitant upon the coasts, lakes, and 
rivers of the United States. During the summer the great 
body of these birds retires to high latitudes, for the purpose 
of reproduction ; and at that time they are found in Iceland, 
Greenland, and other northern parts of Europe. In Asia, 
they visit Siberia, Kamtschatka, &c., and in America, during 
the above period, they are distributed through the fur coun- 
tries of that vast continent.—The nest is constructed (near 
to the edge of the water) of a mass of grass, roots, and other 
materials, mixed and lined with down. It is placed some- 
times among stones or other debris, and sometimes in the 
long grass, or under the cover of bushes, and (when the lo- 
cality affords them) in the stumps or hollows of decayed 
trees. The eggs are from twelve to fourteen in number, of 
a cream-yellow colour ; and their form is a long oval, both 
ends being equally obtuse. 
The Goosander, except when on wing, is almost always 
seen upon the water, being unable to make any great pro- 
gress on land, in consequence of the backward position of the 
legs, and the slight degree of freedom that the tibize possess 
from cheir situation within the integuments of the abdomen. 
Its activity, however, in the former element, makes ample 
amends for this deficiency. In swimming, the body, from 
its broad and flattened shape, is deeply sunk in the water, 
having the head, neck, and back only visible. It is an ex- 
cellent diver, with the power of remaining for a long time 
submerged, and making its way with great rapidity beneath 
the surface.—In this manner its food is obtained, consisting 
entirely of fish ; and which, when once seized, are securely 
held in its serrated bill. It rises with difficulty, or at least 
with much apparent exertion, from the surface of the water, 
but when once fairly on wing, its flight is not only swift, 
but can be sustained for a considerable time. By earlier 
writers, the females and young males (which resemble that 
sex for upwards of a year) were considered and described as 
