Le ee 
——a =. _ 
Boer: i 
INDIAN DUCKS AND THEIR ALLIES. 217 
their breasts practically touching the ground en route. Mr. Finn, 
in his article on ducks, which appeared in the Asian, has shewn 
that the Mergansers can walk all right. “On shore they move about 
very little, and are clumsy walkers, although they get about better 
than one would expect from the published accounts of their gait.” 
MERGANSER SERRATOR. 
The Red-breasted Merganser. 
Mergus serrator—Hume and Marshall, ‘“‘ Game Birds, THI,” p. 305 ; 
Hume, “Str. Feath., 1X,” p. 268 ; Barnes, “ Birds of Bombay, ” p. 416. 
- Mergus castor—Hume, “ Str, Feath.,’ IV, p. 496; Butler, sid, pp. 
291, 393. 
Merganser serrator.—Salvadori, Cat. British Museum, XXVII, p. 
479 ; Blanford, “ Avifauna of B. India, IV, ’’ p. 472; Oates, “ Game 
Birds of India, IT,” p. 124. 
Description: Adult Male-—Whole head, crest and a narrow black 
line down the nape of the neck, black, the posterior part of the head 
and the crest glossed green ; neck white ; back black ; lower back, 
rump and upper tail coverts white and very dark brown in fine wavy 
lines, the bases of the feathers on the lower back brown and shewing 
a good deal, tail dark grey, edged paler. The primaries, three outer 
and innermost secondaries dark brown, the next white with black 
bases and from these,to the longest white with narrow black margins ; 
greater and median coverts white ; edge of tre wing and smaller coverts 
brown, breast rather rich rufous-brown, the feathers more or less centred 
black, side of the breast, under the shoulder of the wing, black with a 
patch of feathers white, merely margined with black ; outer scapulars 
white, inner black. 
“© Males.—Length, 24:0" to 26:0"; expanse, 29-0" to 32°5" ; wing, 9°0" 
to 10:0”; tail, from insertion of feathers, 3°1" to 4°2"; tarsus, 1°8" 
to 2°05"; bill at front, along calmen, 2° 4" to 2°5" ; weight (Naumann) a 
little over 2 lbs. 
“In the male the bill varies from orange-red to deep vermilion, is 
more or less dusky on the ridge, and has the nail varying from pale 
yellowish-grey to almost black ; the feet vary similarly to the bill, and 
are brighter externally, paler internally, and duller on the webs; the 
claws are light grey, duller, and browner or redder towards their 
_ bases” (Hume). 
