DUCKS AND GEESE 59 



the handsomest of the tribe, the males rivaling the wood 

 and harlequin ducks in beauty. So they are not only 

 slaughtered by the sportsmen, but they are also sought 

 by the taxidermist and plume hunter, consequently are 

 becoming scarcer. 



Among brushwood, boulders, and grass, near the water's 

 edge, often on islands, the female merganser constructs a 

 bulky nest of grass, leaves, and stems, lined with a mod- 

 erate quantity of dowTi and feathers; from six to twelve 

 dark drab eggs are laid, having a greenish or reddish tinge. 

 The beautiful male deserts his mate while she incubates 

 the eggs and cares for the young. 



Mr. Chamberlain says: "I paddled after a brood one 

 hot summer's day, and though several times they were 

 almost within reach of my landing net, they eluded every 

 effort to capture them. Throughout the chase the mother 

 kept close to the young birds, and several times swam 

 across the bow of my canoe in her efforts to draw my 

 attention from the brood." 



HOODED MERGANSER 



The Hooded Merganser ranges and breeds throughout 

 America generally, wintering in Cuba and Mexico. It 

 breeds only sparingly throughout the United States and 

 southern Canada. Unlike most of our ducks, it is not 

 gregarious at any season of the year. 



The hooded merganser is the smallest of the three fish 

 ducks common to America. The males are handsome birds 

 with a conspicuous black and white crest. Our fii'st impres- 



