An Island Home of the American Merganser 341 



the Merganser's part may be the more readily comprehended by one who has 

 observed how a Cormorant, when it takes wing from a harbor stake in calm 

 weather, is obliged to 'wet its tail,' as the fishermen say, before it can get fairly 

 under way. 



Several times we tried the experiment of leaving the camera set close to 

 the nest, with a covering of green branches, and with a long thread attached to 

 the shutter. Upon one such occasion, I was drifting in a rowboat out on the lake, 

 in order to observe the bird's return. Presently I saw her come flying in straight 

 toward the bank, and rise to a level with its top; but, at the last instant before 

 alighting, she stopped in mid-air and hovered for a moment or two almost in 

 the manner of a Kingfisher. As if not satisfied with the appearances about the 

 nest, she turned and came to rest offshore. It was not long, however, before 

 she winged her way in again, and this time alighted on the bank beside the 

 nest. I felt safe in concluding that she had no land-trail leading to her home 

 under the arborvitae. 



We were dismayed, one morning, to discover that both bird and eggs had 

 disappeared from sight; but a little closer investigation of the apparently 

 empty nest revealed that she had merely arranged a neat covering of down over 

 the eggs, before setting out for a fishing-trip on the lake. One would hardly 

 expect an instinct for concealing the eggs in such a way to have been developed 

 in a species that typically nests in holes; in the present case, however, the device 

 both served what was probably its original purpose in preventing the eggs 

 from becoming chilled during the bird's absence, and also kept them safe from 

 the greedy eyes of Crows and Gulls. 



The male not only failed to share in the incubation, but did not even come 

 into sight during our stay; and, as appeared later, he probably manifested no 

 interest in the welfare of the young. 



I am much indebted to the warden for the use of the careful notes which he 

 made on this Merganser at various times during a period of more than seven 

 weeks. The following extracts (which have been freely paraphrased) make evi- 

 dent the very long period of incubation, and also touch upon one or two points 

 of interest in regard to the development of the young and the mother's care of 

 them. "On June 16, a nest with five eggs was discovered on House Island. Four 

 of the five eggs had hatched by July 14. No further observations were made on 

 the Merganser until July 18, when she was seen with the four young on the 

 south shore of House Island. The mother was very timid, and swam rapidly 

 out into the lake, diving often, while the young seemed to run over the water. 

 They were noticed on several different dates thereafter, being finally seen on 

 August 5 near High Island; the young then dove with the mother." 



