THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 



{Merganser serrator. ) 



The three mergansers, the Red- 

 breasted, American and hooded, are gen- 

 erally known as fish ducks, sheldrakes or 

 saw-bills. They frequent swift running- 

 streams and ponds and lakes, where they 

 feed almost exclusively upon fish, which 

 they pursue and capture under water. 

 Their bills are hooked and deeply 

 notched on either side, forming what 

 might be called prongs or teeth, and their 

 barbed like edges are especially adapted 

 for catching and holding the fish which 

 the birds bring to the surface before 

 swallowing. 



The legs of the all fish ducks are 

 placed far back on the body, enabling 

 their owners to outswim the other water 

 fowls of their class. They frequently 

 rest upon logs and the stumps of trees 

 which are found in or near the water. 

 The hooded merganser is the only saw- 

 bill whose flesh is at all palatable, and 

 unfortunately they are the handsomest of 

 the tribe; the males rivaling the wood 

 and harlequin ducks in beauty. How- 

 ever, their fine appearance is against 

 them, for they not only fall as victims of 

 the sportsman, but they are also con- 

 tinually sought by the taxidermist and 

 plume hunter, consequently these species 

 are constantly becoming scarcer. 



The Red-breasted Merganser inhabits 

 Europe, Asia and America, breeding on 

 the British Isles, Iceland, Greenland, 

 Labrador, Alaska and the Magdalen and 

 other islands in the North Atlantic. 

 During the fall, winter and spring 

 months they frequent the waters of 

 northern Illinois and Indiana. In March 

 and April the Red-Breasted Mergansers 

 resort to the lagoons of Lincoln Park, 

 Chicago, and feast upon the minnows 



and other fish, exhibiting at times but lit- 

 tle fear of human beings. The bold, 

 venturesome gulls lurk about the lagoons 

 and when a Merganser arises to the sur- 

 face with his prize a gull swoops down 

 and in the twinkling of an eye robs the 

 cluck of his morsel. They are such vora- 

 cious eaters that not infrequently they 

 have to disgorge some of the food before 

 they can rise from the water. 



Among brushwood, bowlders and 

 grass near the water's edge, often on 

 islands, the female Merganser constructs 

 a bulky nest of grass, leaves and stems, 

 which she lines with a moderate quantity 

 of down and feathers. From six to 

 twelve eggs are laid. Their color is dark 

 drab, with a greenish or reddish tinge ; 

 the latter shade lends a warm color to the 

 shell. The eggs are elliptical in shape 

 and in size average 2.50 inches long by 

 1.70 inches wide. The beautiful male 

 Merganser deserts his mate during the 

 period of incubation and while she is per- 

 forming the nursery duties of caring for 

 the young brood. To obtain food for 

 himself seems to be hfs only ambition. 

 His mate, however, has the true instincts 

 of a mother and gives her eggs and 

 young the most careful attention. Mr. 

 Chamberlin 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. Through- 

 out the chase the mother kept close to the 

 young birds, and several times swam 

 across the bow of the canoe in her 

 efforts to draw my attention from the 

 brood and to offer herself as a sacrifice 

 for their escape." 



Gerard Alan Abbott. 



