WILD DUCKS. 3038 
The hooded merganser, or swanbill diver (Mergus cu- 
cullatus), which ranges all over the Continent, is about 
eighteen inches in length. The male has a thick crest; is 
blackish in hue above; the under parts, the speculum, 
center of crest, and the stripes on the tertials are white; 
the sides are chestnut, and barred with black. The head 
and neck of the female are brown; the chin is whitish; 
the wing tip is decorated with white; and the back and 
sides are dark-brown. The mergansers being unfit for 
the table, owing to the character of their food, which is 
solely composed of animal matter, principally fish, they 
are not pursued to any extent, yet they are shot occa- 
sionally by sportsmen in search of other game. Their 
feathers bring a good price, and this induces some pio- 
neers to kill them at every opportunity. 
Of the eiders, the most prized are the sea duck and 
king duck, as their feathers are so elastic that the down 
taken from a nest may be squeezed in the hand, and when 
the hand is re-opened it will regain its original bulk. 
This down, which is plucked from her own breast by the 
female, is a dark-slate color, and so highly prized that it 
meets a ready sale in all civilized countries. The great 
breeding grounds of these ducks are in the far north, and 
there they are regularly pursued by the Indians and pio- 
neers who know the value of their plumage. Their nests 
are despoiled both for the sake of the down and the eggs, 
as the latter are considered delicacies. The eggs, which 
number from three to five, and are of a beautiful olive- 
green color, are about three inches long, very smooth, 
and large in circumference. The young are pretty crea- 
tures, good divers and swimmers from the moment of 
their birth, and readily susceptible to domestication. 
Certain kinds of sea ducks are shot from boats anchored 
in some bay or creek, as they fly past overhead. A fleet 
of thirty or forty of these boats are sometimes engaged 
in this business at a time on Long Island Sound, and 
