Family ANATIDvE. Genus Mergus. 



Subfamily Fuligvlinje, 



GOOSANDER. 



MERGUS MERGANSER— Z/««««^. 



Geographical Distribution. — British: Fairly common 

 winter visitor to the British Islands, both inland and on the 

 coast. Rare in the Orkneys and Shetlands, but more frequent on 

 the east and west coasts of Scotland, especially the latter. 

 Tolerably common on the eastern shores of England, but rarer 

 on the south and west. Rare in Ireland, although in the severe 

 winter of 1 880-81 an unusual visitation took place, and examples 

 were obtained in all parts of the island. Breeds sparingly in 

 Scotland, in Sutherlandshire, Argyllshire, North Perthshire, and a 

 few other localities in the Highlands. Foreign: Palaearctic region ; 

 northern limits of Oriental region in winter. Breeds in Iceland 

 and Denmark, and throughout Scandinavia, but does not winter 

 north of the Arctic Circle. Eastwards it is found during summer 

 in Pomerania, and Russia as far north as the Arctic Circle, and 

 as far south as lat. 50° in the Ural and Volga districts. In Asia 

 it breeds throughout Siberia south of the Arctic Circle, and in a 

 similar climate at high elevations in Turkestan, and the Himalayas 

 up to 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. Winters on the 

 coasts and inland waters of Central and Southern Europe, but 

 rarely crosses to the African side of the Mediterranean. It is 

 also found at this season in the Black Sea, on the lower lands of 

 Turkestan, Northern India, Mongolia, China, and Japan. 



Allied Forms. — Mergus merganser americanus, an inhabi- 

 tant of the Nearctic region, breeding from about lat. 42° as far 

 north as the limit of trees, and in winter of the United States, 

 and occasionally the Bermudas. The American representative 



2 G 2 



