452 THE GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL 



of the Goosander, and only subspecifically distinct. Typical 

 examples may be distinguished from the Goosander by having a 

 narrow black bar across the greater wing coverts. 



Time during which the Goosander may be taken.— 



August ist to March ist. 



Habits. — During winter the Goosander with us is for the most 

 part a coast bird, showing a preference for sea lochs and the quiet 

 bays of a rocky shore, such as are so common on the west of 

 Scotland, but it may also be met with in estuaries, as well as on 

 broads and inland lakes. In Lower India, however, it is almost 

 exclusively confined during the cold season to rivers, and those 

 where the bed is rocky or sandy are preferred to others which 

 flow over clay or alluvial soil. It is a hardy bird, and lingers in its 

 summer haunts until the waters are frozen, not leaving the pools 

 and streams of the Himalayas until December, and quitting its 

 southern retreats again in March. The same remarks apply to the 

 individuals breeding at elevations of from 8,000 to 11,000 feet 

 in Central Asia ; they linger until driven down by the ice sealing 

 their fevourite haunts. The Goosander is a remarkably agile bird 

 in the water, swimming and diving with wonderful skill. When 

 going down-stream it sits high on the water, but when swimming 

 against the current its body is kept low, so that the oar-like feet 

 may work to the best advantage. It is capable of diving to a 

 great depth, and remains under water for as much as two minutes 

 at a stretch. It flies well and with great speed, but rises from the 

 surface with difficulty, flapping along for several yards before it 

 gets clear into the air. The Goosander does not spend much of 

 its time on shore, but when gorged with food it will often sit and 

 bask, like a Cormorant, on some rock rising out of deep water, 

 resting with its body upright and with its wings half expanded. 

 It seldom rests far from the water's edge, and when disturbed 

 wriggles forward with its breast almost touching the ground, in a 

 very Diver-like manner. It is a wary bird, much more so than the 

 Red-breasted Merganser. The note of this species is a harsh 

 karr, but on the whole it is a remarkably silent bird. The 

 Goosander feeds almost exclusively on fish ranging from two to 

 six inches in length, but aquatic insects, mollusks, and shell-fish 

 are eaten, and the remains of vegetable substances have been 



